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Registration Number NC8953
Born In Illinois; Died In Wisconsin
This aircraft is a Monocoach 201, S/N 5002 (ATC #GR2-109), manufactured
May 16, 1929 by the Mono-Aircraft, Inc. Moline, IL. It had
a 225 HP Wright J-5 engine S/N B-8927. It weighed 3,092 pounds
as a four-place airplane. It was manufactured, “for
exhibition purposes.”
It served its exhibition time for 135 flight hours, then
was re-manufactured as of 8/21-22/29 under ATC #GR2-109. Fuselage
members were re-trussed.
It was sold on June 23, 1930 to Robert
A. Purcell of Alliance,
OH. Purcell installed a “Curtiss ring” (17 pounds)
on the engine. We find pilot Purcell (private license #11805)
at Tucson with NC8953 on August 21, 1931. He was solo,
headed west from Roswell, NM to Santa Monica, CA. Below is a photograph of NC8953 shared with us by Charlotte Cook (see below). Although the registration number is not visible on this photograph, its source has credible provenance.
Monocoach 201 NC8953, Date & Location Unknown (Source: Cook)
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This photo was probably taken before June 23, 1930, because the engine has no "Curtiss ring" installed.
Purcell accumulated 262 flight hours with it before he was
killed in June 1932. The airplane was placed in storage for
eighteen months before selling to W.P. Barnum of Youngstown,
OH. Barnum had the airplane re-covered and installed a tail
wheel. He flew the airplane less than ten hours during the
first year he owned it.
Jay Burkholder, Left, Date Unknown
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Barnum sold it on February 3, 1936 to W. Edgar Leedy, Jr.
of Wheeling, WV with 344 flight hours. Leedy replaced the
windshield and skylight on June 4, 1937 with 405:40 flight
hours. The airplane sold twice more, owned finally by Jay
Burkholder of Galena, IL.
Burkholder (commercial license #14134; A&E #11009; not a Register pilot)
crashed the airplane in Spring Green, WI on August 7, 1938.
He was fatally injured and the airplane was “written off”.
The registration was cancelled.
At left is the airplane's last owner, Jay Burkholder,
in happier times with his family beside a different airplane.
This image is contributed to us by Charlotte Cook, daughter
of the infant girl shown here, born in February 1937, held
in Mrs. Burkholder's arms.
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UPLOADED: 08/16/05 REVISED: 03/20/07, 10/29/07, 07/19/17
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