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.
---o0o---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 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
---o0o---
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 It includes across 277 pages previously unpublished photographs and texts, and facsimiles of personal letters, diaries and military orders.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.
---o0o---
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.
---o0o---
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.
---o0o---
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.
---o0o---
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.
---o0o---
YOU CAN HELP
I'm looking for information and photographs of this airplane to include on this page. If you have some you'd like to share, please click this FORM to contact me.
---o0o---
SPONSORED LINKS
PLEASE HELP KEEP THESE WEB SITES ONLINE
FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE
You may NOW donate via PAYPAL by clicking the "Donate" icon below and using your credit card. You may use your card or your PAYPAL account. You are not required to have a PAYPAL account to donate.
Or you can scan the QR code below with your mobile device and be linked to your PayPal app.
 |
|---|
Either way, when your donation clears the PAYPAL system, a certified receipt from Delta Mike Airfield, Inc. will be emailed to you for your tax purposes.
---o0o---
ARROW SPORT NC621
NC621 landed twice at Clover Field, first on Thursday, May 2, 1929 at 3:00PM. It was flown both times by Joe Lewis. He was solo on a round-robin flight to and from Long Beach, CA. No reason was given for this flight. Please direct your browser to Mr. Lewis' biography page to learn about this accomplished aviator. NC621 is exclusively a Clover Field airplane; it is not signed in any of the other Registers of the Delta Mike Airfield suite of Web sites.
NC621, S/N 315, was manufactured on March 19, 1929 by the Arrow Aircraft & Motors Corporation, Havelock, NB. It was a model A2-60 and left the factory with a 60HP LeBlond radial engine, S/N 5-D-345. It was a two-place, side-by-side airplane, weighing 1,270 pounds gross. It sold initially to Joe Lewis, who was based at Long Beach. Lewis paid $2,945 for the airplane and engine. Below is an example of the model. It is not NC621. This image is from this REFERENCE, volume 2, page 45. If you have photographs of NC621, please let me KNOW.
 |
The Arrow Sport was a robust airplane with wide landing gear for stability on the ground. Its wings were cantilever and were supported only by the center section and N-struts visible in the photograph above; there were no external wires. Its cruise airspeed was 82MPH. It held 16 gallons of fuel that it sipped at 4.5 gallons/hour for a range of about 280± miles.
The second visit at Santa Monica was on Friday, May 17, 1929 3:30PM. Lewis appeared to be on the same itinerary, and no reason was given for the flight. He carried one unidentified passenger. Perhaps this was a sales demonstration flight for Mr. Lay, below.
The NASM documentation for the airplane (left sidebar, top) states that Lewis sold NC621 to Donald D. Lay of Long Beach on June 13, 1929 for $2,916, nearly the price he paid for it. Six months later Lay sold it to Royal Edward Behrens of Los Angeles for an unspecified price. It suffered an accident at Inglewood, CA under Behrens' ownership on May 8, 1930.
It was a substantial accident, requiring a new fuselage front section, and two new wings from the factory. Goodyear Airwheels were installed (fat tires for landing on rough surfaces). This was an unapproved alteration, but it was allowed and the airplane was returned to flight as of April 4, 1932, almost two years since the accident that grounded it.
It was sold twice more through December, 1934. On January 25, 1935, it was "nearly washed out" in an accident near San Luis Obispo, CA. It was sold three weeks later, apparently as a wrecked airplane, to Elva Monroe and Arthur Madonna of San Luis Obispo. It then sold three more times up to November 10, 1936, including to the Ryan School of Aeronautics in San Diego.
It was purchased that day by Thomas P. Fredericks and Arthur N. Ennis of Carlsbad, CA. They owned it through 1943. In 1938 they placed their airplane under major overhaul, with new fabric covering performed at San Diego State College. A new upper wing and landing gear were installed and it was test flown satisfactorily on August 25, 1939.
On August 21, 1943 they sold it to an individual with a student license in San Gabriel, CA. He kept NC621 for six months and sold it to James H. Saige and Andy R. York of Santa Rita, NM. They had the entire aircraft "rejuvenated." "Rejuvenated" is a term used to describe the reconditioning of the doped surfaces of fabric-covered aircraft. Rejuvenator solution, a solvent, adds fresh plasticizers to old, brittle dope coatings. It restores flexibility and suppleness to dope finishes that are cracking or losing adhesion. It softens and slightly flows old coatings to allow hairline cracks to close and fill. It is a bandaid approach to extending the life of a paint job.
The final disposition of NC621 is a mystery. The NASM record suggests a sale to two individuals in Phoenix, AZ. The sale was reported in process, but no papers were submitted to support a sale. The final disposition from the Department of Transportation was, "No answers to queries to either of last two owners. [License] cancelled 3/28/48."
NC621 is no longer a registered entity with the FAA, and it probably no longer exists as an airframe. The modern registration number N621, however, is currently assigned to a 1955 Piper PA-16 flying in Texas.
---o0o---
SPONSORED LINKS
THIS PAGE UPLOADED: 06/25/15 REVISED: