Bellanca Model J-300, NR797W (Source: SDAM)

Emile H. Burgin landed at Brooklyn on an unspecified date flying the Bellanca Model J-300 NR797W, S/N 3003. That airplane sits, left, courtesy of the San Diego Aerospace Museum Flickr stream. The name of the airplane owner identified by Burgin in the Register, "Adamowicz," gives a clue to the possible date range and the possible reason Burgin was with it in New York.

Bolesław Adamowicz (1898-1979) and his brother Jozef (1893-1970) were amateur aviators who purchased 797W for the expressed reason of flying it from New York to Poland. On June 28, 1934 they did just that, arriving at Warsaw, Poland on July 2nd after spending a couple of delays in European cities along the way.

But, Burgin is our focus here. He was born on October 17, 1889 in New York City. According to this REFERENCE, page 16, he was a very early aviator, being affiliated with the Trans Ocean Flying School August 25, 1921, and Aeromarine Flying School, Keyport, NJ October 11, 1921-1924. From 1917-1919 he was in the Medical Department, U.S. Army.

Burgin registered for the draft during WWI. His draft card is below, ca. 1917. His occupation was identified as a chauffeur. He enlisted September 23, 1917 and was discharged June 21, 1919. On various documents, I found his first name spelled Emil as well as Emile, and his middle name spelled Henry as well as Henri. Note the variation below. His signature matches that in the Register, but it is spelled Emile Henri on his grave marker (below), so that is the spelling I use on this Web page.

Emile Burgin, Draft Registration, Ca. 1917 (Source: ancestry.com)

Emile Burgin (L) & Bert Acosta, Ca. 1927-28 (Source: LInk)

As with many things, the details are in the fine print. If you look carefully at the diagonal printing at the lower left of his card draft registration, the text says, "If person is of African descent, tear off this corner." Some things change; some things remain the same.

The 1920 U.S. Census placed him at age 31 living in Hudson County, NJ with his wife Maybelle (31). They had no children living with them. He was employed as a chauffeur for a private individual and she was a stenographer for a mining company.

Clara Tantum, Ca. 1938 (Source: Web)

I don't know when he left Maybelle, but on May 1, 1926 he married Clara M. Tantum, left, in Manhattan, NY.

During the late 1920s, Burgin involved himself in exhibition flying and at least two refueled endurance attempts with copilot and Pitcairn Field Register signer Bert Acosta. The photograph, right, is from this REFERENCE, page 19. As far as I could find, none of their attempts were successful.

Burgin competed in the 1928 National Air Races (NAR), and departed Roosevelt Field with fellow competitors at 1:20PM on September 12, 1928 in a Bellanca. He was accompanied by Peterson Field Register pilot Lewis A. "Lon" Yancey. According to this REFERENCE, 1929, they were not among the list of competitors who completed the race that year.

Vidette Messenger (IN), May 14, 1930 (Source: ancestry.com)

Burgin and Yancey, and a radio engineer named Bouck, were subjects of a 1931 lawsuit, which settled the issue of monies earned during a goodwill tour of South America flown by the three of them in 1930. The link takes you to the full text of the suit, which is of interest because of the insight it provides into the nature of Golden Age long-distance flying and the agreements, or lack of agreements, that formed their basis. Their departure from New York was documented in the Vidette Messenger, Valparaiso, IN, May 14, 1930, above.

The long story short, their joint venture was not as profitable as they expected. The only monies made were their individual weekly salaries (about $100 per week) and the proceeds of a contract made in the name of Yancey with The New York Times in the amount of $868.75. Burgin and Bouck understood that the money was to be split evenly three ways. Yancey refused. Thus, Burgin and Bouck sued Yancey. The three are pictured below during more cordial times.

Left to Right, Burgin, Bouck and Yancy, Ca. 1930 (Source: Woodling)

At the trial, the contract was established by testimony and it was undisputed. Yancey was forced by the court to yield 1/3 of the Times contract proceeds, plus interest, to each of Burgin and Bouck. All this in light of the fact that the flight was not completed. Their airplane crashed and burned upon their return on Great Exuma Island, a short distance from the American mainland.

At some point, Burgin worked for Newark Air Service, Inc. in Newark, NJ. Below is a souvenir flight certificate earned by a passenger who flew with Burgin on a pleasure flight over New York City.

E.H. Burgin Flight Souvenir, Date Unknown (Source: Site Visitor)

E.H. Burgin Flight Souvenir, Date Unknown (Source: Site Visitor)

I could find no information to support his ace status during WWI.

On November 29, 1938, Burgin received U.S. Patent number 2,138,595 for his "Radio Range Beam Projector" invention. You can view the device and the legal description of it at the link (PDF 174kB). This device was manufactured and distributed, because I found reference to one in an archive.

E.H. Burgin, WWII Draft Registration (Source: ancestry.com)

Like most men of his age cohort, Burgin was required to register for the draft during WWII. His draft registration card, dated January 22, 1943, is at right. He was 53 years old and employed by the West Indies Sugar Corporation in New York. I am not certain what his work was with the Corporation. Neither am I certain if he had any military duties during WWII.

The back of his registration card was instructive, below, right. He was 5'10" and trim. His black hair was beginning to gray.

E.H. Burgin, WWII Draft Registration (Source: ancestry.com)

Lockheed Constellation NC88868 (Source: Web)

On September 4, 1947, Burgin flew from Havana, Cuba to Miami, FL on a Cuban-registered aircraft operated by Compania Cubana de Aviacion, S.A. On November 2, 1949, Burgin and Clara flew from La Guardia Field, New York to San Juan, PR in N88868, a 1946 Lockheed Constellation operated by Pan American Airways, pictured above. This airplane is still owned by a company in Houston, TX. It is not flying.

Long-distance flight records, lawsuits and inventions were only a part of his active life. He enjoyed the game of checkers, too, as reported in the article below from the Brooklyn Daily Eagle (NY), January 20, 1930.

Brooklyn Daily Eagle (NY), January 20, 1930 (Source: newspapers.com)

Note mention in the article of Register pilots Roger Q. Wlliams, Art Goebel, Ruth Elder and George Haldeman.

Significantly, Burgin signed the Register at Oxnard Field, Albuquerque, NM (no Web site yet), on Wednesday, September 12, 1928 at 5:00PM. He flew a different Bellanca, which he clearly identified as NC754 (no letter). Unfortunately, NC754 was assigned to a Curtiss JN "Jenny." However, NC754W was a Bellanca CH-400 Skyrocket, S/N 615. The airplane was named "Miss Veedol" and in the Register Burgin identified the airplane owner as "Veedol Tide Water Oil Co." His airplane was undoubtedly NC754W. He identified his home base as New York, NY and his destination as Los Angeles, CA.

Less than a year later, on July 28, 1931, "Miss Veedol" was used for a trans-Pacific flight by Register pilots Clyde Pangborn and Hugh Herndon. Their flight was successful, and an account of it is at their links, and at aerofiles.com at the link.

Emile H. Burgin, Grave Marker, 1970 (Source: ancestry.com)

Burgin flew West on January 23, 1970 at age 80. His grave marker in New Jersey is at left. He flew with N.A.A. license 1022 and U.S. government Transport certificate T303. T303 is a very low number, indicating that, along with Charles Lindbergh and a number of other Register pilots, Burgin was an early member of the ranks of pioneer transport pilots.

Clara Tantum passed away Friday, April 16, 1993 at age 92. Her obituary appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer, April 18, 1993, below.

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THIS PAGE UPLOADED: 01/16/17 REVISED: 12/26/17, 01/13/18