Pennsylvania Fire

This aircraft is a Ryan B-1 Brougham, S/N 160 (ATC #25). It shares lineage with the “Spirit of St. Louis”, but was built during the following year. The B.F. Mahoney Aircraft Co., San Diego, CA manufactured it on 9/1/28. It was equipped with a 220 HP Wright J-5A Whirlwind engine, S/N B-9137. It weighed 3,300 pounds. It was sold on 10/12/28 to Capitol Airways, Inc. of Indianapolis, IN, “for air lines scheduled out of Indianapolis as base.”

The Brougham landed at Tucson a day after it was sold, on 10/13/1928, piloted by Sid Elmore. He carried no passengers, and was enroute from San Diego to St. Louis, MO. This was undoubtedly the ferry flight from the Ryan factory in San Diego.

Capitol Airways kept the airplane until 5/2/33 when they sold it to Benjamin S. Been of Burrows, IN. Three months later, with 183:30 hours flight time, he sold it to Clarence L. McElroy of Medaryville IN. It was re-covered and the log books were “lost” in 1935. It sold five more times up until 1937, moving from Indiana to New York to Pennsylvania.

The registration was canceled on 12/1/37 and, in Canadensis, PA on 7/19/38, it was, “destroyed by fire in a ground accident.”

UPLOADED: 07/24/05 REVISED: