The great thing about the following group of fourteen images is that most of them (all but three) are airplanes for which I have data cards from the Smithsonian (see REFERENCES), but for which I lacked images. Wherever I have data I have placed it online and have linked the image to the pages (and vice versa) on this site that give the particular technical specifications and chains of custody for the airplanes. This group of images is a great addition to our knowledge and appreciation of some of the big transport aircraft that landed at Tucson during the Golden Age.

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Among this rank of Maddux Air Lines Fords, below, are three registration numbers of airplanes that visited Tucson: NC9639, NC7119, NC7582. Please refer to these links for information on dates, pilots and passengers aboard when these airplanes landed at Tucson.

Maddux Group

The information with his photo states that this image was taken at Grand Central Air Terminal, Glendale, CA in 1929. This is not the case, however, as pointed out by a site visitor who found the same photograph online at the University of Southern California Digital Collection (USC) at the link. He states that the photograph, "... was actually taken at Rogers Airport, just north of the Baldwin Hills on the west side of Crenshaw Blvd."

Referring to the USC photograph, which has a higher resolution than the one above, he states, "By zooming in the right side of that photo at USC, you can see "Sperl" on the back of a hangar at the Sperl Airdrome, which was the middle of the 5 airports along Crenshaw Blvd. there.  There are other landmarks in the other photos in the set, like the American field between Sperl and Rogers, and the big gas holder just northwest of Crenshaw and Exposition Blvds." Please direct your browser to the USC link, above, and explore the series of photographs using the USC high magnification utility.

He further states, "Since Grand Central Airport opened 2/22/29, that Maddux Group photo must have been taken very shortly before that; USC dates the photo 1929.  Also interesting about that Maddux Group photo is that it must be one of the few to show the 4th plane, NC-9636 [not a Register airplane], since it was to crash on 4/21/29 after being struck in midair by a stunt-flying army pilot."

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Below is another Maddux Air Lines Ford transport, NC1102. Please refer to the link for more information.

Ford NC1102

Written on this photo is: "Maddux in front of 1st terminal building at Burbank Glendale Airport May 1930.  1934 changed to Union Air Terminal.  Grand Central located in Glendale."

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Below are two nice images of Boeing NC233M. The images of this model 80A-1 are dated 1930; locations unknown.

Boeing NC233M

Boeing NC233M

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Below is NC243M, a Kreutzer K-5 Transport (S/N 110). It has three Kinner engines of 100 HP each. The location of the first image is unidentified; of the second, Portland, OR 1937. Looking at shadows and the taxiway in front of the airplane, however, suggests these images were taken at the same time and place.

NC243M, Kreutzer K-5 Transport

NC243M, a Kreutzer K-5 Transport

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Below, three wonderful images of Fokker F-VII NC3908 S/N 602 at work and at rest.

Fokker F-VII NC3908

Fokker F-VII NC3908

Fokker F-VII NC3908

The dates and locations of the first and second images are unknown. The third, above, was taken at Bettis Field, Pittsburgh, PA during March 1926 when the airplane was owned by Continental Motors. This image fills part of the gap alluded to by the Smithsonian data sheet (see the airplane's link, above) for this airplane. It belonged to Continental Motors just before being wrecked and sold to Western Air Express on February 2, 1928.

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NC432M is a big Stinson Model U (S/N 9000) trimotor airplane. The date and location of the image is noted on the original photograph as Newark, NJ during 1930.

NC432M Stinson Model U

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Below is an unusual action image of one of the biggest transport aircraft of the Golden Age. NC5614 is a Fokker F-10 Trimotor S/N 1003. It landed at Tucson June 22, 1928 flown by Thomas J. Fowler. Interestingly, it carried as VIP passengers Mr. & Mrs. Anthony Fokker. They were traveling eastbound from Los Angeles, CA to Chicago, IL. I don't know when it was purchased by Richfield Oil (1934?).

NC5614 Fokker F-10

Data on the image states: "Fokker F-10 “Tri-Motor”, 3 P&W R-1340 “Wasp” 420 HP each, NC5614 c/n 1003 1934
Richfield Oil Co.  Destroyed in a fire at Chicago 1935." Note the well-synchronized propellers in this image. If you assume engine rotation of about 1,800 RPM, and about 60-degrees of propeller arc subtended during the exposure, the photographer shot this image at about 1/180th of a second.

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NC586K Fokker F-10

NC586K is a Fokker F-10 that landed twice at Tucson. Written on the original photograph is, "Ex TWA plane at Grand Central, Glendale, CA 1933".

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NC8069 is a Bach 3-CT-8. It was equipped with one P&W Wasp, and two Wright R-760 engines. It landed at Tucson on July 27, 1929 flown by pilot Louis Goldsmith. He and his three passengers were southbound from Los Angeles, CA to Nogales, AZ. They remained overnight at Tucson and headed south to Nogales the next morning, which was a Sunday, at 9:15 AM.

NC8069 Bach 3-CT-8

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Below, NC9668 is a Ford 5-AT-B Trimotor. It was flown to Tucson May 18, 1929 by George Allen. He carried six passengers and they were headed westbound from El Paso, TX to Los Angeles, CA. Allen wrote in the Remarks column of the Register, "Maddux".

NC9668 Ford 5-AT-B Trimotor

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UPLOADED: 09/25/07 REVISED: 10/13/11, 01/04/14