ACCIDENT PRONE MOST OF ITS LIFE

Monosport NC113K (ATC #250; S/N 2006) landed twice at Tucson, on March 7 and 14, 1930. It was one of seven of its type built by Mono Aircraft Corporation at Moline, IL with leadership by then President Donald Luscombe. The airplane was built August 19, 1929. It came from the factory equipped with a Kinner K-5 engine (S/N 667) of 90HP.

Model 2's cost $5,750 at the factory, later reduced to $4,250 in May of 1930 as the Great Depression took hold. Our airplane was sold on August 20, 1929 to the Kinner Airplane and Motor Company originally rigged and intended for racing (and perhaps registered "NX" or "NR"). From the NASM record, it doesn't seem it was raced initially, as its status changed to NC113K on November 4, 1929. But, see below where it was raced in the Miami to Cleveland Air Derby held in 1929.

NC113K was flown to Tucson by two different pilots, C.A. Burrows and Bob Starkey. Burrows flew the airplane westbound with his wife as passenger through Tucson to Los Angeles, CA on March 7, 1930. Starkey brought it back east from Yuma to Lordsburg, NM on the 14th. It was practically a brand new airplane.

A couple of months later, NC113K made its way to New York State and was purchased on May 19, 1930 by a photographer named Dwight P. Church of Canton, NY. He traded for it against an Eaglerock aircraft (see below), registration number 7451 (S/N 618; not a Register airplane) plus $2,200.

What follows is a distillation of the airplane's fate in the hands of Mr. Church over at least the next decade. It was very accident prone when he flew it. NC113K suffered an accident at Bigelow, NY on July 29, 1930 and the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) cancelled its registration on August 15th. There is no record of repairs or re-instatement of the registration in the NASM file, but there must have been repairs as it did continue to fly. By November 20, 1931 it had a Kinner K-5, S/N 900 installed. It had accumulated 310 total flight hours as of July 28, 1933.

By March 8, 1938 it had a Hamilton-Standard steel propeller, S/N 23277, installed. On May 19, 1938 it suffered an accident at Lowville, NY (images below). Its registration was suspended on June 3rd and reinstated September 19th. It had a Flottorp wooden propeller, S/N 17187, installed by March 22, 1939. It suffered another accident on January 5, 1941 at 4:15PM at Canton, NY while being flown by owner Church (stalled during landing approach). There were no injuries, but the airplane's registration was cancelled by the CAA for good on November 1, 1941. Does anyone KNOW the ultimate fate of NC113K (see update of 01/26/10, below)?

The fiirst image (and all the others below it) was sent by Mr. Roger Bailey (credit, right sidebar). The airplane lurking below in Mr. Church's hangar is an OX-5 powered Alexander Eaglerock. Note the large dent in the outboard leading edge of the lower right wing. The airplane might be in the hangar awaiting repairs. This is undoubtedly the Eaglerock, registered 7451, that Mr. Church traded for his Monosport (see above). The words, "... Services, Inc." can be made out on the fuselage in the original photograph. Notice the snow on the ground.

OX-5 Alexander Eaglerock, Date Unknown

The caption (hard to read) at the top of the photo says: "Airplane Hangar: Delivered, set up complete for $1440. Fireproof & portable. D.P. Church, Canton, NY."

Two images, below, show photographer Church with NC113K. Although Mr. Church did not sign the Davis-Monthan Register, it is instructive to learn about him, as it gives us insight into how NC113K was actually used. You will see images below which correlate with some of the history cited above. This was an interesting airplane, flown by an interesting pilot, who could easily pass for Woody Allen. His sweater looks hand-knitted.

Monosport NC113K With Dwight Church, ca. early 1930's

The engine in this airplane is a Kinner K-5 of 100HP. Note the exhaust slot on the manifold immediately in front of Mr. Church's waistline. According to Juptner (reference in left sidebar) this airplane was flown in the Class D category of the Miami to Cleveland Air Derby held in 1929. It placed 2nd. It was used by the Kinner Engine Company as a test bed and flown by Kinner test pilot Leslie Bowman.

Monosport NC113K With Dwight Church, ca. early 1930's

Note the wonderful detail of the window latches and door geometry. And the camera mount fashioned from what looks like metal or leather straps. Mr. Church's fingernails show effects of photographic chemicals. The bugs smashed on the windshield are typical of fair weather flying. Behind Church's open pilot's window you can see that Pyraline (an early form of plastic) windows were not optically flat. Can anyone IDENTIFY his camera?

Below, NC113K in a publicity shot for Mr. Church's aerial photography business. Readiness to photograph your "big event" is evidenced by the running engine. Note in the images that follow, the name of Church's business is painted on the fuselage as either "Photo Park Studio" or "$5 Photo Co."

NC113K in Advertising Livery

Below, NC113K from the front, after a light snowfall. The airplane did not have a cabin heater. Note the difference between the exhaust geometry of these engine cylinders versus the geometry of the ones in the top image on this page. This photo was probably taken sometime after the engine change ca. 1931.

Monosport NC113K, Front Elevation

Below, NC113K in profile. The Monosport was a side-by-side two-seat airplane, with a luggage shelf behind the seats. The payload with 32 gallons of fuel was 208 pounds. The second passenger had to be slender, or some gas had to be left on the ground!

NC113K in Side Elevation

Below, 113K on the ramp (may be Buffalo, NY) with unidentified woman (probably one of Dwight Church's daughters -- either Ester or Betty -- from his first marriage). To the left of her head is a port cut in the airplane fabric: a window for photography. Follow this link to Phoebe Omlie, another Mono aircraft pilot pictured with her airplane in about the same relative view as the one below. Note, in the background, a pilot, sleeves rolled up, in full parachute gear, either entering or exiting the cockpit of the airplane.

Monosport NC113K on Ramp, Date Unknown

Below, another profile of NC113K. The venue is typical of unimproved "airfields" of the Golden Age.

Another Profile of NC113K

Why so many profile images of NC113K? BECAUSE WE HAVE THEM! Of course, part of the reason is because the owner was a photographer and perhaps used his airplane as a subject to shoot up film remaining from a day's work.

Below, another profile. In this image, notice that Church emphasized the edges of the right wing and empennage. He drew directly on his negative with opaque black pencil or ink, blocking the light when his printing paper was exposed, creating the white line effect in the finished print. What appears to be a square photography port is again evident in front of the door.

Another Profile of NC113K

Another profile...

Another Profile of NC113K

Below, NC113K from the front port quarter.

Monosport NC113K From Front Quarter

Where did Golden Age airplanes live? NC113K had its own corrugated steel T-hangar, below. A hangar was almost a necessity for a fabric-covered airplane in the harsh, upstate New York winter climate near the Canadian border. This appears to be a late winter view. Imagine sliding open the doors on this day and entering next to an airplane that probably was silent most of the winter. The creak and clunk of flight controls as an aileron is flexed, and the smells of lubricants, solvents and fabric dope are things all pilots can relate to in anticipation of a flying season.

T-Hangar for NC113K

Below, from the rear port quarter, NC113K rests among Queen Ann's Lace on a sunny, northern New York summer day. Hangar interior contains the stuff of airplane husbandry, including what looks like an oil barrel with a crank-operated manual pump on top of it.

Monosport NC113K From Rear Quarter

Below, Dwight Church's Depression-era business storefront, the "$5 Photo Company". This image can be dated sometime after June 1933 when the NRA (National Recovery Administration) codes were introduced. The sign with the NRA blue eagle in the window on the right connotes compliance by Mr. Church with the current NRA price and wage control codes. Follow the link for additional information about the NRA and its effects.

Magnification of the window display in the original image shows an advertisement for "Pure as Snow Kodak Prints" (lower left). Most of the images in both windows are portraits of people. Nothing can be identified as Church's aerial work. Note the Monocoupe model atop the sign at right foreground that says, "Licensed Airline Transport Pilot For Charter". It was the Great Depression, and Church made money any way he could.

Dwight Church's Photographic Business, ca. 1930s

Interestingly, the departures from standard spelling in his storefront signage are not because letters fell off. Church would sometimes use an abbreviated form of writing in his advertisements and correspondences, where he would eliminate many silent (and useless) letters. The inscription above the door on the front porch of his house is an example of this. Why he didn't convert "Photo" to "Foto" is a question lost to history.

While on the subject of advertising, below we have the ultimate expression of the advertising metaphor, as well as a prime example of Mr. Church's sense of humor. His "Film Car" was built to resemble a roll of film!

Dwight Church in his "Film Car", Date Unknown

A May 31, 1938 St. Lawrence Plaindealer article which starts off with "Church Abandons Flying Business", "Sells Damaged Monoplane to Rochester (NY) Flyer", announces "He Will Not Purchase New Machine", "Has 707 Air Hours To Credit". After the photo, below, was taken, souvenir hunters stripped fabric from NC113K after Dwight Church crashed (ground loop) at Lowville NY on May 19, 1938 during a special airmail flight. This was the reason Church announced that he intended to retire from flying. We can assume he did not retire at this time, because, see the NASM data above, he had another accident in 1941 with this airplane.

Below, one view of the 1938 wreck of NC113K. A typical ground loop accident.

The Wreck of NC113K, ca. 1938

Below, another view of the wreck. This landing spot is rocky, which leads us to believe the landing was unplanned or at least misjudged.

The Wreck of NC113K, ca. 1938

And so it was in the life of one of our Davis-Monthan airplanes.

Update of January 26, 2010 Friend of dmairfield.org, John Underwood, sends the following note on this airplane. NC113K, "... was still registered to Church as of 1/46.   Almost certainly it was parted out during the war, after the ban on civilian flying.    I have quite a bit of stuff on the airplane, including a picture taken at the factory with Kinner's field service manager Les Bowman, who took delivery.   Both Les and his wife,  Margaret (Marty) raced it as NR113K.   Both Bob Starkey and Clint Burrows on the D-M register were involved with the Kinner company as test pilots and demonstrators." Thus, we learn why the airplane was brought through Tucson by these two pilots.

---o0o---

Dossier 3.1.28

THIS PAGE UPLOADED: 05/14/07 REVISED: 12/27/07, 02/02/08, 01/26/10