"I have no intention of retiring as long as I can keep a job and pass the physical."

Frank Hover, 1972

I have very little personal or business information about Frank Hover. I have interspersed information chronologically among his landings recorded at Tucson. And, thanks to Branifflist.com Webmaster John North (cited, right sidebar), we know he worked for Braniff Airlines from September 1, 1928 until he retired from the airline sometime after 1972, carrying seniority number 3. He was clearly among the very earliest pilots for Braniff. Below, from the Web courtesy of Tim Kalina, is a photograph of Hover as a Braniff pilot, dated July 19, 1931.

Frank Hover, July 19, 1931 (Source: Kalina)

Below, the citation on the back of the photograph above. The proposed round-the-world flight was not made (see below). Note the misspelling of his name.

Frank Hover, July 19, 1931, Caption (Source: Kalina)

Hover landed three times at Tucson. The first time was about six-months before he went to work for Braniff. That visit was on Tuesday, February 28, 1928. He flew the Stinson Detroiter NC1929. He carried two passengers identified as C.H. Everest and L.H. Pushand. Based at Oklahoma City, OK, they were westbound from El Paso, TX to Los Angeles, CA.

The 1930 U.S. Census cited Hover at age 28 living with his wife, Sybel (23) at 206 1/2 Virginia Avenue, Ponca City, OK. That address today is a pleasant, white, two-storey home. His landlord, an attorney, lived in the other space with his wife, two children and his brother. According to the Census form, the Hovers had been married about a year. They rented their home for $50 per month. Curiously, his occupation was coded as "Aviator" for a "Refinery." The Census mentioned nothing of his work with Braniff.

Brownsville Herald (TX), August 6, 1930 (Source: newspapers.com)

The Brownsville Herald, right, reported what appeared to be a 1930 Braniff charter to Mexico City piloted by Hover. The nature of their business was not revealed.

His second and third landings were in the Lockeed Vega NC905Y. Please direct your browser to the airplane's link for additional information about this historic airplane. On Saturday, July 25, 1931, he arrived carrying five passengers, only one of whom was identified. He was F.C. Hall, who was the owner of the airplane. Based at Oklahoma City, OK, they were westbound from Midland, TX to Los Angeles, CA.

Miami Daily News-Record (OK), July 17, 1931 (Source: newspapers.com)

Hover's final landing at Tucson with 905Y was somewhere between August 1 and 15, 1931 (he didn't record a date in the Register). He carried five unidentified passengers. Based again at Oklahoma City, OK, they were eastbound from Los Angeles to an unidentified destination.

The year 1931 was a busy one for Hover. Besides his landings at Tucson, and his work for Braniff, he was hired to fly F.C. Hall as reported in the article, left, from July 17th. Note the rumor, probably promulgated by the press, that Hover might be tapped to attempt another round-the-world flight. He did not make that flight (see below).

Oakland Tribune (CA), July 21, 1931 (Source: newspapers.com)

His July 25th landing at Tucson cited above might have been part of the same itinerary reported in the Oakland Tribune of July 21, 1931, right. It is not clear if the Lockheed or Hover participated in the National Air Races (NAR) that year. As far as I could determine from the Aircraft Yearbook for 1932 (reporting on the 1931 NAR results), only three Lockheeds placed in any of the trans-continental events that year. None of them were flown by Hover.

Below, from the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, October 5, 1931, is an article that summarized the day's aviation activity at the Floyd Bennett Field on Long Island, NY. Hover landed there on October 4th inbound from Toronto, Canada carrying passenger F.C. Hall. As cited above, Hall was the owner of NC905Y, so chances are good that the Lockheed that brought them to Brooklyn was 905Y. Significantly, this article also cites the formation of the Air Line Pilots Association. At the link is another link to ALPAs Hall of Past Presidents. David L. Behncke (not a Register pilot) is listed first among them.

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, October 5, 1931 (Source: newspapers.com)

Mansfield News-Journal (OH), October 8, 1931 (Source: newspapers.com)

From the article above, fellow Register pilot Robert Porter also landed at Roosevelt Field flying a Fleet from Los Angeles. Porter had a presence in the Registers from July 18, 1929 to July 19, 1935. He also appeared six times in another Register I have from Oxnard Field, Albuquerque, NM. All totaled, Robert Porter appears at least 13 times across five Registers. Note, too, that the flying weather was miserable that day.

A few days after the Brooklyn article, the one at right from the Mansfield News-Journal announced that Hover planned a May 1932 flight around the world to challenge Post and Gatty's earlier record. F.C. Hall was to be the sponsor and, in all likelihood, NC905Y was to be the airplane. This flight was not executed.

The 1940 Census placed Hover at age 39 living at 1752 Third Street, Corpus Christi, TX. That address today is a vacant, well-maintained lot in a residential neighborhood. He lived with his wife, Syble (33), son Frank, Jr. (9) and daughter Syble Kay (1). They were recorded as living in Oklahoma City, OK as of 1935. His occupation was coded as "Pilot" for an "Oil Company." They rented their home for $25 per month. Except for the brief information below, I have no other particulars about him or his family.

According to the immigration form, below, on January 15, 1950, Hover flew N44642, a twin-Beech D18S (S/N A-47), from Monterrey, Mexico to Houston, TX carrying four passengers and a co-pilot. They arrived at Houston at 11:25AM. Their airplane had a checkered life. It was built January 14, 1946 as a post-WWII executive transport. The J.D. Reed Company was its third owner from 1948-1950. It then went through several more owners and re-registrations. It was moved from Texas to Tennessee to Ontario, Canada and back to Colorado. It then move to California where it was repossessed by a bank in 1964. It remained in California until 1971 when it was reported stolen. It was last seen in 1977 parked in Mexicali, Mexico as reported by the U.S. Embassy.

Immigration Form, January 15, 1950 (Source: ancestry.com)

But I digress. On December 6, 1951, he flew another Beech D18S N240E (S/N A-84) empty from Mexico to Brownsville, TX. The immigration form is below. The airplane was owned by the Reed Company for whom Hover worked. No purpose was offered for the flight.

Immigration Form, December 26, 1951 (Source: ancestry.com)

After its ownership by Reed, this twin Beech served mostly as an airline trainer in Florida during the 1960s before moving to Western Air Express in Houston, TX. While with Western, NC240E suffered a gear collapse during a forced landing off airport at Pine Bluff, AR. The cause was fuel starvation. It is no longer registered with the FAA, having been removed from the registry in 2009. I do not know its status between 1977 and 2009. N240E was manufactured in 1946 as one of the first post-WWII executive transports.

Corpus Christi Caller-Times (TX), March 5, 1964 (Source: newspapers.com)

In a 1972 letter to the BISE Newsletter, a Braniff International internal magazine, Hover wrote, "I have been living on the [Texas] gulf coast most of the time since middle thirties. I flew for some of the major oil companies until 13 years ago. I was considered too old for their flying, so I obtained a flight instructor's rating and have been doing instruction, both flight and ground, since then. Have been an FAA designated examiner for past ten years. I have no intention of retiring as long as I can keep a job and pass the physical." An advertisement from the Corpus Christi Caller-Times (TX) of March 5, 1964 called for flight students, left.

Born in Arkansas March 27, 1901, Hover flew West April 21, 1992 at age 91.

Hover landed three times at Parks Airport, East St. Louis, MO. He arrived on February 26, 1930 twice flying NC625E, and October 1,1931 flying NC905Y. He also landed once at Peterson Field, Colorado Springs, CO. He landed August 11, 1936 flying the Waco NC14022.

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THIS PAGE UPLOADED: 10/23/12 REVISED: 07/03/17