in the preliminary "On to Dayton" event, flying his own Yackey Sport, and Hans Hoyt finishing forth in another Yackey Sport entered into the event. On the second day, he was in 6th standing for the Central Labour Union Trophy. It was after this time that Yackey started to focus more on building airplanes of his own design. In 1925 Yackey would enter his primary design, the Yackey Sport, in the inaugural Ford National Reliability Air Tour, a 10-city tour of the Midwest to promote the safety and reliability of civilian passenger airline transport. Flown by assistant manager Walter J. Addams, the plane received a perfect score in all categories, earning Addams and Yackey a $350 prize. Yackey returned to the 1927 National Air Derby, commencing in New York City, New York on September 20 and concluding in Spokane, Washington on September 21. Pilot E. Lee Hamilton and passenger Ed "Rusty" Campbell, flying a Yackey Monoplane placed fifth, winning a $500 prize. It would be in this exact plane that Tony Yackey's life would end just a few weeks later. Yackey also showcased a second Yackey Monoplane at the event through various other races over the next week. Checkerboard Aviation Field Checkerboard Aviation Field was established in 1918 by retailer Decker & Cohn for transport of their Society Brand clothing line to other nearby cities. The planes were decorated with the company name and notable checkerboard logo, hence the name of the field. A few years later, the City of Chicago would force all airline traffic out of the city after several notable airline accidents, allowing Checkerboard to become one of the major airline destinations into and out of the city, as well as a destination for the new US Air Mail service. Tony Yackey would first become associated with Checkerboard Aviation Field during his final months as a pilot for the US Air Mail Service in 1922. After he left the service, Yackey moved into the Maywood area and operated a flight training school, renting out planes for joy rides, and staging stunt plane performances and air shows. After the US government built a larger air mail facility across the road in 1923, Checkerboard Aviation Field would lose its air mail contracts. In 1924, operator David Behncke would sell the field to Yackey and return to a commission in the US Army. To make up for revenue from the