American Experience — Episode 1: The Great Air Race of 1924

You are watching the episode The Great Air Race of 1924 The first around-the-world air race, sponsored by the Army Air Service to prove that the airplane had a commercial future, was the ultimate test of man and machine. Four pilots took off in single-engine, open-cockpit planes; 175 days later, two remaining pilots would land where they'd begun, in Seattle.