George H. "Buck" Miller, 1944 (Source: Hendrickson)

George Miller landed twice at Tucson. The first time, on Wednesday, March 16, 1932 at 2:30 PM, he arrived carrying two unidentified passengers in Buhl CA-1WA NC8458. They were based at Philadelphia, PA and arrived from El Paso, TX enroute westbound to Los Angeles, CA. Please direct your browser to the airplane's page to see images of this sleek craft.

His second landing was on April 13, 1932 in a Kellett K-3 autogiro, NC12691. He carried a single passenger, one R.H. Marti. They were again westbound having arrived from El Paso, TX. They did not list a final destination in the Register. This aircraft is is a coupe model, with enclosed cockpit (see below).

From 1943 to 1946 George Miller was at Platt-LePage Aircraft (PLA) as the test pilot for the XR-1 and XR-1A helicopters. After PLA closed in August 1946, Miller did some of the flight test work on the McDonnell XHJD-1 helicopter, which was essentially a PLA design.

Below, we see (L to R) unknown, Col. H. Franklin Gregory, Buck Miller in the cockpit and Dr. W. Laurence LePage. The aircraft is the Platt-LePage XR-1A helicopter.

Delivery of Platt-LePage XR-1A, Wright Field, June 21, 1944 (Source: Hendrickson)

LePage designed the Kellett K-3 autogiro (among other models) that Miller flew to Tucson on April 13, 1932. Below is an image of a sister ship, NC12671.

Kellett K-3 Autogiro, NC12671 (Source: Hendrickson)

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UPLOADED: 06/15/11 REVISED: