OTHER RESOURCES
Some of this information comes from the listings of Non-Prefixed and Non-Suffixed aircraft reviewed by me in the archives of the National Air & Space Museum (NASM), Washington, DC.
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THANK YOU!
YOUR PURCHASE OF THESE BOOKS SUPPORTS THE WEB SITES THAT BRING TO YOU THE HISTORY BEHIND OLD AIRFIELD REGISTERS
Your copy of the Davis-Monthan Airfield Register 1925-1936 with all the pilots' signatures and helpful cross-references to pilots and their aircraft is available at the link. 375 pages with black & white photographs and extensive tables
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The Congress of Ghosts (available as eBook) is an anniversary celebration for 2010. It is an historical biography, that celebrates the 5th year online of www.dmairfield.org and the 10th year of effort on the project dedicated to analyze and exhibit the history embodied in the Register of the Davis-Monthan Airfield, Tucson, AZ. This book includes over thirty people, aircraft and events that swirled through Tucson between 1925 and 1936. It includes across 277 pages previously unpublished photographs and texts, and facsimiles of personal letters, diaries and military orders. Order your copy at the link.
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Military Aircraft of the Davis Monthan Register 1925-1936 is available at the link. This book describes and illustrates with black & white photographs the majority of military aircraft that landed at the Davis-Monthan Airfield between 1925 and 1936. The book includes biographies of some of the pilots who flew the aircraft to Tucson as well as extensive listings of all the pilots and airplanes. Use this FORM to order a copy signed by the author, while supplies last.
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Art Goebel's Own Story by Art Goebel (edited by G.W. Hyatt) is written in language that expands for us his life as a Golden Age aviation entrepreneur, who used his aviation exploits to build a business around his passion. Available as a free download at the link.
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Winners' Viewpoints: The Great 1927 Trans-Pacific Dole Race (available as eBook) is available at the link. This book describes and illustrates with black & white photographs the majority of military aircraft that landed at the Davis-Monthan Airfield between 1925 and 1936. The book includes biographies of some of the pilots who flew the aircraft to Tucson as well as extensive listings of all the pilots and airplanes. Use this FORM to order a copy signed by the author, while supplies last.
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Clover Field: The first Century of Aviation in the Golden State (available in paperback) With the 100th anniversary in 2017 of the use of Clover Field as a place to land aircraft in Santa Monica, this book celebrates that use by exploring some of the people and aircraft that made the airport great. 281 pages, black & white photographs.
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I'm looking for information and photographs of this airplane and pilot Monday to include on this page. If you have some you'd like to share, please click this FORM to contact me.
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LOCKHEED VEGA 5 NC47M
This airplane is a Lockheed Vega model 5, S/N 99, manufactured by the Lockheed Aircraft Company, Burbank, CA on September 9, 1929. It was a five passenger, closed, high-wing monoplane. It left the factory with a Pratt & Whitney Wasp C engine (S/N 1925) of 450HP.
NC47M visited once at Peterson Field. It was flown to a landing by William A. Monday on Saturday, August 9, 1930 at 10:50AM. He carried a single, unidentified passenger. They were inbound from Los Angeles, CA, but did not cite a destination or home base. Their airplane was barely a year old.
The owner of the airplane was identified as Detroit Aircraft Corporation. Monday noted in the remarks column of the Register, "Air Meet" suggesting he was going to or returning from a meet, or participating in one when he landed at Colorado Springs. I have no information on which air meet it might have been. I checked the Aircraft Yearbook for 1931 (which reported on aviation events for 1930) and found no mention of Monday or the airplane.
The Detroit Aircraft Corporation was a holding company that owned the majority of Lockheed company stock. Significant among others of its holdings was Ryan Aircraft and Parks Air College. With that background, when the Great Depression began and the value of its holdings fell, Detroit Aircraft went into receivership. Among the assets sold was NC47M, which, according to its NASM record (top left sidebar), was purchased by the Julian Oil Company, Oklahoma City, OK sometime during "1929-1930."
In 1931 it was rebuilt at the factory to seven passenger configuration and became a Vega 5C. It then sold to Midland Air Express, Kansas City, KS on June 2, 1931. A few months later it suffered an accident at Cheyenne, WY on September 1, 1931. It had damage to the landing gear, fuselage bulkheads and motor mount. It was repaired and sold to Philip H. Philbin. Philbin was with the Air Express Corporation, whose address was recorded as the Ambassador Hotel, New York, NY.
Under Philbin's ownership and Air Express operation, NC47M suffered another accident at Livingston Manor, NY on December 9, 1932. This was an extensive, and probably expensive accident. The NASM record states the, "Plywood on left wing split, top front broken, wheel fairings and engine damage. Overhauled and rebuilt at Detroit, Mich. as of 10/32 [this date conflicts with the date of the accident; probably a tramscription error], using wing of c/n [serial number] 107 (NC538M). Modified to cargo carrier with High-Speed wire landing gear."
On December 20, 1932 (note, just eleven days after the accident documented above), the airplane was transferred to the Air Express Corporation (was Philbin hoping to let his company pay for repairs, rather than bearing the expense personally?). Regardless, on July 28, 1933 NC47M was sold to Alaska Air Express (Transport?), Inc. of Seattle, WA.
About a year later, the NASM record documents a "Marshal's Sale" of the airplane to Northwest Air Service of Seattle. The date was believed to be 1934. It underwent a "complete rebuild" as of March, 1936, maintained the Vega 5C model designation, put on floats and painted white.
On September 15, 1936, NC47M was sold to Alaska Air Transport, Inc. of Juneau, AK. It was was licensed through June 1, 1939, and identified with the name "Nugget." Below, from Alaska's Digital Archive (ADA), is a photograph of NC47M while it was owned and operated by Alaska Air Transport. "Nugget" can be seen lettered on the fuselage just below the pilot's side window.
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On January 26, 1942 NC47M was sold to Alaska Coastal Airlines of Juneau. It was painted dark blue with yellow trim. Below, another color (!) profile image of NC47M courtesy of the link. Whereas the livery in the photograph above identifies the airplane as flying for Alaska Air Transport, Inc., the one below wears the livery of Alaska Coastal Airlines.
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The text at the link states, "The fleet colors consisted of a blue fuselage with yellow stripes. Yellow on top of the wings and tail. Yellow would show up good in the timber, and the blue would show up in the snow in case of a crash."
And crash it did. A decade and a half later, on January 15, 1958, NC47M suffered its final accident at Tenakee, AK. Pilot Fred B. Sheldon was killed and two passengers were injured. The accident was due to a forced landing caused by fuel exhaustion.
NC47M was also signed once in the Parks Airport Register on Monday, February 23, 1931 at 3:00PM. Vance Breese was the pilot.
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