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"J.T. Tripp" is Juan Terry Trippe, aviator and founder of Pan American Airways ("Pan Am"), one of the great (and now gone) US airlines. Trippe left Yale to train as a Naval Aviator during World War I, but the war ended before he'd have a chance to fly in combat. After the war he returned to Yale, where he graduated in 1921. See: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Trippe en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan_American_World_Airways His co-pilot is former Army Air Service aviator, George Willard Horne ("G. Willard Horne"), also attending Yale (Class of '21) post-war. See: archives.yalealumnimagazine.com/issues/99_05/old_yale.html books.google.com/books?id=xjM6AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA944&l... Trippe and Horne flew for Yale in the collegiate aerial races at Mitchel Field, Long Island, winning the 25-mile cross-country flight race on May 7, 1920. The race is reported in The Outlook, Vol. 125, May 19, 1920, "The First Collegiate Aerial Races," Pages 103-104, where there is also a contemporaneous photo of them at the time. See: books.google.com/books?id=IQY-AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA104&l... The race and competitors are further detailed in Aircraft Journal, "Collegiate Flying Competition at Mineola," Vol. VI, No. 19, May 10, 1920, Pages 5-6. books.google.com/books?id=ssg_AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA54&lp... The aircraft Trippe and Horne flew in the race, wearing Army Air Service serial number A.S. 45246, is a Curtiss Jenny variant (Curtiss JN-6HG-1). See: www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1908-1920.html

1920 Collegiate Air Races www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q41676997

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_aerial_circumnavigation

September 8, 1924, Lt. Lowell H. Smith (in front cockpit) and 1st Lt. Les Arnold (standing adjacent to the rear cockpit) with Douglas World Cruiser "Chicago" (Air Service Serial No. A.S. 1230) have just arrived at Mitchel Field, Long Island, NY, as Chief of the Air Service, Maj. Gen. Mason Patrick (back to camera) looks on.

Mitchel Field and the adjacent Meadow Brook Polo Club (Meadowbrook Polo Club) at center. After World War II, the polo club grounds would give way to the Meadowbrook Parkway and later, the main tower for Nassau Community College. See: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meadowbrook_Polo_Club en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meadowbrook_State_Parkway en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nassau_Community_College