BELLANCA CH-200 NC4799

Raced in the 1928 National Air Races, Then Went South

This airplane is a Bellanca CH-200 (S/N 105; ATC #47) manufactured April 1, 1928 by the Bellanca Aircraft Corporation of America, Staten Island, NY.  It left the factory with a Wright Whirlwind J-5AB engine (S/N 8310) of 200 HP. It was a six-place airplane and weighed 4,050 pounds. It had a Hartzell wooden propeller with spinner. It also had installed as standard equipment a, "Tachometer, Oil Press., Oil Temp., Magnetic Compass (2), Airspeed, Altimeter, Rate of Climb Indicator, Clock, Dash Lamps, Intertia Starter, Nav. Lights, Hand Fire Extinguisher, First Aid Kit."

The Type Certificate ("ATC") for this model was officially issued in June, 1928, therefore this airplane was manufactured before it was certificated. The FAA record states that it was originally registered as "NX" by the Bellanca company for "... sales demonstration purposes." It flew this way until April 23, 1928 when it was involved in an accident at Detroit, MI. The pilot was Charles Holman, Transport license #1026. Three people were on board; one suffered serious and two suffered minor injuries. The record did not state who was seriously injured. The airplane was described as, "Left side landing gear badly damaged, right & left wing tips torn off, rudder smashed, prop broken." It was judged by the inspector to be "repairable."

Indeed, it was repaired by the Bellanca factory, inspected and passed for service on July 24, 1928. NC4799 was purchased for $13,000 on August 15, 1928 by Henri B. duPont of Wilmington, DE.  Below, from the FAA record, is the bill of sale from the Bellanca company to duPont. Note that it is signed by Guiseppe Bellanca.

NC4799 Bill of Sale to Henri duPont, August 15, 1928 (Source: FAA)

DuPont entered the airplane in the 1928 National Air Races, to be piloted by Victor Dallin. Dallin won the Aviation Town & COuntry Trophy and the Detroit News Air Transport Trophy for efficiency.

We find NC4799 at Tucson twice, on September 10th and September 20, 1928 piloted by Victor Dallin.  He was the owner/operator of Dallin Aerial Surveys Co., 1924-1941.  His mission that brought him to Tucson for these two visits was to take aerial images of the Race at Los Angeles, and to compete in the Efficiency Race and the Speed Race.

About a year after the race duPont transferred the airplane to his company, Delaware Flying Service, Inc. on December 2, 1929. It suffered an accident at Rehoboth Beach, DE on July 13, 1930.  The left gear, engine mount, fuselage and right wing were repaired, and the left wing and left struts were replaced with new. It was inspected and approved for service as of November 8, 1930.

NC4799 was inspected and registered on a normal schedule through 1931. On October 16, 1931, a notice of violation was mailed to the pilot of 4799, one J. Allison Buck (identified as president of Delaware Flying Service), for operating the airplane without navigation lights between dusk and dawn.

By inference, there was communication back and forth between Buck and the Aeronautics Branch, but that correspondence is not in the official record. Regardless, the original $500 fine was mitigated to $25, but it was not paid. A letter from the Branch to Buck dated March 19, 1932 notified Buck of the suspension of his transport pilot license #720. It is not clear from the record what happened, but a letter from the acting Secretary of Commerce dated March 29, 1932 stated, "... it is agreeable to this office to regard the case as closed."

Meantime, the airplane was sold for $1,000 on February 18, 1932 to Elbert B. Anding of Queens, NY. From the bill of sale, the transaction appeared to be under the auspices of a "constable's sale." It is not clear from the record how NC4799 was subjected to the sale. Regardless, Anding had 4799 inspected and approved for flight on March 18, 1932. The airplane had accumulate 280 flight hours as of that date. He was based at Roosevelt Field, LI, NY.

The operation inspection report of October 7, 1932 (flight time 650 hours) documents extensive maintenance. The fuselage was stripped of fabric, the metal tubing sand-blasted and new control cables were installed. Concurrently, Anding moved to the Dominical Republic and changed his address to c/o the Cuban Dominican Sugar Co., Barahona, DR. In October, 1932 the airplane was transferred to the Dominican Republic and it operated there and in Haiti from 1932-35.  The record states no change in registration was required. Likewise, no change of address was furnished to the Branch, and official letters were returned.

A letter of June 27, 1934, below, requested return of 4799 and Anding back to New York.

Anding Letter, June 27, 1934 (Source: FAA)

The cordial response to Anding simply stated that, upon his first landing in the U.S., he should, "... contact a Department of Commerce (DOC) inspector upon your entrance into the United States for authority to operate." Anding did not make it back to the U.S. in 1934, but postponed until 1935 as cited in his letter below.

Anding Letter, April 19, 1935 (Source: FAA)

This time Anding flew to Miami, FL and on April 26th received a temporary identification card and ferry permit in order to transfer 4799 to New York by May 15th. He traveled to New York, had repairs made and re-registered the airplane on May 13, 1935. It had accumulated 1,500 flight hours.

On May 5, 1936 the airplane was sold to Emilio Solerzano of Havana, Cuba.  A telegram in the records affirms the sale. A letter from the DOC announced cancellation of the U.S. registration as of the date of sale, because citizens of foreign countries were prohibited by the new (1926) Air Commerce Act from owning U.S.-registered aircraft.

Anding was deceased by August 1941, when the airplane was in operation for the Cuban-Dominican Sugar Company and the West Indies Sugar Corp. No further information.

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Dossier 3.1.3.1

THIS PAGE UPLOADED: 03/27/06 REVISED: 03/26/10