Bryan Shaw landed at Tucson Tuesday, September 11, 1928, flying Lockheed Vega NC6911. He carried two passengers, Chris Moran and H. Huntington. Based in New York, they arrived westbound from El Paso, TX and departed the same day for Yuma, AZ. He was participating in the 1928 National Air Races. Ultimately, they took 11th place in the Class B race.

Passenger Moran's son provides for us the image below. The airplane is NC6911. On the fuselage, above the woman's hat, are painted the names Bryan Shaw, Chris Moran and Hubert Huntington. To the right is painted "Mayor of N.Y. Jimmy Walker". Please direct your browser to the link to the airplane for more information about it.

Mr. Moran says about this image, "The lady on the left is the mother of the man next to her, and I'm sure he was a financial backer of my dad's and I thought his name was Huntington, but do not think so now.  Bryan Shaw is wearing the helmet , then my dad, and Hubert Huntington is on the right." So we have in this single image a hat trick plus one: the airplane and the three occupants who visited Tucson. A rare occurrence, indeed!

NC6911, ca. 1928 (Source: Moran)

Further, Mr. Moran states, "My father, in a Lockeed Vega named Jimmy Walker, piloted by Bryan Shaw was in the Class B race. Somewhere near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border they ran out of gas and made a deadstick landing, and just before they completed their rollout tipped completely over. With the help of their navigator, who's nickname was Eaglebeak, and some local people who witnessed the landing, they were able to tip the plane upright, buy some gasoline and continue the race. Along the way, 'the celluloid over Bryan's head blew off and slowed us up 20 miles hour. We also lost 40 minutes having a new top made but still instead of 19th we are now 13th and watch us tomorrow.' This from a letter on stationery from Oklahoma City, undated. I have movie film of the plane in its back clippings from New York paper and letters and telegrams."

Pilot Shaw's biographical file is sparse, containing only the following unidentified news article picturing a crash by Shaw in another Lockheed Vega during the summer of 1929.

Shaw's Lockheed Crash, Summer 1929 (Source: NASM)

Undocumented information suggests Bryan Shaw was English and had flown for the British in WW I and rejoined in WW II and was shot down over the channel on his first flight.

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Dossier 2.1.145

UPLOADED: 06/16/11 REVISED: