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Learn how The Great Air Race sparked the US commercial aviation industry: Written by journalist and pilot John Lancaster, this book documents the daring pilots who participated in a dangerous cross-country race to demonstrate how planes could join trains and boats as a useful transport option in post-war America. Over a century ago in the aftermath of The Great War, the majority of Americans had never seen a plane. Aircrafts had already proven useful in combat, but their service in times of peace had not yet been established. The army's Air Service cut its number of officers from 20k to 1.3k, and the Boeing Company shifted to producing furniture and speedboats. However, a few people saw the potential for commercial aviation and began looking for a peg to spark public interest and drum up congressional funding. Pilots spent their time mapping cities, dragging ads across the skies, searching for forest fires and patrolling borders. When these ideas failed to gain traction, aviation supporters organized a cross-country race in 1919 to capture the nation's attention.