Casey Lambert landed solo at Tucson. Although he didn't enter dates for his arrival or departure, they were, by Register context, sometime between April 12 and 14, 1932. He was flying the Travel Air NC12311. Based in St. Louis, MO, Lambert was westbound from El Paso, TX to Los Angeles, CA. His Travel Air is still flying. Please follow the airplane's link to learn more about its restoration and to see "then" and "now" images of it.

Below, courtesy of Tim Kalina, we see Lambert standing in front of another Register airplane, Lockheed Sirius 8A NC16W. He bought this airplane new in 1930 and flew it until 1932. Follow the airplane's link to see more images.

Casey Lambert with Lockheed Sirius NC16W (q.v.) (Source: Kalina)

Mr. Kalina says about the image, "Lambert is trying hard to look cool in that photo." Indeed, he looks a lot like the late Gonzo journalist Hunter Thompson.

Lambert also operated a yacht named "Flight." He appeared with it on an immigration form completed April 14, 1936. He was sailing with Floyd Bennett Field Register pilot J.Nelson Kelly. Please direct your browser to Kelly's link to see the immigration form.

This biographical article (PDF 1.4Mb) reprinted from the Lakeland (WI) Times of September 16, 1976 (cited, left sidebar, courtesy of site visitor Fritz Hennig), nicely summarizes Lambert's life. In the article you'll learn that he owned 27 aircraft during his flying life, and that he helped fund the first trans-Atlantic flight of Charles Lindbergh. In the article you'll find mention of Lambert's boathouse. It is pictured below as it is today.

Casey Lambert's Boathouse, 2012 (Source: Hennig)

The article also mentions President Dwight Eisenhower. Mr. Hennig provides this image of Ike and describes it,   "Retired general 'Ike' Eisenhower enjoyed skeet and fishing in Minocqua with his friends, and watched Islander baseball whenever the chance arose.  In this photo are, from left, Islander baseball pitcher Buddy Anderson, Dr. E. Henes, Jr., Ike, Brother Milton (hidden), A.O. Dorwin, and Howard Young. After his 1955 heart attack, Ike visited Howard Young at Minocqua, where he often swam for therapy.  Young had a special car built to carry Ike down to the water, as it would have been difficult for him to get there and back without it."

Dwight Eisenhower and Friends at Minoqua, Ca. 1948 (Source: Hennig)

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January 14, 2010 Update: Below, from a site visitor in St. Louis, MO, a photograph of Lambert at leisure. She also provides some interesting anecdotes which follow.

Our correspondent states the photograph is of , "... Casey while he was up at his place in Minocqua, skeet shooting." Lambert was president of the Minocqua Country Club, "... for many years and the guy who rescued it from bankruptcy.  He had a skeet range built there so he, Ike [buddy Dwight Eisenhower], and Howard Young [Elizabeth Taylor's uncle, see below] could take a few shots now and then."

Note the five shot shells on the ground. He appears to be enjoying a beer. Although the date of this image is unknown, the post-WWII Packard automobile in the background suggests late 1940s or early 1950s.

On September 10, 2012, site visitor Fritz Hennig identified the automobile as a, "..1948 Packard Standard Eight or Super Eight model, 22nd Series. It is difficult to tell the exact model or body style (nine were available) from the picture. The pair of fog/auxilliary lights on either side of the front bumper guards are a Packard accessory. Note that there is no front license plate, which is a clue as to what state is was registered in.  Some states require(d) only a rear license plate. Models and body styles available for 1948 -- Standard Eight, Club Sedan, Station Sedan, Touring Sedan. Super Eight:, Club Sedan, Touring Sedan, Convertible Victoria Coupe, Deluxe Sedan, Limousine, Limousine DeLuxe. 1948 and 1949 Packards were very similar, so some 1948s are titled as 1949 models, as both are identified as the 22nd Series, regardless of year of manufacture.  However, some 1949 body styles differed from 1948 models."

Casey Lambert, Date Unknown (Source: Site Visitor)

Our correspondent knew Lambert personally and states, "When I knew Casey I was in my teens (in the 1960s) and he was quite a bit older. I only heard bits and pieces of stories about him but he was quite a character. My family and I stayed with him at his summer estate on Lake Minocqua, in Wisconsin. My parents would also stay with him at his home in St. Thomas, VI. In the spring and fall he lived in a penthouse suite atop the Chase Park Plaza Hotel in St. Louis. His life reminds me of the book The Great Gatsby....

"My father was his attorney.... A story I remember about Casey was that when he was young he was flying into Lambert Field after dark. This was before Lambert Field had lights. He started to land and saw something, at the last minute, standing in the middle of the landing strip. Someone had been moving a house and when it got dark they had left it in the middle of the runway! Casey barely missed the house. After that they had lights installed for night landings."

Below, a photograph of Travel Air E-4000 NC402N, S/N 1333 shared by our correspondent. The airplane, as alleged by our correspondent , "... may have belonged to him". This is not a Register airplane. However, it is still registered with the FAA. I do not know if it is presently flying. Elsewhere in the Parks Airport Register there is an entry by a Stinson aircraft identified as NC402N. The number was probably entered wrong by the pilot.

Travel Air E-4000 NC402N, S/N 1333 (Source: Site Visitor)

Casey Lambert's Amphibious Automobile, May 5, 1963 (Source: Globe-Democrat)

Another of Lambert's interests is at left. An article in the St. Louis (MO) Globe-Democrat of May 5, 1963 describes his purchase and use of this amphibious automobile. The full text of the amphibious car article (22MB PDF) is available at the link. \

Another site visitor, as a young boy, had the pleasure of knowing Lambert and going for a ride in his car. He says, "The car was "pokey" in the water and the waves lapped pretty high up the sides of the doors--and so as a kid, I was not crazy about it. I did see the article on your site and it was fun to see the car--as I don't know if people always believe the story. I only saw a car like it once and that was around 1970 in my home town of Janesville, WI. I would like to know where that car is now...."

Amphibious cars were not Lambert's only interest. A hybrid of automobile and airplane also joined his stable in the mid-1950s. The racer below is discussed at the link.

The Lambert Engineering Special, Built Around a Rolls-Royce Merlin Engine (Source: Web)

Our site visitor says about this race car that Lambert, "... had to get special permission to drive it on Highway 51 north of town. He only drove it a couple times on the highway because the state, county, and local police had to clear the road for him. He later put the aircraft engine in a boat, but seldom drove it because it was too fast and the lakes too small." At the link above, you'll learn that the engine made its way back to the car and the car now is in a museum.

Lambert also owned a home in St. Thomas, V.I. He sold it in the early 1970s and the realty brochure was a work of art. The home was billed as a "Caribbean Castle for a Sea Lord." Indeed, it was large. Located on a half-acre at water's edge on a steep cliff, it had 11 rooms (5 bedrooms; 5 baths) and two servant's bedrooms with two baths. It had a 55 foot balcony "for a grandstand view," with an electric tramway/funicular down the cliff to the dock area. The dock adjoined a 75 ft. stone jetty with a man-made beach and night lighting. It was "terraced and planted with many tropical shrubs and trees. It was offered furnished and equipped for $310,000 (1970s dollars). Below, the color image from the brochure, followed by a contemporary Google Earth view of the location.

Lambert Caribbean Home, Ca. 1971 (Source: Site Visitor)

Below, the Google Earth view. Given 40 years of real estate development, Lambert's old home still enjoys its views and amenities. Although a row of condos and their parking lots have been built across the street very close to his property, it would be difficult to build anything between Lambert's home and his view. Note that the jetty is gone now, probably the victim of some storm. A kidney-shaped swimming pool has been added.

Lambert Caribbean Home, Ca. 2010 (Source: Google Earth)

Update of 02/21/12 From a site visitor, "I was just a little boy in shorts, but I rode in the water car on the lake--he took my brother and I out for a ride. At that time, he also had a pontoon plane in the same boat house. He also had pet (hardly domesticated) Timber wolves and a Mark 5 or 6 (I believe) deep sea diving helmet over the fireplace."

The boat house was called Bosacki's Boat House and was a busy operation at the lake during Lambert's later life there. Two other views are below, courtesy of our site visitor. Bosaki's was not the same boathouse that Casey owned, pictured at the top of the page. Bosaki's was a local hangout.

Bosacki's Boat House, Lake Minoqua, Ca. Mid-1950s (Source: Visitor)

Bosacki's Boat House, Lake Minoqua, Ca. Mid-1950s (Source: Visitor)

Bosacki's burned down in the '70s. It was rebuilt, but the new structure was nothing like the original, and it was no longer a boathouse.

Our correspondent continues, "Casey was never married ... a lifelong bachelor. The biography on 'Find a Grave' says he dated Elizabeth Taylor, but I never heard that. He was good friends with Taylor's great uncle, Howard Young. Young had a home on the Minocqua chain [of lakes] and was often a guest at Casey's for cocktails and dinner. One summer Elizabeth and her husband (I'm thinking it was Hilton at that time) came up to stay with Howard Young at his home on the lake. Young owned art galleries in Los Angeles, New York and Paris. He donated money to build the Howard Young Medical Center the main hospital in the Minocqua/Woodruff area. I believe that Casey died at that hospital in Minocqua."

Born April 2, 1909, Casey Lambert passed away October 3, 1976.

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THIS PAGE UPLOADED: 11/12/08 REVISED: 01/14/10, 03/09/10, 10/13/10, 11/21/12, 01/23/13

This page is Google rank #7 as of 10/13/10; #9 as of 02/21/12