Society for Aviation History PO Box 7081, San Carlos CA 94070 · 2010 Special Summer Edition
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Vol.5 No. 4 Touch & Go July 2010 Society for Aviation History PO Box 7081, San Carlos CA 94070 · www.sfahistory.org 2010 Special Summer Edition USFS Aircraft 34 Butch O’Hare 6 Low Frequency Radio Sites 10 Chino Airshow Report 15 Roger Cain Air-to-Air 18 Was The USAAC Prepared for WW II? 28 Madera Warbird Gathering 33 Pima Air Museum 40 Free Aircraft Photos 47 President’s Message: Society for Aviation History Cha…cha…cha…CHANGES. Welcome to our expanded Summer Newsletter for 2010. Thanks to all who PO Box 7081 contributed to the issue and to editor Rick Pisio for putting it together. San Carlos CA 94070 Approaching summer, the board of directors has made a couple of changes that www.sfahistory.org you should be aware of. First, the society is now accepting PayPal for lunch reservations, dues renewals, Board of Directors and small cash donations. If you’re not familiar with the service, PayPal is a respected, President: safe, and secure way to send money from either your checking account or your credit Nick Veronico 650/593-7024 card, and the recipient does not see or have access to any of your financial information Vice President: (including credit card numbers). This also enables us to easily give refunds. Roger Cain 650/873-3996 Using the PayPal system is easy. Go to our website’s Educational Meetings page, find the next meeting write-up, select your entrée choice, add it to your shopping Secretary: cart, select your guests’ entrees, and then check out using PayPal. Alice Hendricks 415/334-4448 And although we have not announced that we’re now accepting PayPal, seven Treasurer: of our members (myself included) used the system to pay for the June luncheon. The Dan Morgan 408/257-7485 board of directors thought it might be an added convenience, and know those who use Directors: the system will find it easy. Thanks to Roger Cain and Betty Veronico for a couple of Norm Jukes 650/344-8810 long nights getting this set up. Rick Turner 408/559-3263 Society Phone Gela DePutter 408/578-1513 For nearly the last decade the society has maintained a phone number where Paul Schwafel 707/451-2616 members could call about dues, meetings, and membership questions. As technology Rick Pisio 925/314-0837 changes the world we live in, coupled with the fact that everyone on the board is work- ing during the day, a landline has essentially become obsolete. In addition, we are pay- Committees ing nearly $400 per month for the privilege of having a phone that we receive maybe Newsletter: two incoming calls per month. That said, the board of directors has elected to discon- Design/Editor: Rick Pisio tinue phone service. Staff: Nick Veronico & Roger Cain Don’t panic. To the right of this column you’ll see the newsletter’s shaded Photographers: masthead. This gives the phone number of every board member so you can call anyone Roger Cain & Paul Schwafel you need should you have a question. Website: Roger Cain Regarding upcoming SAH Educational Programs, should you need to add a person, change a meal, request a vegetarian meal, or anything else, please call or email Programs: Nick Veronico the program director, me, at: [email protected] • cell 650/483-6902 Tours: (volunteer needed) Note that it may take 24 hours for me to get back to you depending upon my Elections: Bruce Bengtson work and work travel schedule. Please be patient; your question will be addressed. Trivia: Bill Stubkjaer Have a bitchin’ Summer! With our successful June meeting behind us, the society takes a summer break Membership: Rick Turner for vacations. Our next board meeting will be in September, and our next educational Donation/Prizes: Lee Scales program, featuring member Andy Melomet, will be in October. Video: Roger Cain & — Nick Veronico Andy Melomet Past Presidents: Norm Jukes Blue Skies and Tailwinds Earl Holmquist (SAH 20) Board of Directors Meetings and Society Documents As a member you are welcome to attend the society’s Board of Directors meetings - check the calendar of events for meeting dates and Donations times. Minutes from those meetings are avail- able upon written request to the society's post office box. By-laws are posted on the website. The society often receives donations from its members for the SAH library or for Hard copies are available to members in good use as door/trivia prizes. Within the past few months, the following members have standing upon written request. Reproduction contributed: Joseph Noto (SAH 159), Bill Stubkjaer (SAH 27), Tom Johnson costs will be borne by the requesting member. A binder of current society documents are (SAH 135), Julia McClennon (SAH 196 )Robert Nishimura (SAH 124) brought to each general meeting for member 2 review. Table of Contents: Spirit of St. Louis Meeting Wrap-up………………….....4 Butch O’Hare…………………………………………....6 Low Frequency Radio Sites………………………….....10 Chino Airshow Report………………………………….15 Roger Cain Air to Air…………………………………...18 Was the USAAC prepared for World War II?..................28 Madera Warbird Gathering…………………………......33 United States Forest Service Aicraft……………….…...34 Pima Air Museum……………………………………....40 Free Aircraft Photos………………………………….....47 Remember to bring a friend to our meetings! On the Cover: Bell Model 209 Firewatch helicopter in flight over the Grass Valley Air Attack Base in Nevada County California. Photographed July, 2005 by Rick Pisio 3 Thank you veterans! Meeting Wrap-Up: June 5, 2010 The Real Story Behind the Spirit of St. Louis he Society for Aviation History held its June entation on an aviation film from the 1930’s. 2010 General Meeting on Saturday June 5th at The guest speaker was Chris Mahoney, PhD, T Francesco’s Restaurant in Oakland. Our guest the grandson of B. F. “Frank” Mahoney. For many speaker for this meeting was Chris Mahoney, PhD, years people have been told and it has been written, the grandson of Benjamin F. “Frank” Mahoney the that T. Claude Ryan was involved in the building the co-founder of Ryan Airlines and the company’s sole Spirit of St. Louis. This is mainly because he started owner when it built the Spirit of St. Louis. the company that built it, and that the company still President Nick Veronico called the meeting to carried his name. But also it is because Ryan never order and introduced the members of the Board, who tried to correct this misperception and in fact worked were present, to the members and guests. Robert very hard to perpetuate it. Miller, a new SAH member, was introduced and wel- On April 18, 1925, Benjamin Franklin Ma- comed to the group. President Veronico then an- honey purchased a half interest in the Ryan Flying nounced that PayPal is now available for paying dues, Company from its founder T. Claude Ryan for paying for meetings and for making donations to the $7,500. In 1925 Ryan was giving flying lessons and Society. The PayPal link is located on the member- taking passengers for site seeing rides in the San ship application page of the SAH website. Diego area. In addition, the Ryan Flying Co. was con- Our President had further announcements be- verting war surplus Standard J-1 trainers into four fore the meeting broke for lunch. The Society phone passenger site-seeing and charter aircraft. Ryan number will be disconnected as of July 1st. If mem- brought in Hawley Bowlus, who he had known from bers need to contact members the Board, their num- the Army, from the San Fernando Valley to do these bers are listed in the newsletter. It was announced conversions. that there would be a “Mothball Fleet” tour on July B. F. Mahoney was already a successful busi- 24th. The cost is $38 each and there are 32 seats nessman when still in his early twenties. Most of his available. Checks may be sent to the SAH for the fortune had been made as a bond salesman and he tour. It also was mentioned that the SAH now has a knew how to raise capital. Mahoney had taken flying Facebook page up and running. Additionally, the So- lessons from Claude Ryan and he saw that there were ciety is in need of a video camera to record our meet- more possibilities in aviation if you could just raise ings. the capital. After lunch Bill Stubkjaer presented his usual After Frank Mahoney bought his half owner- challenging trivia contest. This one was titled “T. ship of the Ryan Flying Company, he talked Ryan Claude’s Other Company” which was about aircraft into starting an airline making scheduled trips be- produced by the Ryan Aeronautical Co. The high tween San Diego and Los Angeles. Together Ryan score went to Robert Nishamura (SAH 124) and Rick and Mahoney founded the Los Angeles San Diego Pisio (SAH 146) who both got 13 of 14 correct! Next Air Line that came into being on March 1, 1925. This we had the drawing for door prizes put together by was the first “year-round” scheduled passenger airline Lee Scales and Ron Strong. in the world. The airline lasted eighteen months and Before President Nick Veronico introduced our had a “perfect” safety record. guest speaker he asked for a moment of silence in Claude Ryan and Frank Mahoney were very memory of long-time member Earl Holmquist (SAH different. Ryan was a very conservative “penny 20) who passed away on May 2nd. Earl grew up in pinching”, micro-managing businessman, whereas Oakland and was a neighbor of Bill Larkins who Frank Mahoney was quite literally a gambler. By “corrupted” him into being an avid aviation photogra- September of 1926 they were not losing money but pher.