Racing Seaplane At Mooring - 1938 Spontoon Island

SPEED WEEK - Spontoon Island 1938. (A Work in Progress.)

The "Witches Cauldron" racing floatplane design is approximately based on the racing land-plane (circa 1936) that performed so well in the USA Greve & Thompson air races. That French airplane was the Caudron C-460 designed by Delmotte and flown by Michel Detroyat.

The pilot here (at the Spontoon Island Schneider Trophy Seaplane Race) is conferring with Speed Week racing officials. The small boat passing by carries 2 photographers/reporters for a local journal that follows the regional airplane traffic, aircraft statistics, flight personalities, and all the gossip the little magazine can fit in. They will cruise the Spontoon Lagoon looking for stories and photo opportunities. The photographers consider it 'co-operative' to resell copies of photos to interested magazines and newspapers interested in the Speed Week racing events.