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Wow, what it would have been like to be there! These aircraft are parked and ready to depart on the National Air Tour Competition for the Edsel B. Ford Reliability Trophy of 1930. You can easily see the Cessna AW, C-9092, tour number 21 in the lower front. Behind the Cessna is Nancy Hopkins' Viking Kitty Hawk B4, NC30V, tour number 22. Can you identify the airplane in the immediate foreground? It's a 1930 American Eaglet B-31, registration 458V, not a contestant but one of the Official Tour Planes. For more help identifying tour aircaft, go the aircraft listings in the back of the "Ford Air Tours" book here on this web site.
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Can you pick out the source of inspiration for the National Air Tour logo? An unknown gent stands in front of a beautiful Ford tri-motor ready for the 1930 tour.
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OK, here is another 1930 shot taken at the Ford Airport prior to the tour's departure. Can you identify some of the airplanes? Here are some by tour number: #3 a Travel Air 6B (a/k/a 6000) NC-452N, #4 Waco CRG NC-660Y, #8 Ken-Royce 2000 NC-400V, #9 Curtiss Kingbird NC-589N, #13 Bellanca PM300 C-257M, and #14 Bellanca CH300 C-874M. Ford Airport is now the Ford Motor Company proving grounds, the Dearborn Inn can be seen in the background.
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Sikorsky flying boat, 1930 National Air Tour number 19, registration number NC-883K, departs at the starting flag. Flown by pilot George Meissner this was the only amphibious aircraft to fly in any of the tours. It averaged 94.8 m.p.h. over the 4,814 mile 1930 course. Dick Jackson of New Hampshire, is now finishing the restoration of his Sikorsky S-39 which he plans to bring on the National Air Tour - 2003!
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Who in 1931 would have guessed that some aircraft might one day be able to take off and land straight up and down? Of the hundreds of thousands who watched the '31 tour, some may have imagined it, for the autogiro came very close. This Pitcairn autogiro, model PCA-2, NC-11609, belonged to the Champion Spark Plug Company and was a huge hit on the tour. It was an accompanying aircraft on the tour and was flown by Lon Yancey.
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Page 6
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