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Title: Tour de France des Avionettes
Description: Six “avionettes” or “light planes” gather speed as they make their way around a pylon in the Air French Association’s summer “Tour de France des Avionettes.” Avionettes were airplanes that were lighter and equipped with powerful engines allowing them to make daring maneuvers and push speeds which started from 30 and could get to 60 m.p.h. In this race, fifteen contestants were entered, representing different aeronautic manufacturing companies from Holland, Czechoslovakia, Belgium, and of course, France. First introduced at the famous air meet and race in 1909 at Rheims, these types of air races and spectacles grew immensely popular within Europe during the early 20th century, and great national pride was tagged onto each diverse contestant. France emerged as the front runner for aviation ingenuity and spectacle, and built and maintained an exceptional fleet of top of the line racing planes. This poster also was made during the same year that the first American National Air Races were started in Dayton, Ohio, but they actually did not become a national phenomenon until 1929. |
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