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Registration Number NC8445
Flown By Racer And Record Setter
This aircraft is a Stinson S (Junior?), manufacturer’s
serial number 8007 (ATC #423). It was manufactured May 1931
by Stinson Aircraft Corporation, Wayne, MI. It left the factory
with a 215 HP Lycoming R-680 engine, S/N 532. As a four-place
aircraft, it weighed 3,265 pounds. It landed five times at
Tucson.
It was sold on May 29, 1931 to Stinson-California Co., United
Airport, Burbank, CA, who sold it on July 14, 1931 to Edith
Boydston Clark of Los Angeles. A quick Google
of Ms. Clark brought up a 1936 lawsuit brought to her by her
sister, which is irrelevant to this discussion.
We first see NC8455 at Davis-Monthan Airfield between August 21
and August 23, 1931 piloted by Pete Rinehart (see this link
for a picture of him) and this
one for a contemporary Time Magazine article) carrying
Ms. Clark as passenger. They were westbound from Marfa, TX
to Los Angeles. The second visit by the airplane was on September 11, 1931
piloted again by Rinehart carrying two unidentified passengers.
They were westbound from Roswell, NM to Los Angeles.
Clark sold the airplane on September 25, 1931 to Roland B. "Pete" Rinehart of Clover
Field, Santa Monica, CA with 290 flight hours. The third
visit to Tucson was on November 12, 1931, again piloted by Pete Rinehart
carrying two passengers, Pop Ludwig and C. Towns. They were
eastbound from Yuma, AZ to El Paso, TX. Rinehart’s fourth
landing with the airplane was between March 14 and March 16, 1932. He
was solo on that flight eastbound from Clover Field to El
Paso, TX.
Pete Rinehart sold the airplane back to Ms. Clark on April 22, 1932.
She sold it to the Pacific School of Aviation (James E. Granger,
President; Mrs. E.B. Clark, Secretary-Treasurer), Clover Field,
Santa Monica, CA on January 20, 1933. It had accumulated 499 flight
hours up to July 30, 1933.
It landed at Tucson for the last time on September 4, 1932 piloted
by Clema
Granger, a well-known air race pilot and wife of James
E. She carried Ms. Clark as passenger. They were westbound
from El Paso to Los Angeles.
Pacific replaced the wiring as of August 20, 1934, performed some
re-covering and installed 8.5 x 10 semi-balloon tires. They
sold it to J. Everett Weddle at Metro
Airport on June 6, 1935 with 806:15 total flight hours. Weddle
sold it to Aubrey Westinghouse of Glendale, CA. Pilot Westinghouse
(private license #31697) got into an accident at Ojai, CA
on March 13, 1936. Damage to three spars, ribs and lift struts, one
side of landing gear and propeller. No mention of pilot injuries.
It moved to Alaska with two owners and suffered another accident
at Slippery Creek, AK on July 2, 1937. No details given. On August 15, 1938
it moved back to the lower 48 with new owners in Minneapolis,
MN. They did not present the airplane for inspection, and
the airplane was apparently not repaired after the Alaska
accident. Registration was cancelled as of July 2, 1937.
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UPLOADED: 07/28/05 REVISED: 06/12/09, 07/20/11
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