Russell Maughan, 1924 (Source: NASM)

Russell Maughan is one of the more prestigious military pilots of the Davis-Monthan Airfield Register. He visited Tucson solo on March 25, 1929 flying a Consolidated PT-1, 26-314. He was born March 8, 1893 and died April 21, 1958.

Five years before his Tucson visit, Maughan was credited with making the first ever east-west U.S. transcontinental flight during "daylight" hours. On Monday June 23, 1924, in a race with the sun, he flew a Curtiss PW8 Pursuit airplane the 2,645 miles between Mitchel Field, New York (departing at 3:00AM EST/4:00AM DST) and Crissy Field, San Francisco (arriving at 9:48PM PST) in 21 hours 48 minutes. His airplane was powered by a used, 685-pound Curtiss D-12 engine (right sidebar), which had run about 140 hours by the end of his record flight.

His total elapsed time included 3 hours and 28 minutes consumed at five rest and refueling stops. The actual flying time was 18 hours 20 minutes, making his average ground speed in excess of 156 MPH.

On the morning of his flight, the weather was deemed good all the way across the country. Maughan arose shortly before departure and ate a breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon and toast, preceded by a cantaloupe he found in the refrigerator at the Officer's Club. Below, courtesy of the Library of Congress (LOC), two photographs of Maughn after his cross-country record. The first is of him and Major General Mason Patrick (left), then Chief of the Air Service.

Mason Patrick (L) and Russell Maughan, July 8, 1924 (Source: LOC)

Below, a crisp portrait of an Army record flyer. These two photographs were taken at the same location, probably within minutes of each other. Notice the open window on this July day before central air conditioning was common.

Russell Maughan, July 8, 1924 (Source: LOC)

Below, another congratulatory photo. The caption for this LOC image reads, "WEEKS AND PATRICK CONGRATULATE MAUGHAN—The coast-to-coast by daylight flier (right), as he looked when welcomed by Secretary of War Weeks (center) and Maj. Gen. Mason Patrick (left), chief of the army air service.  July 8, 1924 – LOC image LC-DIG-npcc-25917."

Patrick, Weeks, Maughan, July 8,1924 (Source: LOC via Woodling)

It wasn't his first attempt to fly that route in that time frame. He had made two earlier attempts the previous year on July 10 and July 19. Both these attempts were terminated because of mechanical problems (a plugged fuel line on the 10th and an oil leak on the 19th).

Below, courtesy of Andy Heins, is a photo of Maughan, date and location unknown. The airplane is also not identified, although it looks similar to the Curtiss cockpit design.

Russell Maughan, Date, Location & Aircraft Unidientified (Source: Heins)

Below, Maughan appears at left. The airplane behind him is a Curtiss aircraft, but it is not clear if it is the one he flew coast-to-coast, or if the photograph was taken before or after his flight. The woman is not identified and the other pilot looks a lot like fellow Register pilot Lester Maitland.

Russell Maughan (L), Date & Location Unknown (Source: Heins)

Upon completion of his 1924 flight he handed over a copy of the New York Times of June 22 that he had carried with him to San Francisco Mayor James Rolph, Jr. This had to be the first time an east coast newspaper was delivered so promptly to the west coast. He received high accolades for this flight from President Coolidge, Secretary of War Weeks and Chief of the Air Force Mason Patrick. Other images of Maughan and his Curtiss airplane are available at the Klein Archive on this site. Below, a photograph of Maughan from the Library of Congress (LOC), via Bob Woodling (cited, right sidebar). The airplane is the Curtiss Model 33 XPW-8 (23-1201). It was built on speculation by Curtiss and sold to the Army in 1923. The photo was taken in January 1923 before it was acquired by the Army.
Maughan used it on his first two attempts at the daylight coast-to-coast flight. Maughan's record flight was set in the fourth production PW-8 (24-204).

Russell Maughan in Curtiss Pursuit Aircraft, Date & Location Unknown (Source: LOC via Woodling)

BG Sparkplug Advertisment, July 1924

At left, a contemporary advertisement for BG sparkplugs, the type used during the Dawn to Dusk flight, and the type used by government contractors and engine builders. Please direct your browser to the link for a brief history of the BG company.

This interesting page from the Oxnard Daily Courier announces, center, Maughan's departure time from New York and a status report of his location (Cheyenne, WY). Note also on this page the bumper crop of fine apricots that early summer, and, down near the bottom right of the page, the greeting of the World Cruisers in India.

Besides his cross-country flight, Russell Maughan earlier finished first in the 1922 Pulitzer Air Race, flying a Curtiss R-6. Later, Billy Mitchell used the same plane to set a speed record of 222.97 MPH. A Wikipedia biography is available at the link, with the usual cautions. Below, courtesy of the Library of Congress, is a photograph of Maughan and the R-6 from 1922.

Russell Maughan and Curtiss R-6 Racer, 1922 (Source: LOC)

Below, a schematic of the R-6 racer from the Summer, 1970 issue of the AAHS Journal.

Curtiss R-6 Racer, Schematic Diagram (Source AAHS Journal via Woodling)

Below, a U.S. Postal Service cachet commemorating Maughan's transcontinental filght.

U.S. Postal Service Cachet, June 23, 1974 (Source: Woodling)

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Dossier 2.2.130

THIS PAGE UPLOADED: 10/13/07 REVISED: 10/15/07, 08/22/11, 09/09/11, 01/13/12, 01/16/12, 04/02/12