Glenn Curtis and the San Domingo Air Meet
San Domingo Air Meet in 1910
At the Centennial Week aviation event in St. Louis, fellow enthusiasts and pilots discussed holding an air meet in Los Angeles. The group, which included Charles Willard, Roy Knabenshue, and Glenn Curtiss, sent Dick Ferris to Los Angeles to make the necessary contacts and arrange for the proposed Air Meet. After arriving in Los Angeles, Ferris met with various contacts and an International Air Meet was proposed which would include Louis Paulhan, a renowned French aviator. The location selected was Dominguez Field, on property which was part of the Rancho San Pedro, one of the original Spanish land grants. Dates for the air meet were agreed upon. Commencing on January 10th, 1910 and lasting ten days until January 20th, the airmen would invite a variety of participants and would include not only aeroplanes but also hot air balloons and dirigibles. Cash prizes would be awarded to those participating in scheduled events which would include altitude, speed and endurance competitions.
At the 1910 Los Angeles Air Meet, in addition to the aviators billed in the event’s programs, there were many hobbyists and inventors wishing to make a name for themselves in the new aviation industry. A $1500 prize for a locally designed and built machine that successfully flew helped to ensure a high turn-out from California inventors and would-be aviators, and four of the initial entries were from San Diego.
Some of the aviators at the Santo Domingo meet then attended a San Diego air meet a few days later and held at the Polo Grounds on Coronado Island on 23 January 1910. At this event, Charles Hamilton made the first successful verified powered flight in San Diego. After the first San Diego air meet was held, aviation fever hit the local community.