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William C. Gould landed twice at Tucson. He signed the Register
on December 20, 1928 flying Stinson Junior NC7786. He
was westbound this day from El Paso, TX to San
Diego, CA. He
carried one passenger, G.L Chapman. He landed next
on May 30, 1929 flying Stearman NC6483. He had arrived
from El Paso, TX, but did not list his destination. He
carried his wife as lone passenger.
The NASM file for pilot Gould (left sidebar) contains one
undated newspaper article. From the context, the article
was published sometime in 1939-40 just before the U.S. entered
WWII. Gould
is cited in the article as being the retiring general manager
of the American Aircraft Corporation of Antwerp, Belgium. With
this position affording credibility, he used the article
as a podium to criticize the increasing speeds of European
combat aircraft, and to promote a method for selling
airplanes given America’s non-involvement in the conflict.
He held that, “…personal observation of the
new European fighting plane types had convinced him they
were ‘too hot’ for all but the most experienced
pilots to handle.” He noted the death tolls from
training accidents, and said these accidents, “…would
double when it became necessary for military planes to stop
using the huge, well kept airdromes and spread out to small
emergency flying fields to avoid being targets for enemy
bombers.”
He was especially concerned about landing speeds. He
said, “Many of the foreign fighting ships land far
too fast. They have to come in at seventy-five or eighty
miles an hour to avoid stalling …. Furthermore, their
undercarriages seem to be weak, and are frequently ‘wiped
out’ on rough ground landings.”
To promote his business, he cited, “…the
neutrality law revision now under consideration to permit
a ‘cash-and-carry’ purchasing by any nation,
would be more likely to contribute toward peace … than
the present set-up. A cash-and-carry policy, particularly
in connection with airplane sales, couldn’t bring us
into war, because American lives would be endangered in the
deliveries. Furthermore, it would help us to get back
some of the money Europe owes us in war debts, and it would
get our heavy industry going.” History would
prove that he was close (but no cigar) to the “lend-lease” program. Our
heavy industry, indeed, kicked into motion December 7, 1941
and has never stopped.
I do not know pilot Gould’s birth or death dates,
or anything about his earlier flying career (the article
cites he had accumulated 1,500 flight hours). If you
KNOW, please contact me.
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Dossier 2.1.92
UPLOADED: 04/06/07 REVISED:
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