This is an example of how the Davis-Monthan Airfield transient Register provides wonderful snapshots of brief and exciting periods during the Golden Age, and how, combined with other sources (left), it is possible to bracket the Register entries within the larger context that places the aircraft in Tucson.

Broadly, on pages 58-61, the Register lists 42 civilian planes, pilots and passengers who landed at the field for fuel and comfort during the 1928 National Air Races (NAR). Thirty-seven of them placed in the race. Tucson was an important waypoint, because once they reached it, there was only a day or so of flying left before the finish line in Los Angeles. A report from the finish line appeared in the New York Times of September 11, 1928, available at the link (PDF 114kb).

Cessna Aircraft in the National Air Races, 1928

For the Cessna Aircraft Company specifically, the plan was to enter eight aircraft in the race. Among the Cessnas that landed at Tucson, Earl Rowland piloted NC7107 (image, right, from Rodengen was taken later during the 1934 NAR) in Class A.

In the Class B category, Clyde Cessna himself was flying race number 97 (aircraft registration number not listed in the Register). Fellow Register pilot George Curtis Quick flew with Cessna. Jay Sodowsky was in NC5336, and Ed Schultz flew NC5035. There were four others, none of which logged in at the Airfield. The Cessna “team” planned 16 stopover points across the country; five were overnight.

On September 5, 1928, at 5:43:45 AM, seven of the eight Cessna airplanes departed Roosevelt Field, Long Island and began their race. One of them dropped out before takeoff (Francis "Chief" Bowhan); another landed for technical reasons soon after. The remaining six made their way westward toward Mines Field, Los Angeles.

A few days later, four of the six landed at the Davis-Monthan Airfield. One of them, Earl Rowland, would finally be the first-place winner of the Class A race. As his suit of clothes might suggest, Mr. Rowland had a rough trip over Texas and elsewhere. Hot weather raised cylinder head and oil temperatures. His engine developed ignition problems upon takeoff from Ft. Worth. At El Paso a tire went flat. These problems were repaired and he departed El Paso at 5 AM. The photo, left, from Rodengen, is of Earl Rowland with Cessna BW NC7107 after winning the NAR, September 10, 1928. His winning time was 27:00:31.

Mr. Rowland landed at Tucson on September 9th (with Wm. Kowalski as passenger). They arrived from Lordsburg, NM, a field about halfway between El Paso and Tucson. He did not record the time of his arrival, but it was probably in the morning. He departed the same day for Yuma, the next control point for the race. He won the race on September 10th when he landed at Mines Field.

The other three pilots, Clyde Cessna (who didn't list a passenger, but was probably carrying Curtis Quick, since Quick was the officially-registered pilot for the race), Mr. Schultz (carrying R.W. Yahner), and Mr. Sodowsky (carrying Miss L.M. Westhoff), all arrived at Davis-Monthan on September 11th, all inbound from El Paso. They departed on the same day, and Mr. Shultz ultimately took fourth-place, and Mr. Sodowsky 8th place, in Class B.

Below is Cessna NC5035 flown by Ed Schultz to win fourth-place in Class B, 1928 National Air Races. “My Name is Red Wings” is written under the cockpit window.

Curtis Quick, Clyde Cessna and their airplane came in last (14th in the B race), yet Cessna's new cantilever wing design performed well enough to earn the Cessna Aircraft Company $10,910 in prize money overall.

The second-place winner of the Class A race, Robert Dake, also stopped at Tucson enroute (with Ted Taney as passenger). He landed on September 9th flying American Moth NX7556. The third-place winner, William Emery, also landed on the 9th flying Travel Air NX6269. Dake and Emery signed in at Davis-Monthan one after the other. But Rowland logged in four lines below them. They landed in that order, too, at the Yuma checkpoint. It was a close race, in which Mr. Rowland obviously made up time between Yuma and Los Angeles.

Twenty-first place went to pilot Daniel A. Kundle.

Below, from frequent contibutor Mike Gerow, is a photograph taken by his father of the flight line in Los Angeles sometime during the NAR.

National Air Races, Los Angeles, CA, Ca. September, 1928 (Source: Gerow)

In the foreground are two Bellancas. Identified by frequent site visitor Russ Plehinger as Veedol, a Bellanca J, NX-5315, S/N 106, Wright J-5 Whirlwind flown pilot Emil H. Burgin. Neither the airplane nor Burgin appear in the Register. The second one back with #185 on the fuselage is the Wright-Bellanca WB-2 known as Columbia, which made a trans-Atlantic flight from New York to Berlin two weeks after Lindbergh's flight to Paris. Note that the Veedol is not the same airplane as the Bellanca J-300 Miss Veedol, NR-796W, S/N 3004, Pratt & Whitney Wasp. Miss Veedol was flown across the Pacific by Register pilot Hugh Herndon and Clyde E. Pangborn. Please direct your browser to Herndon's link for details on their trans-Pacific flight.

An exhibition was scheduled with the 1928 NAR. It was held at a site near Mines FIeld. Below, also from Mike Gerow, the main entrance to the “Aeronautical Pageant of Progress,” held Sept 8-16, 1928. Celebrating 25 years of powered flight, this event coincided with the opening of Mines Field, later LAX, and the operation of the National Air Races.

Entrance, "Aeronautical Pageant of Progress," September, 1928 (Source: Gerow)

Next, a long-view of the exhibit facility. Note the trash on the ground. Some things don't change.

Long-View, "Aeronautical Pageant of Progress," September, 1928 (Source: Gerow)

Finally, the interior of the exhibit hall. Note the fabric ceiling and structural supports. Compare this photograph with the one on the page for Register airplane Blackhawk NC730K.

Interior, "Aeronautical Pageant of Progress," September, 1928 (Source: Gerow)

Military Participation in the 1928 National Air Race

Some military pilots of the Register also participated. Below is an article from the Bureau of Aeronautics Newsletter of October 17, 1928 documenting Navy pilots who competed in some of the race events. Note pilots Kane, Crommelin, Burroughs and Cooper.

Bureau of Aeronautics Newsletter, October 17, 1928 (Source: Webmaster)

Further along in the same Newsletter (pp. 10-12), the following article appeared in the section specifically geared toward the Eleventh Naval District, San Diego. The third paragraph of this article provides a nice summary of the military and civilian aircraft present at the event. Note mention of Register pilot Dudley Steele.

Bureau of Aeronautics Newsletter, October 17, 1928 (Source: Webmaster)

Below is a spectacular panoramic view of naval pilots who participated in the 1928 NAR. This photograph is shared with us by site visitor Bill Lindsley, whose grandfather is pictured between the "CAL." and the "OCT." in the image. Although his grandfather is not a Register pilot, numerous Register pilots are pictured in the photograph, including E. Chourre, Dunlap (?), Peterson (?), Williamson (?), E.C. Parker, S.E. Burroughs, D. Smith, Dorris Gurley, F. M. Trapnell, W.M. Dillon, J.G. Crommelin, J. Shannon, H.R. Bogusch, Clarke (?), A.C. Davis, M.B. Gardner, D.W. Tomlinson, J.D. Barner, A.P. Storrs, W.V.R. Vieweg and Cooper (?).

Navy Pilots at the National Air Races, Los Angeles, CA, October, 1928 (Source: Lindsley)

I post this great photograph vertically so that the annotations are readable. Their aircraft are arrayed behind them. Nowhere else on this Web site is there a photograph that captures so many Register pilots in one scene!

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THIS PAGE UPLOADED: 7/2/05 REVISED: 12/20/05, 06/05/07, 09/29/07, 03/10/08, 02/05/11, 02/15/11, 10/14/11