Within a decade of the Wright Brothers demonstration the possibility of flight, Air Racing quickly became a popular spectator sport in the United States. The National Air Races (also known as Pulitzer Trophy Races) are a series of pylon and cross-country races that have taken place in the United States since 1920.

In 1920, publisher Ralph Pulitzer sponsored the Pulitzer Trophy Race and the Pulitzer Speed Trophy for military airplanes at Roosevelt Field, Long Island, New York, in an effort to publicize aviation and his newspaper. The races eventually moved to Cleveland, where they were known as the Cleveland National Air Races. They drew the best flyers of the time, including James Doolittle, Wiley Post, Tex Rankin, Frank Hawks, Jimmy Wedell, Roscoe Turner, and others from the pioneer age of aviation.

The races included a variety of events, including cross-country races originating in Portland, Oakland, and Los Angeles, with a final destination in Cleveland. Also included were landing contests, glider demonstrations, airship flights, and parachute-jumping contests. The more popular events were the Thompson Trophy Races which started in 1929; a closed-course race where aviators raced their planes around pylons; and the Bendix Trophy Race across most of the USA starting in 1931.

The NINE rare films on this DVD include :

- The Dole Air Race
The Dole Air Race was a tragic air race across the Pacific Ocean from northern California to the Territory of Hawaii in August 1927. Of the 15-18 airplanes entered, eleven were certified to compete but three crashed before the race, resulting in three deaths. Eight eventually participated in the race, with two crashing on takeoff and two going missing during the race. Newsreel (10 min)

- Dole Air Race 2
Rare silent film shows portions of the1927 Dole Air Race from Oakland, California to Honolulu Hawaii. (3 min)

- 1925 Races
Scenes at 1925 Pulitzer Trophy Races showing R3C-1 taxiing with 1/Lt Cyrus Bettis seated in cockpit, Mitchell Field, New York. Also, Scenes at 1925 Schneider Cup Races showing R3C-2 (USN), R3C-2 (US Air Service (8 min)

- 1929 Cleveland Nationals
The finish of the Women's Air Derby — also known as the "Powder Puff Derby" — from Santa Monica, California to Cleveland, The film concludes with stunning footage of Charles Lindbergh attending the air races (6 min)

- 1932 Nationals
1932, the year that James "Jimmy" Doolittle flew the GeeBee racing aircraft and won the Thompson Trophy at the National Air Races. The 1932 races were held in Cleveland Ohio August 27 to September 5. It was the height of the "plane craze" of American air racing. (25 min)

- Conquest of the Air
‘Conquest of the Air’ is a short film which follows around a Movietone newsreel cameraman on film assignments to capture various plane stunts and flights. (10 min)

- Scouring the Skies


- 1938 Pacific International
This silent film features both the 1938 Pacific International Air Races and the Cleveland National Air Races. (31 min)

- 1947 Nationals
This color film provides highlights of the 1947 Cleveland National Air Races. Movie stunt flyer Paul Mantz wins the trophy for the cross-country Bendix Trophy race. The Kendall Trophy Race is limited to P-51 aircraft of identical design. (19 min)