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Registration Number NC4280
Local Plane Lost
Here is another example of the short life of many of the
aircraft that landed at the Davis-Monthan Airfield. NC4280
was barely four months old when it was wrecked by Gilbert
W. Sykes flying on a letter of authorization.
This aircraft is a Waco 10, S/N 1298. The Advance Aircraft
Co., Troy, OH built it on 2/14/1928. It was equipped with
a 90 HP Curtiss OX-5 engine, S/N 5077. It weighed 2,025 pounds.
It was purchased in February by American Aircraft Corp. (Theodore
T. Hull, Pres.), Merritt Bldg., Los Angeles, CA. American
Aircraft was a Waco distributor, based at Clover Field, Santa
Monica, CA.
It was sold on 2/22/28 for $2,590 to Charles
W. Mayse of Tucson: it lived its life as a local airplane.
Mayse ran the Mayse Air Service from his own private airfield,
offering flight training and charters. He sold it “prior
to” 6/2/28 to Irene L. Lindley of Tucson, with no transfer
papers or application. Ms. Lindley was soon to become Gilbert
Sykes' wife.
NC4280 appears in the Register twice, on 5/4 and 6/5/28,
flown each time by Gilbert Sykes, a local Tucson pilot.
Each time he was flying in from Phoenix. Five days after
his last Register entry, on 6/8/28, pilot Sykes had an accident
with NC4280 near Prescott, AZ. The accident report cites, “Light
air conditions at high altitude. Plane went into spin from
stall when turn was attempted to avoid a mountain. Insufficient
height above ground for recovery.” Pilot Sykes endured
“minor injuries.” You can see an image of the
aftermath of this accident at the Sykes link above.
UPLOADED: June 2005 REVISED: 01/23/06, 10/07/07
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