Aero Club of Indiana
The Aero Club of Indiana affiliated with the Aero Club of America shortly after being organized in February 1909, apparently to manage the Grand Prize national championship balloon race, to be held 5 June 1909 on the grounds of the new Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It was one of the first five aero clubs in the U.S. to affiliate with the ACA (it appears to have been the fifth to affiliate). Appears not affiliated with Aero Club of America for a period 1913-1919. Then, in 1919, was not on a list of ACA affiliates in July 1919 issue of Flying but was on list in the August 1919 issue. Not known now is whether the club named Aero Club of Indiana that became an ACA affiliate in 1919 is the club formed in 1909 but we are assuming so for now.
It appears that Carl G. Fisher was the first president of the Aero Club of Indiana. Fisher organized the company that was building the five-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Two balloon races were begun at the Speedway on 5 June 1909, an Indiana endurance race and a national long-distance race, which appears to have been sanctioned by the Aero Club of America. The Aero Club of Indiana entered a balloon in the August 1910 Harvard-Boston Meet.
An Aero Club of Indianapolis is listed in the 1909 Motor Cyclopaedia Year Book, p. 110 Misc. According to 7:2 Aeronautics p. 52 (August 1910 ), the Aero Club of Indianapolis was on the first executive committee of the National Council. However Aircraft for August 1910 listed Carl J. Fisher of Indianapolis on the executive committee and there is information from 1909 that Carl G. Fisher was president of the Aero Club of Indiana. Consequently we believe that any references to the Aero Club of Indianapolis ca. 1909-1910 actually meant the Aero Club of Indiana.
Affiliated with ACA, 1909-1912, 1919-
Sources
- 1909 NYT, 9 Feb. and 7 Mar.; 1909 Boston Daily Globe, 9 Feb.; 1909 Atlanta Constitution, 7 June; 1909 Baltimore Sun, 7 June; 1909 American Gas Light, 28 June; ACA annuals (1909-1912); 8 Flying 549, 627 (1919); 9 Flying 50 (1920)
| Organization names | Aero Club of Indiana |
|---|---|
| Entity type | |
| Country | US |
| City | Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Affiliated with | ACA |
| Scope | State |
| Started aero | 1909 |
| Ended aero | 1920 or later |
| Keywords | |
| Key people | |
| Wikidata id |
- Address: Pythian Building, Indianapolis (1909); no fixed address (1910-1912);
|Cable address=0 |Phone=0 }}
