page_title: Roscoe Turner
section_title: More air racing
hierarchical_section_title: Roscoe Turner / More air racing
caption_attribution_description: Following his first Thompson Trophy victory in 1934, famed racing pilot Roscoe Turner contracted with the Lawrence W. Brown Aircraft Company to build a new racing aircraft. Designed by Turner and engineered by University of Minnesota professor Howard Barlow, the Turner racer was completed in mid-1936. Following flight tests, Matty Laird extensively redesigned the aircraft and added a larger wing and flaps. Known as the Laird Turner LTR-14 and later the Turner RT-14, the modified racer placed third in the 1937 Thompson Trophy event at the National Air Races and won the 1938 and 1939 contests. With this aircraft, Turner became the only three-time winner of the Thompson Trophy. In 1939 the aircraft was sponsored by Champion Spark Plugs and therefore carried the name "Miss Champion" on its fuselage.
context_page_description: Roscoe Turner was a record-breaking American aviator who was a three-time winner of the Thompson Trophy air race and widely recognized by his flamboyant style and his pet Gilmore the Lion.
context_section_description: For much of 1935, Turner publicized many products and causes, including Boeing Model 80, United Airlines, Heinz foods, Camel cigarettes, Motor Glide scooters, Macmillan Oil, and the National Safety Council. He entered the Bendix Trophy race with his Model 44 (NR61Y, race number 57). On August 31, 1935, after flying from Burbank to Cleveland, he finished just 23.5 seconds after the winner Ben Howard in his Howard DGA-6 named Mr Mulligan. On September 2, 1935, in the Thompson Trophy race, his Model 44 suffered engine failure, but Turner made a safe dead-stick landing.
  In late August 1936, Turner departed Burbank in his Wedell-Williams Model 44 (NR61Y) bound for New York from where the Bendix Trophy race was due to start. The Model 44 suffered engine problems near Flagstaff, Arizona, and he crash-landed on a Zuni Indian reservation. The carburetor had iced up and caused a serious power loss. On landing, the aircraft had somersaulted, breaking the fuselage behind the cockpit. Turner had fractured two ribs and a bone in his neck, but he endured 17 miles on horseback, then 35 miles in a car, and he then returned to Los Angeles by train before seeking medical help. He deceived the press about the cause of the accident, to save the reputation of Pratt & Whitney. On October 15, 1936, Turner flew the Lockheed Air Express into the first Roscoe Turner Airport at Corinth for its dedication ceremony. The airport had been built with funds from the Works Progress Administration on the site of the farm where he once kept his aircraft, and where he was married.
  During 1936, Turner worked on the design of a new racing aircraft to accommodate a 1000 hp Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp engine, plus his flying requirements to suit both cross-country races and closed circuit pylon races. He commissioned Professor Howard W. Barlow of University of Minneapolis to prepare the detailed design and drawings, and then engaged Lawrence W. Brown and his Brown Aircraft Co. to build the aircraft. Brown made many changes to the design during construction, and Turner demanded a larger wing to safely carry the extra weight, but serious disagreements caused Brown to quit the project. In May 1937, Don Young transported the uncompleted aircraft to the premises of Matty Laird in Chicago, where Young rebuilt the crashed Wedell-Williams Model 44, and Laird completed the new racer to Turner's requirements, that now included weight reduction plus a newly designed wing of greater span designed by Raoul Hoffman. In August 1937, Turner test flew his 'Turner Special' (officially Turner-Laird RT-14 Meteor, registered NR263Y), painted silver with tail number R263Y and racing number 29. On September 3, 1937, fuel leaks and consequent repairs caused Turner to miss the start of the Bendix Trophy race from Burbank to Cleveland. On September 6, Turner flew the racer, labeled 'Ring-Free Meteor', in the Thompson Trophy race. He led the race, but then circled a pylon in the mistaken belief that he had turned inside it, and only came third. Turner's Wedell-Williams Model 44 (R61Y, race number 25, named 'Ring-Free Comet') piloted by Lt Joseph C. Mackey, dropped out of the same race with engine failure. In November 1936, Turner started broadcasting an NBC radio show titled 'Flying Time', for five days a week.
  In 1938, Turner had the Turner Special modified with wheel spats and other improvements. On May 30, 1938, he entered it in a closed circuit race at Oakland and came second, but posted the highest average speed over one lap of 278.8 mile/h. The rules for the Bendix race had been changed to disallow participating aircraft being used to compete for the Thompson Trophy. The Thompson Trophy race had been lengthened to 30 laps of a 10-mile circuit, and Turner decided to enter with R263Y (race number 29) newly sponsored by Pesco Products and renamed 'Pesco Special'. On September 5, 1938, he won the race with an average speed of 283.4 mile/h, having lapped Earl Ortman in second place in his Keith Rider R-3 (NX14215, race number 4). Turner's Wedell-Williams Model 44 (NX61Y, race number
caption: Turner-Laird RT-14 Meteor on display at the Udvar-Hazy annex of the National Air and Space Museum.[28]
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