By Marjory J. Sente
On Sunday July 4, 1926, Prescott’s Frontier Days did not hold any cowboy contests, nor open the Northern Arizona State Fair. After religious and patriotic exercises were held on the Plaza, eyes turned to the sky for an aero show and flying circus. Ground activities included a model airplane contest and dedication of a new landing field, located eight miles northeast of the city on land leased from the Perkins Cattle Company.

Charles Franklin Parker recalled the event in the May 1947 Arizona Highways. “The open field was bladed and marked. Old Ford axles were gathered from local garages and used as tie downs for the ships, and a crew of fellows with shovels filled up the prairie dog holes.”

World War I flying ace and the first barnstorming pilot in Arizona, Captain Bob Hausler, was aviation director for Frontier Days and oversaw the arrangements for the day,

The aero festivities started when Aero Queen Mabel Hixson left Prescott at 8:55 AM and flew with pilot Frank Clarke approximately 100 miles in 55 minutes to Phoenix. There, Mayor Frank A. Jefferson gave her the keys to the city, a letter of greeting for Prescott’s mayor, and a vial of Phoenix air telling her to release it in Prescott to add “pep” to the day’s events. Following the ten-minute meeting, Hixson and Clarke flew back to Prescott and delivered the message to Mayor Goldwater. 

Public activities at the landing field started at 10 AM with the inspection of planes and the model plane contest. Boys under the age of 18, who live in Yavapai County, could enter and compete in four categories: model plane that flew the farthest; best built stationary model; best monoplane; and glider models. Three winners in each category received a free airplane ride, along with a prize.

Dedication of the Prescott landing field was at 1 PM, with the winner of the “On to Prescott Race” announced. The air race for commercial airplanes and civilian pilots was from Santa Monica, California, to Prescott. Five pilots entered with only four completing the race for a $500 purse and a silver cup.

Frank Clarke won and was awarded an engraved silver-plated cup that read: 
“WINNER OF THE 
ON TO PRESCOTT RACE
 FOR COMMERCIAL AIRPLANES
AND CIVILIAN PILOTS 
PRESCOTT ARIZONA 
JULY 4th 1926 
PRESENTED BY THE
BUSINESSMEN OF PRESCOTT 
WON BY FRANK CLARKE”  
The trophy now resides in the collection of the Sharlot Hall Museum.  

A bomb-dropping contest followed at 2 PM, when Army and Navy pilots dropped bags of flour at a target on the ground. These pilots then gave a formation flying exhibition at 3 PM. Later, the Army and Navy aviators took off, flew south, circled the fairgrounds, then flew north to Chino Valley before returning to the landing field.

The next event was spot landing, where a target was marked on the runway and planes were to take off, circle the field and land. The plane nearest the mark won the contest. Parachute jumping from an airplane closed out the day.   

Reporting on the show, the July 5, 1926, Prescott Evening Courier noted that usually two planes were in the air all day either stunting or carrying passengers. Rides in the airplanes were so popular, the pilots elected to stay in Prescott for additional days to accommodate the demand.  

The sesquicentennial holiday closed with a performance of the drama “Arizona” at the Elk’s Theater and Clarke thrilling people with an “exhibition of night flying with fireworks, stunting over the city while his plane left a trail of vari-colored fire behind him,” the Courier reported.

As Glendale concludes the Luke Days 2026 Air Show this March 22nd, remember Prescott’s own storied aeronautical legacy.

“Days Past” is a collaborative project of the Sharlot Hall Museum and the Prescott Corral of Westerners International (www.prescottcorral.org). This and other Days Past articles are also available at www.archives.sharlothallmuseum.org/articles/days-past-articles/1. The public is encouraged to submit proposed articles and inquiries to dayspast@sharlothallmuseum.org Please contact SHM Research Center reference desk at 928-277-2003, or via email at archivesrequest@sharlothallmuseum.org for information or assistance with photo requests.