In 1909 Glenn Curtiss took his wood and fabric Pusher bi-plane to Rheims for the world's first air races.
Louis Bleriot started as favourite, but Curtiss took the trophy at a record 461 miles an hour. Soon fans on both sides of the Atlantic were flocking to race meets. Fierce international rivalry built up to produce the fastest flying machines in the world. The RAF Spitfire was a direct descendant of racing planes. In Hitler's Germany, scientists produced revolutionary rocket and jet-powered fighters - the fastest of the war. Less than 40 years after Curtiss set his record, man broke through the sound barrier.
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