C.W. Gilpin first piloted an airplane in 1913 after teaching himself to fly. He was known throughout the southwest during the early 1920s. He taught flying at San Luis Obispo, and flew aircraft at Clover Field, Santa Monica, CA. Below, he flies an airplane from the Montee family stable at Clover Field (see news article, just below).

Gilpin in Montee Ship at Clover Field

Gilpin in Montee Ship at Clover Field, Back

The Montees operated a flight school for years at Clover Field. Register pilot Jim Granger was another flier influenced by the Montees.

At left, an article from the "Off We Go!" aviation notes section from the Manchester Enterprise, Manchester, MI of October 24, 1946. It provides a sparse background on the Montees. Surprisingly, the Montees do not have a strong Web presence.

Several images of a "cabin" airplane, " built" by Gilpin, are among the items shared with us by C.B. Gilpin (cited, right sidebar). Gilpin's first six landings at Tucson between November 1926 and May 1927 were in an airplane he identified simply as a "cabin" or "cabin cruiser". Sometimes he listed it as number "24". I do not know what the "24" meant.

To "build" his airplane, he modified a common, open seating airplane into a cabin model by steaming and bending plywood sheets to fit over the passenger cockpit area in front of the pilot. Passengers did not have to wear leather helmets and goggles to ride in the cabin. His first Register entries at Tucson are probably referring to his "cabin" airplane pictured below. Gilpin stands alongside.

"Cabin" Plane Built by C.W. Gilpin, Date Unknown

Gilpin worked for Pickwick Airways between 1929 and 1930. Below, the Register airplane Fairchild NC9114 in Pickwick Livery.

Fairchild NC9114, Date Unknown

A Bach trimotor, NC8069, was also flown by Pickwick. It was owned and flown later by Gilpin, perhaps being purchased by him after Pickwick went out of business. Below, the airplane with Gilpin standing in front of it, engines running. Exact date and location unknown. The hat he is wearing could be his Pickwick Airways uniform cap.

Bach NC8069

Below, the back side of the image above. I don't know what the arithmetic ciphers are about, but it was pretty high finance for the day. The manufacturer and namesake of this airplane, Morton M. Bach, flew into Tucson earlier on Thursday, February 18, 1926.

Bach NC8069, Data

Below, the Bach with unidentified people. This airplane is signed into the Register. It landed at Tucson Saturday July 27, 1929. It was flown by Louis Goldsmith, carrying Hy Sheridan, William Schoengelt and Ernie Farkis as passengers. Based in Los Angeles, CA, they passed through Tucson southbound to Douglas, AZ. No purpose was given in the Register for their flight.

Unidentified People with NC8069

NC8069 was an early Gilpin Air Lines craft. Although the date of this image is unknown, it is probably after 1930. This is a picture postcard advertising the Air Line.

NC8069 at Grand Central Air Terminal, Date Unknown

Below, the back of the image above. The airplane number in the annotation is in error. The registration number on the image above is clear under 10X magnification.

NC8069 at Grand Central Air Terminal, Date Unknown, Back

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UPLOADED: August, 2008 REVISED: