It is an obscure item in history today but in May 1961 there was a very newsworthy aviation event organized to help commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Naval Aviation. The race featured a pre-Tallmantz Aviation Frank Tallman, flying a “Nieuport 28” biplane (actually, his Lincoln LF-1), pitted against veteran pilot and Hollywood actor Michael Hinn flying Tallman’s FG-1D Corsair. The race was flown over ten days from NAS Los Alamitos in Southern California to Pensacola in Florida. In between the two, the pair crisscrossed the country with some Navy entertainment teams, all to focus attention on U.S. Naval aviation and the anniversary celebration.

No details about the origin of the idea for the air race are known, but Frank Tallman provided both aircraft used. The Corsair was FG-1D N3440G, one of three owned by Tallman obtained directly from Navy surplus stocks at NAF Litchfield Park. The Lincoln LF-1, N12237, had long been owned by Tallman, and it depicted a Nieuport 28, a type with a very tangential use with the U.S. Navy for post-World War I testing, but nonetheless with a Navy connection.

Michael Hinn was a World War II pilot who had a varied background of his own. He had enlisted in the RAF and flew in Canada in 1942 before transferring to the U.S. Navy where he flew F6F Hellcats with VF-50 from the USS Bataan in Southwest Pacific combat. He continued in the post-war Navy as a reserve officer, as did Tallman. He also established himself as a Hollywood actor, including a starring role in the 1957 TV show Boots and Saddles, with numerous appearances on other period TV shows such as Bonanza and The Rifleman. Check out this IMDB link for his complete list of credits. He also owned an F8F Bearcat for a while. According to his son, John Hinn, Michael Hinn purchased the Quartz Hill airport located west of Palmdale, California in 1960. The Quartz Hill airport has an interesting history all of its own, as told on Paul Freeman’s excellent Abandoned and Little Known Airfields website.   Through his Hollywood and aviation background, Hinn connected with Frank Tallman when the air race idea was first conceived.

Departing NAS Los Alamitos on Sunday, May 21, the pair of vintage aircraft made stops at a wide variety of towns across the country, both large and small. These included Rock Springs, Wyoming; Lincoln, Nebraska; Dallas, Texas; and Marietta, Georgia, for a total of 31 cities along the way. These events were well received by the local communities, earning front page coverage from local and national newspapers.

While some of that coverage was no doubt due to well-oiled Navy public relations teams, there were nonetheless sizable crowds out to meet the aircraft as they arrived. The pair arrived at the Pensacola municipal airport on Tuesday, May 30, just in time for Memorial Day (back before the pre-three-day weekend mandate).

For each segment of the 5,000 mile race, the arrival of both aircraft was timed to closely coincide. Large crowds usually met the well-advertised landings, and Tallman and Hinn made themselves freely available for interviews and questions upon arrival.  Traveling to each stop was a Navy trampoline team called the “Starflights,” a group of six expert trampoline artists, as well as public relations and other specialists, all being flown on an Navy R4D.

So who won the race? Well, the particulars on how it was judged seems a bit obscure but the winner of the handicapped race was announced to have been the Corsair. The FG-1D flew the race in 17 hours and 17 minutes, while the Lincoln LF enjoyed 46 hours and 35 minutes of flying.

Hinn stated to one reported that he thoroughly enjoyed the flight, although he had not flown a Corsair in 14 years. It is a bit surprising that none of the newspaper accounts featured Hinn’s Hollywood connection. Apparently, it was missed by those watching and not emphasized by those promoting.

It is also a bit surprising that there were few mechanical issues, particularly with the Lincoln LF-1. Tallman ‘enjoyed’ one engine failure at Birmingham, Alabama, near the end of the tour, the repair of which caused him to miss the stop at Atlanta (Marietta), Georgia, though the Corsair made that stop.

Tallman, his open cockpit airplane having no radio, no doubt also worked a bit harder than Hinn in the race, and his quotes upon arrival are telling for a man who cherished World War I aircraft. After 46 hours flying the Lincoln, he was asked by a reporter if he was retired from cross-country flying: “Retired from the Nieuport, anyway,” was the reply, though a few days later he was back in its cockpit. He made a carrier landing on the USS Antietam, a World War II Essex-class carrier relegated to a training carrier and based at Pensacola. That carrier landing began the 50th Anniversary Naval Aviation celebration.