Mister Mulligan

Mister Mulligan Replica

Cool airplane from the glorious 1930's. 

Airworthy replica of the sole 1934-built Howard DGA-6 racing cabin monoplane which won the 1935 Bendix trophy. [The original] was damaged beyond repair in a forced landing during the 1936 race. The replica, powered by a P&W R1340, was built in 1985 by R. Younkin and is painted to closely represent the original. - Air History

In the 1935 Bendix race the aircraft was loaded with 300 gallons of gasoline, 30 gallons of oil and oxygen equipment for two, giving it the ability to fly for seven hours at 22,000 feet (6,700 m). At that load the aircraft required 1,500 feet (460 m) of runway and had an initial climb rate of close to 2000 ft/min. - Wikipedia Howard DGA-6

The second-place plane in the 1935 race was actually a faster airplane but had to make refueling stops, which cost enough time to prevent Roscoe Turner from winning the race. The time difference was only 23.5 seconds between first and second place. The winning difference in speed, over the total distance was less than 0.2 mph (0.32 km/h). Mister Mulligan achieved 238.70 mph (384.15 km/h), compared to Roscoe Turner's 238.52 mph (383.86 km/h). - Wikipedia Bendix Trophy

The Bendix Trophy is quite the work of art: 

Bendix Trophy

The trophy is big, as this picture illustrates:

Louise Thaden with the Bendix Trophy. (Tom Sande, AP)

4 September 1936: Louise Thaden was the first woman to win the Bendix Trophy Race when she and her co-pilot, Blanche Noyes, flew a Beechcraft C17R “Staggerwing,” NR15835, from Floyd Bennett Field, Brooklyn, New York, to Mines Field, Los Angeles, California, in 14 hours, 55 minutes, 1.0 seconds. With one fuel stop at Wichita, Kansas, Thaden and Noyes had averaged 165.35 miles per hour (266.11 kilometers per hour) - This Day In Aviation

The difference in speed between the 1935 and 1936 Bendix Trophy Races might be because of head winds. The 1935 race was from Los Angeles to Cleveland (West to East) and the 1936 race was from New York to Los Angeles (East to West).