Sold Into Mexico

This aircraft is a Buhl CA-6 Air Sedan S/N 60 (ATC #128) built in October 29 by Buhl Aircraft Company, Marysville, MI. It had a 300 HP Wright J-6 R-975A engine, S/N A-10629. It weighed 4,200 pounds and left the factory as a six-place airplane.

In the same month, it sold to Wirt Franklin Petroleum Corp. & Cromwell-Franklin Oil Co. & Wirt Franklin of Oklahoma City, OK. There is no record of its custody with these owners. It was sold on 10/20/30 to Clarence A. Trump of Tulsa, OK, then to Trump Airways on 12/28/30.

We fund 8448 at Tucson on 1/22/1931 piloted by C.A. Trump carrying Tom and Mary Wheatley as passengers. They had arrived from El Paso, TX westbound for Los Angeles, CA. They noted in the remarks section of the Register, “Good airport.” There is no indication in the Register that this flight might have been an airlines flight. If it was, the airplane was only 1/3 full.

On 6/11/32, the airplane went to Claremore, OK with Claremore Airlines, Inc. It had accumulated 179:40 flight hours. It was repossessed a couple of years later by the lien holder, Spartan School of Aeronautics, Inc., who transferred it on 1/25/34 to Spartan Aircraft Company, Tulsa, OK. It had accumulated 894:00 flight hours.

A new owner as of 3/19/34, W.G. Green of Tulsa, installed a 25 pound radio on 7/22/34. He also had the airplane “overhauled” (no details) and completely re-covered (with 937:00 flight hours).

The airplane then moved east via owners in St. Louis, MO, Pittsburgh, PA (Central Airlines, Inc. at the Allegheny County Airport) and Detroit, MI. It was sold finally on 7/20/36 to J. Hans Mattes of Puebla, Mexico. On 2/23/37 it was ferried from Detroit to Mexico under Mexican registration XA-BIA. It was flown by Harry W. McGee (transport license #1058) with the itinerary of Detroit, Evansville, IN, Little Rock, AR, Dallas and Brownsville, TX, and on to Mexico. The U.S. registration was cancelled on 2/24/37.

UPLOADED: 08/05/05 REVISED: