Work Horse Rice Planter

This aircraft was a Waco 10 with original manufacturer’s serial number A-15. The Advance Aircraft Company, Troy, OH built it August 18, 1928. As a 3-place aircraft, it left the factory at 2,600 lbs. with a 200 HP Wright J-5 engine S/N 8953.

It was sold on September 5, 1928 to American Air Service Co. (Theodore Hull, President) of Los Angeles, CA for $8,024.75. It landed at Tucson on September 8, 1928 piloted by Tex Lagrone with Clayton J. Bruckner as passenger. Based in Oakland, CA, they were on their way west from El Paso, TX to Los Angeles. This was probably the ferry flight of this new airplane to its new owner in Los Angeles. American Air Service was probably a broker who managed the sale from the factory to Pacific Coast Air Service, below.

On September 23, 1928 the airplane sold to Pacific Coast Air Service Co. of Oakland, CA, “for fire patrol and demonstration, with navigation lights and special paint job.” There is no record of what the paint job looked like.

On July 16, 1929 it sold to Edward Lowe, Jr. of San Francisco, CA. It suffered an accident at Yreka, CA near the Oregon border on September 16, 1929. Pilot H.L. Blunt (transport license #3549) and passenger Mr. Cheseboro were uninjured. The airplane had damage to the landing gear, left wing and center section. It must have quickly been repaired, because on October 16, 1929 it suffered another accident at San Francisco, CA, this time with damage to the right lower wing, landing gear and prop. Student pilot Robert Marsh of San Francisco was uninjured.

It sold on April 17, 1930 to F.A. Gallison and F.F. Teoroin of Merced, CA, and so began its agricultural career, “for rice planting.” A dusting hopper, venturi and spreader were installed, and the registration was changed to “NR”, “restricted for rice sowing.”

NR7444 was used for agriculture more or less constantly for the next eight years and accumulated 2,871:50 flight hours up to March 19, 1937. It was involved in an unspecified accident northwest of Sacramento at Williams, CA on May 15, 1937. The registration was cancelled on October 1, 1937.

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UPLOADED: 07/24/05 REVISED: 09/02/15