King's Cup Race

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The King's Cup Race is an annual British handicapped cross-country air race, first contested on the 8th September 1922. The event was only open to British pilots, but this did include members of the Commonwealth.^[1]

The event was established by King George V as an incentive to the development of light aircraft and engine design. The first race was a 810 mile contest from Croydon Aerodrome, south of London to Glasgow, Scotland and back again after an overnight stop. The winner of the first race was Frank Barnard, chief pilot of the Instone Air Line, in a passenger-carrying De Havilland.^[2]

There were no races during World War II (1939-45), and the contest did not resume until 1949. The race was abandoned in 1951 due to bad weather.

[edit] Winners

Year	Winner	Starters	Course length in miles	Aircraft	Engine	Speed mph.
1922	Frank L. Barnard	21	810	de Havilland DH.4A G-EAMU	350 h.p. Rolls Royce Eagle	124
1923	Frank T. Courtney	15	794	Armstrong Whitworth Siskin II G-EBEU	325 h.p. Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar	149
1924	Alan J. Cobham	10	950	de Havilland DH.50 G-EBFN	230 h.p. Armstrong Siddeley Puma	107
1925	Frank L. Barnard	14	1608	Armstrong Whitworth Siskin V G-EBLQ	395 h.p. Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar	151
1926	Hubert S. Broad	14	1464	de Havilland Moth G-EBMO	60 h.p. Cirrus I	91
1927	W. L. Hope	16	540	de Havilland Moth G-EBME	60 h.p. Cirrus I	93
1928	W. L. Hope	36	1097	de Havilland Moth G-EBYZ	85 h.p. D.H. Gipsy	101
1929	R. L. R. Atcherley	41	1170	Gloster Grebe J7520	385 h.p. Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar	150
1930	Miss Winifred Brown	88	750	Avro Avian III G-EBVZ	95 h.p. Cirrus III	103
1931	E. C. T. Edwards	40	983	Blackburn Bluebird IV G-AACC	115 h.p. Cirrus Hermes II	118
1932	W. L. Hope	42	1223	de Havilland Fox Moth G-ABUT	120 h.p. D.H. Gipsy III	124
1933	Geoffrey de Havilland	42	831	de Havilland Leopard Moth G-ACHD	130 h.p. D.H. Gipsy Major	140
1934	H. M. Schofield	43	801	General Aircraft Monospar ST-10 G-ACTS	two 90 h.p. Pobjoy Niagara	124
1935	Tommy Rose	43	801	Miles Falcon Six G-ADLL	200 h.p. D.H. Gipsy Six	176
1936	C. E. Gardner	26	1536	Percival Vega Gull G-AEKE	210 h.p. D.H. Gipsy Six	164
1937	C. E. Gardner	27	1443	Percival Mew Gull G-AEKL	210 h.p. D.H. Gipsy Six	234
1938	Alex Henshaw	19	1102	Percival Mew Gull G-AEXF	210 h.p. D.H. Gipsy Six	236
1949	J. N. Somers	36	60	Miles Gemini III G-AKDC	two 130 h.p. D.H. Gipsy Major	164
1950	E. Day	36	186	Miles Hawk Trainer G-AKRV	130 h.p. D.H. Gipsy Major	139
1952	C. Gregory	12	131	Taylorcraft Plus D G-AHGZ	90 h.p. Cirrus Minor	114
1953	W. P. I. Fillingham	11	60	DHC-1 Chipmunk G-AKDN	140 h.p. D.H. Gipsy Major	140
1954	H. Wood	15	68	Miles Messenger 2A G-AKBO	145 h.p. Cirrus Major	133
1955	P. Clifford	15	68	Percival Mew Gull G-AEXF	210 h.p. D.H. Gipsy Six	213
1956	J. H. Denyer	16	68	Auster J/1 Alpha G-AJRH	130 h.p. D.H. Gipsy Major	124
1957	F. Dunkerley	35	1122	Miles Sparrowjet G-ADNL	two 330lb s.t. Turbomeca Palas	228
1958	J. H. Denyer	21	79.4	de Havilland Tiger Moth G-AIVW	130 h.p. D.H. Gipsy Major	118
1959	A. J. Spiller	21	72	Percival Proctor III G-AHFK	208 h.p. D.H. Gipsy Queen	143
1960	John de M. Severne	21	68	Druine Turbulent G-APNZ	30 h.p. VW	109
1961*	Brian Iles	21	72	Miles M.18 G-AHKY		142
1962	Peter Clifford	21	67.5	Tipsy Nipper G-ARDY		101
1963	Paul Bannister		72	Tipsy Nipper G-APYB		102.5
1964	Dennis Hartas			Le Vier Cosmic Wind G-ARUL		185
1965	John Stewart-Wood			Cessna 172 G-ARYS		131.5
1966	John Miles	16		de Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk G-APTS		135
1967	Charles Masefield	17		North American Mustang N6356T		277.5
1968	F.R.E. Hayter			de Havilland Hornet Moth G-ADKM		121