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name of George Thomas Westinghouse is one of several global
corporate giant families recorded in the Davis-Monthan Register.
Erle Halliburton, Donald Douglas and Mr. & Mrs. Anthony
Fokker signed in as passengers. Henry Belin duPont and A. Felix
duPont, Jr. landed piloting their own aircraft. As well, a large
group of early aircraft manufacturers signed in (Beech, Cessna,
Piper, Stinson, etc.)
Among these noted pilots and passengers, however, George
Westinghouse visited most often (4 landings), probably because
his father owned a ranch near Tucson (the “Flying W”
ranch on Tanque Verde Road), and was a regular commuter in
and out of the old Airfield. Actually, it’s surprising
he didn’t sign the Register more often.
This link
provides information on the Westinghouse family, especially
the inventive George Sr. Curiously, the museum site does not
position our George Thomas in the family lineup.
From a pamphlet distributed at the Westinghouse Museum, however,
the following is revealed. George Thomas was the first-born
son of George Westinghouse III. Born in 1911 in Pittsburgh,
PA, he was named after his two grandfathers, George Westinghouse,
Jr., and Thomas Brocklebank. Photo, left, from that pamphlet.
Pilot Westinghouse passed away in 1983.
When World War II began, he joined the Royal Air Force, met
his bride-to-be in 1941, and they married and moved to Seattle,
WA in 1946. Photo of his life-long bride Mariquita, right,
also from the Museum pamphlet.
During October 2004, I had the distinct pleasure of meeting
with George Thomas’ wife, Mariquita, and their son,
George IV. Photo, below, taken at that time. From left to
right, George IV, Mariquita and your webmaster.
While his family hold many photos and other memorabilia of
George Thomas’ life, they have requested that I not
use any of them on our website. Out of respect for their request,
I am including only those items for which I have permission,
and which are available as public records.
George Thomas Westinghouse first recorded a landing at the
Davis-Monthan Airfield sometime between August 29 and September
4, 1932 (he didn’t leave us the exact date). He was
flying solo in a Waco, NC766K (anybody have pictures?). He
was inbound from Los Angeles.
The other three, later flights were in Lockheed Vega NC199E.
This airplane (photo, below, from Allen reference, left) was
named the “Elizabeth Lind”. Follow this link
for more on NC199E.
UPLOADED: 12/30/05 REVISED:
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