Background
Following the Reims International Aviation Meet in 1909, enthusiasm for aviation began to increase in the United States. In
between meets in the South, Charles Willard and Roy Knabenshue discussed holding a meet in the winter, with Los Angeles being
a good choice for weather reasons. After receiving a promise of participation from Glenn Curtiss in New York, Knabenshue contacted
Dick Ferris, a Los Angeles athletic promoter and balloon enthusiast. Ferris gained the support of the local business community,
formed an organizing committee, and Curtiss and Willard out to Los Angeles to find a suitable location for the meet.
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