The Hearst prize was a $50,000 (approximately $1,635,000 today) aviationprize offered by publisher William Randolph Hearst in October 1910 to the first aviator to fly coast to coast across the United States, in either direction, in fewer than 30 days from start to finish. The prize expired in November 1911 without a winner.[1]
Calbraith Perry Rodgers tried to win it, having started too late, but did complete the flight in 49 days, including several crash landings and maintenance delays.[1]
^"Flier, Seeking to Reach San Francisco, Lands at Calicoon Late in the Afternoon". New York Times. September 15, 1911. Retrieved 2010-11-25. James J. Ward, who left New York for San Francisco Wednesday, flying for the W.R. Hearst $50,000 prize for a transcontinental flight, reached Callicoon, N.Y., a few miles from here, at 4:35 o'clock this afternoon. He covered 59 1-10 miles in 57 minutes, having left Middletown, N.Y., at 3:38 o'clock.