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Aircraft Id Help Needed


JohnRatzenberger

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OK, it's not modeling, but it's aviation.

 

See 4 photos, in particulr the top one. All were taken in late 30's, the top specifically in Aug 1939.

What is this airplane -- it is a rather large 6-passenger biplane; note the fancy door in the side. I've searched the major manufacturers (Stinson, WACO, Bellanca, others) but to no avail - I didn't think it would be that hard. All the shots are partial nose, so I have no manufacturer labels, no NC number, etc. In the last photo, the diamond on the wheel spats is different, but the rest of the a/c looks about the same.

 

id-this-eames1.jpg

 

id-this-other1.jpg

 

id-this-other3.jpg

 

id-this-other2.jpg

 

2nd question. Are there are really good US civil/general aviation references covering the 'tween wars period? I find myself more & more having to look info from that era these days.

 

Thanks in advance.

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John:

 

Don't have an answer for you...but you may wish to contact the American Aviation Historical Society at: http://www.aahs-online.org/

 

AAHS, like IPMS/USA, is a non-profit run by volunteers, so their response can sometimes take a while and since they are only in "the office" on Wednesday afternoons.

 

They produce an excellent Journal and are now converting thier photo archives to digital to ease access.

 

In the mean time, I'll keep digging through my souces.

 

It could be that the four photos illustrate more then one aircraft of the same type. The engine appears to be a Wright engine.

 

Nat

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It looks an awful lot like a Stinson - as a matter of fact, I looks an awful lot like the model that appears on a book about the Stinson AC Co.

 

Stinson-Aircraft-Company.jpg

 

That's a starting point, at least

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Stinson R

 

Jim

 

Jim, Way to go :smiley32::smiley32::smiley32:

Thanks, that's exactly what it is. I thought the cockpit looked "stinson" as in the Model U but most of the places I looked are so focused on the Reliants they don't cover the R, W, U, etc ....

Great, now I can tell that kid in the 1st photo (now no longer a kid) what the real airplane was -- he insisted it was a Detroiter, which of course it isn't ...

Again, thanks ....

John

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John, It is a Stinson R. It first flew in the fall of 1931. On Jan. 25, 1932, Eddie Stinson was demonstrating it over Lake Michigan for a prospective buyer when it ran out of fuel. In attempting to land on a golf course, it struck a flag pole and crashed. Eddie Stinson walked away from the wreck with some broken ribs, walked into the hospital, collapsed and died without regaining consciousness. ( My diagnosis would be a ruptured spleen.)

 

The Model R was also built (total of five) with retractable landing gear and designated the R-3. The man on the cover of the book previously posted is Eddie Stinson.

 

Source: "The Stinsons" A pictorial history by John Underwood. Heritage Press. 1976. Pages 47-49.

Nick Filippone

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Additionally, the tall fellow in the middle of the group in your second photo and with the young woman in your fourth photo would seem to be designer/test pilot Robert L Hall. He designed Stinson Models O, L and SR-7 and won the speed event at the Cleveland Air Races ( year?) in a GB "Z." Nick Filippone

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Additionally, the tall fellow in the middle of the group in your second photo and with the young woman in your fourth photo would seem to be designer/test pilot Robert L Hall. He designed Stinson Models O, L and SR-7 and won the speed event at the Cleveland Air Races ( year?) in a GB "Z." Nick Filippone

 

Nick, I doubt it ... with the exception of the 1st photo, all these people were local Outer Bankers ... I'd have to be back at the museum to get their names (other than the 2nd photo and right of 3rd who was Dave Driskill our local aviation legend in the 30's & 40's) ...

 

John

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John, You are probably right. I was going by the general appearance and hair style, but I admit it is hard to tell in these old photos. Nick

 

Nick,

I'd be remiss in my responsibilities as historian and curator if I didn't follow up on my assertion.

 

The couple in the 4th photo are Mabel & James Basnight. The man in the family photo is Paul Green, who wrote our long-running and famous outdoor play "The Lost Colony" (Don't ask a local for directions, we already lost a colony...)

 

John

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