1925: Lt Cyrus Bettis, Air Service, set a world speed record of 249 MPH in the National Air Races at Mitchel Field using a Curtiss R3C-1. He was the winner of the 1924 Mitchell Trophy Race and won the 1925 Mackay Trophy. He was also a winner of the Pulitzer Trophy in October 1925, flying a Curtiss R3C-1 racer. In winning the trophy, he set a new airspeed record for a closed-circuit race. The record was broken shortly after by Lieutenant Jimmy Doolittle who was flying the same aircraft with pontoons installed.