|
Boeing Model 40-B-4 NC843M
DESTINATION?
This airplane is a Boeing Model 40-B-4 (S/N 1169; ATC #183),
manufactured in February 1930 by the Boeing Airplane Company,
Seattle, WA. It left the factory with a Pratt & Whitney
Hornet CA engine (S/N 430) of 525 HP. It was a large, five-place
airplane, weighing 6,075 pounds. The pilot sat in an
open cockpit.
Unlike its sister ship NC842M, which was used as a company
demonstrator, this airplane was sold directly on February
6, 1930 to Western Air Express, Los
Angeles, CA. It
wore the title, “W.A.E. #55”. Below, courtesy of Tim Kalina, is an image of 843M in W.A.E. livery.
Boeing Model 40-B-4, Circa 1930, Location Unknown
 |
We find NC843M at Tucson on February 12, 1930 flown solo
by Erik Nelson. He is eastbound from San
Diego, CA to St. Louis, MO. There is no clue in the Register or in the NASM record as to why he would
be flying a new W.A.E. airplane to St. Louis.
There is scant information about this airplane in
the NASM records. It was flight-tested by Boeing pilot
E.T. Allen, then ferried south from Seattle to Oakland,
CA by Grover Tyler. There is record of a “minor
accident”, but no dates or details. If you know
more about this airplane, please let me know.
---o0o---
UPLOADED: 03/28/06 REVISED: 10/13/07, 07/31/08
|
