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SHORT LIFE
This aircraft was a Fokker Universal, S/N 423 (ATC #9),
manufactured in October 1927 by the Atlantic Aircraft Corporation,
Teterboro Airport, Hasbrouck Heights, NJ. It left the
factory with a Wright J-5 engine, S/N 8135. It weighed
4,000 pounds.
NC3193 was purchased October 25, 1927 by the Aero Corporation
of California, Los Angeles, CA (Davis-Monthan pilots Jack
Frye, Walter Hamilton and Paul
Richter were principals with the company, which operated Standard Air Lines). From
the Register, it appears that NC3193 was operated as a liner
for Standard between at least December 1927 and
March 1928.
NC3193 landed at Tucson seven times during these four months,
flown by Jack Frye, Lee Willey and Paul Richter, Jr. All
these men were pilots of the line for Standard Air Lines. A
total of 29 identified passengers were carried on the seven
flights. Los Angeles, CA, Douglas and Phoenix, AZ were
their route points.
The December 16, 1927 landing was important, because it was documented in one of the local (unidentified) newspapers I found at the Arizona Historical Society (AHS), below. It was a goodwill flight flown by Standard from Los Angeles to Tucson, Douglas and the general borderland area south of Tucson. It is unusual to have such documentation of a non-record-setting flight, with passenger names and a detailed timeline.
Unsourced News Article, December 16, 1927 (Source: AHS)
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According to the Register, the passengers included Walter Hamilton, Mel Fickas, Harold Wilson, Mrs. F. D. Hubbel and R.E. Ellenwood. They landed at Tucson at 12:25PM. Notice the arrival time documented in the article. They remained overnight, departing the next day at 8:00AM for their return to Los Angeles.
Aero sold the airplane during August, 1928 to Harry J. Tucker, Santa
Monica, CA. No bill of sale was submitted and Tucker
wrecked the airplane shortly after purchase. It was
sold in wrecked condition on December 27, 1928 to O’Donnell
Aircraft, Inc., Long
Beach, CA.
Lloyd O’Donnell rebuilt the airplane between August
and December, 1928. The fuselage was re-covered and
Wright engine S/N 7646 was installed. The wing and
spars were rebuilt. For some reason, the wing was three
feet longer than the original, which did not conform to the
ATC, therefore the airplane was not licensed by the CAA.
By February 1930, O’Donnell reported the airplane
being operated in Mexico. Indeed, on January 1, 1930,
we find NC3193 landing at Tucson for the eighth time. It
was flown by Lloyd O’Donnell carrying two passengers
D. Cole and W. Thornberg. They were southbound from
Mesquite to Nogales, AZ.
On February 18, 1930 (or maybe it was 2/23, NASM record
not sure), at Oaxaca, Mexico the airplane crashed and was “washed
out”. The pilot was Milo
Burcham of Whittier,
CA. He survived the crash. No further information.
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THIS PAGE UPLOADED: 07/09/06 REVISED: 02/25/09, 02/25/14, 02/21/20
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