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FLORIDA RUM RUNNER
This airplane is a Ryan B-5, S/N 213 manufactured on August 5, 1929 under ATC# 142 by the Ryan Aircraft Corp., St. Louis, MO. It left the factory with a R-975-A engine (S/N 10583) of 300 HP. It was a six-place land monoplane.
It was licensed on August 12, 1929 and sold on September 22, 1930 to the Detroit Aircraft Corp., c/o Lockheed Aircraft Corp., Burbank, CA. It landed at Tucson December 18, 1930 flown by Dean Farran. He carried two passengers: Carl B. Squier and Jack Miller. They were eastbound from Burbank to Ft. Worth, TX.
Capt. Carl B. Squier is the general manager of the Lockheed Aircraft Corp. The purpose for the trip, about a year after Lockheed bought the Ryan, is not mentioned in the Register.
Lockheed sold the airplane to Harry and William Anderson of Detroit, MI on April 16, 1931. There are no details as to use or maintenance of the airplane under their ownership. They sold it to Lou Rhodes of Virginia, MN on November 4, 1931. By June 8, 1932 NC314K was converted to floatplane configuration with Edo Q floats. The total flight time reported as of September 14, 1932 was 521 hours.
A few months later a Treasury Department report states that the aircraft was seized in Lake Okeechobee, FL on February 18, 1933 carrying, “approximately 50 sacks of assorted liquors.” The Department of Commerce number on the aircraft had been obliterated and replaced with “NC-81” painted on the underside of one wing.
The pilot gave his name as Jack Wilson, described as a 49 year old former Pan Am pilot. Treasury also had information that C.R. Rhodes, husband of Lou Rhodes, was also involved in smuggling. The aircraft was subsequently stored at Dinner Key, Miami, FL.
The license for NC314K was cancelled by the Civil Aviation Authority circa February 20, 1933 as seized by U.S. Bureau of Customs, Treasury Department. It’s a pity the Rhodes’s didn’t wait a few months. Prohibition was rescinded in December 1933. The fate of the airplane is unknown.
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UPLOADED: 12/23/07 REVISED:
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