Michelin Cup

The Michelin Cup refers to a number of competitions sponsored by the French tyre manufacturer Michelin for long distance flight made in aeroplanes.

The first Michelin prize was announced in March 1908. The principal prize, to be awarded annually for an initial period of eight years, was a prize for long distance flight, and consisted of a bronze statue as a trophy (valued at 10,000 FF-French francs) and a money prize of 20,000 FF. The flying club of the winner also received a replica of the trophy if they did not already own one. Administration and determination of the exact conditions for each year were delegated to the Aéro-Club de France (AeCF). Attempts to win the prize could be made anywhere in the world where there was a flying club associated with the AeCF.

At the same time, Prix d'Aviation Michelin was a special prize of 100,000 francs offered for a flight by an aircraft carrying a passenger, taking off from either the department of Seine or Seine-et-Oise, flying over the Arc de Triomphe and the cathedral of Clermont-Ferrand, and landing on the summit of the 1,456 m (4,777 ft) Puy de Dôme inside six hours starting from the time at the Arc de Triomphe. This was won by Eugène Renaux on 7 March 1911, flying a Maurice Farman biplane.

In 1909, a second award, the British Empire Michelin Cup, was announced, for flights made by aviators who were citizens of the British Empire, flying aircraft of all-British manufacture. The original award therefore became known as the International Michelin Cup.

When the prizes were first instituted, 25 French francs were worth one pound Sterling.

Won by Wilbur Wright with a flight made on 31 December 1908 at Le Mans officially reckoned as 124.7 km (77.5 mi). The course over which the flight was made was an isosceles triangle with two sides of 1 km and a third of 200 m, totalling 2.2 km. The flight had to be made before sunset and only complete circuits counted. Wright took off at 2 pm and completed 56 circuits before sunset. He then landed, flying a further 1.5 km to set a new world distance record of 124.7 km.

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