The deadliness of the Dole Air Race was caused not only by the dangers of flying to Hawaii, but also by the participation of hurriedly built, barely tested aircraft. Most were conventional enough in configuration, but the M-1 by Leland Bryant, an architect, was a push-pull with two Bristol Lucifer engines and side-by-side seating by the looks of it. It was built here at Vail Field near LA - note the Douglas M-2 mailplane of Western Air Express. The photo is thought to have been taken in July 1927. On 12 August, four days before the postponed start of the race, the M-1, named Angel of Los Angeles, crashed on a test flight. The British pilot, Arthur Rogers, was killed. Photo from: San Diego Air & Space Museum

Surplus at Vail Field, California. These were also license-built by Bellanca and Douglas for the war training effort, but this is a Fairchild-built example.