Boyd Montieth Shelton landed and signed our Register five times at Tucson between 1926 and 1928. The photograph below is shared with us by friend of dmairfield.org, John Underwood. It shows pilot Shelton with his blue (see news article below) deHavilland DH-4B, NC299. The airplane was named “Pal O’ Mine”, which might explain Shelton's friendly pose .

Boyd Montieth Shelton With DH-4B, NC299, Date & Location Unknown (Source: Underwood)

Shelton landed at Tucson at least two times flying this airplane. He also landed twice in an unidentified DH-4B, which was most likely this same airplane. His fifth landing was in an unidentified Waco, which he cited as a "Ferry" flight in the Remarks column of the Register. For two of his landings with NC299, he wrote in the Remarks column, "Fairchild Aerial Survey, Inc."

Note the refueling hose and tank. This airplane was used for photography ("pho/plane") in the caption, below. The destination cited on his first visit to Tucson was Navajoa, Mexico. This flight may have been in preparation for aerial photography there, corroborating the caption.

Caption, Boyd Montieth Shelton With DH-4B, NC299, Date & Location Unknown (Source: Underwood)

Below, another image of "Pal 'O Mine." Under magnification of the original he pilot is in the rear cockpit and it looks like there is a female passenger up front.

DH-4B, NC299, Date & Location Unknown (Source: Underwood)

This appears to be a typical sunny-hazy day of barnstorming.

Below, courtesy of Mike Gerow, are news articles from the Bakersfield Californian of September 30, 1926, and of July 13, 21 and August 16, 1927. They describe aerial survey flight activity out of the Bakersfield Airport. It is clear from the 1926 article that Monteith arrived for business in Bakersfield that month.

Bakersfield Californian, July 21, 1927 (Source: Gerow)

Bakersfield Californian, September 30, 1926 (Source: Gerow)

Bakersfield Californian, July 13, 1927 (Source: Gerow)

Bakersfield Californian, July 21, 1927 (Source: Gerow)

Bakersfield Californian, August 16, 1927 (Source: Gerow)

Boyd Montieth Shelton has no Web presence that I can find as of the upload date of this page. Likewise, a search among Web hits for "Fairchild Aerial Surveys, Inc." yields no links with Shelton. At this point, all I have is Mr. Underwood's photographs. I'm looking for biographical information for Shelton and technical information about his airplane. If you can HELP, please click the link.

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Western Flying, October, 1927 (Source: Grant)

Update of 10/13/10 From site visitor David Grant who shares this article from Western Flying, October, 1927, page 78. He states about the article."I was doing some research on my father's airplane.  In a brief article about his airplane built for D. E. McDaneld it states that his right hand man was Boyd Montieth Shelton, also known as Monty Shelton."

This article mentions Shelton and the aerial photography business that, "... is one of the most prosperious [sic] in the country."

The Roamair 2586 is not a Register airplane, but it still exists. According to Mr. Grant, it is apart and in need of restoration.

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THIS PAGE UPLOADED: 03/12/10 REVISED: 10/13/10, 04/06/11, 08/24/11, 11/27/11