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TRANSCONTINENTAL TRAVELER
This aircraft is a Pitcairn PCA-2 autogiro, S/N B-13 (ATC
#410), manufactured in May 1931 by Pitcairn Aircraft, Inc.,
Willow Grove, PA. It came from the factory with a Wright J-6
engine (S/N 12529) of 320HP. It was a three-place craft.
It was purchased on May 12, 1931 by John
McDonald Miller (shown above in the cockpit) of Poughkeepsie,
NY. For liability purposes, I suppose, he incorporated and
sold the airplane on May 14 to Giro Flyers, Ltd. of Poughkeepsie,
of which he was president.
He wasted no time and immediately prepared and flew the aircraft
cross-country from Poughkeepsie on the Hudson River in NY
to San Diego, CA. In fact, we find pilot Miller and his autogiro
in Tucson for the first time on May 28 at 10:09AM, just two
weeks after the ink dried on the original bill of sale. He
was westbound, enroute from El Paso, TX to Los Angeles, CA.
He made it to the west coast, being the first pilot to fly
an autogiro over that route. He remained on the west coast
for a few weeks, and on June 21, 1931 he again landed at Tucson
at 11:45AM and signed the Register. He was eastbound through
El Paso, TX.
At the 1932 National Air Races in Cleveland, pilot Miller
and the autogiro were nearing the end of a demonstration program
with a fellow show performer. The accident that occurred is
summarized on John Miller's webpage,
and won't be repeated here. The aircraft was repaired.
Miller sold the aircraft to John R. Hopkins of Stockbridge,
MA on July 20, 1934. He kept it for about two years, with
Miller hired to fly it. Hopkins sold it on May 16, 1936 to
Newman Brothers Flying Service, Inc., of Pine Brook, NJ. The
registration was changed to "NR", and the aircraft
was used for crop dusting and spraying. It sold twice more,
keeping the NR registration. It suffered a "hard landing"
on July 24, 1939. It was a hard landing, indeed, since repairs
included a new fuselage, new right wing, new rotor blades,
new ailerons, new elevators, new landing gear, new brake cables,
and the propeller was straightened.
It flew for just two more years. A CAA inquiry in 1940 yielded
no answer from the owner. The file on the airplane and the
registration were cancelled June 12, 1941. Does anyone know
what happened to this aircraft?
Below is the paperwork available from the NASM Archives on
this aircraft.
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Following is a three-view of the PCA-2:
UPLOADED: 01/16/06 REVISED: 07/05/06
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