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What happened in the Czech Aero Club race of 1923?
Short answer
In June 1923, five Aero A.18s contested the Czech Aero Club's first speed race, for the president's trophy. Josef Novák, Aero's chief pilot, won at 230 km/h in a specially modified A-18B. Captain Černý came second in a standard, unarmed A-18.
The June 1923 race
Five A-18s took part in June 1923 in the I. rychlostní letecký závod o cenu prezidenta republiky, the first air speed race for the trophy of the Czechoslovak Republic. It was also the first of the Czech Aero Club's annual races. It was won by Josef Novák, Aero's chief pilot, who reached 230 km/h with a version modified specifically for the event and designated A-18B. That average of 230 km/h was measured over a 200 km course. Second place went to a standard, unarmed A-18 flown by Captain Černý.
The 1924 rematch
For the second edition, Aero prepared another racing version, the A-18C. Novák won again, this time with an average of 263 km/h. The two racing aircraft, the A.18B and A.18C, thus won the Czech Aero Club's first two annual races, in 1923 and 1924. With the same aircraft, Novák also set an altitude record of 9,140 metres in 1924.
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