POST-WAR CLEVELAND

wacoykc · **Posted:** Sat Nov 15, 2008 12:03 am

Here are a few that I know you all will enjoy. These are a few I have left from a large collection that was stolen from my hangar which included alot of signed items from 1928 - 1939 N.A.R., badges, pins, brochures, programs, etc. If a woman from Ohio contacts you about selling or appraising a collection then PLEASE PM me.

Eric Presten · **Posted:** Sat Nov 15, 2008 3:20 am

Some very, very cool pictures. Note the use of tail skids.

retroaviation · **Posted:** Sat Nov 15, 2008 8:39 am

More, More!!!

Gary

MX304 · **Posted:** Sat Nov 15, 2008 1:17 pm

Most of those I recognize, but what the heck is NX84Y?

wacoykc · **Posted:** Sat Nov 15, 2008 2:09 pm

That is the Francis Special owned by Jerry Francis of Lansing, Michigan. Hung in his hangar until he died back in the early 1990's. No idea what happened to it.

wacoykc · **Posted:** Sat Nov 15, 2008 2:10 pm

That is all I have left of post-war racers. All the rest is 1928-1939.

MX304 · **Posted:** Sat Nov 15, 2008 2:11 pm

wacoykc wrote:

That is all I have left of post-war racers. All the rest is 1928-1939.

Bring it on....especially idf you have some of the Hall Bulldog.

wacoykc · **Posted:** Sat Nov 15, 2008 2:21 pm

As I mentioned in the opening post, I lost what could be termed as a major collection. Many original photos of the Golden Age Air Racers. I was good fiends with many of the serious collectors and historians of the time and we traded photos via mail...even sent ORIGINAL negatives back and forth. There were probably over 1000 photos in that collection. These that I posted have come from the only photo book that remains and there is not alot there that people have not seen before. I'll post a few that I think are unpublished. Kinda doubt there are any Hall-Springfield Bulldog photos in the book but will look.

10kDA · **Posted:** Sun Nov 16, 2008 7:37 am

NX84Y was built by Perry Hansen of East Lansing MI in 1934. At the time, it was known as the "Hansen Baby Bullet #3" because it was the third Hansen had built from plans for Ed Heath's Baby Bullet. These plans were published in Popular Aviation Magazine in 1930, and were not accurate to the original airplane. Perry Hansen incorporated improvements and mods and I believe his #2 and #3, nearly identical, were much different than the magazine version. Both were powered by a Continental A-40. #3 was modded to a Goodyear Racer configuration after WWII when owned by Jerry Francis and was named the Francis-Angell Special. The big bubble windscreen came with the Goodyear-era mods.

The Francis-Angell Special was later modded again with a canopy much like the smaller ones typical of the Goodyear racers. It is now owned by Dave Cleavenger of Livonia MI.

Hansen Bullets #2 and #3 were flown by Art Davis in many prewar races and did quite well. I am working on a replica of #2 and if anyone has any info on Davis, Hansen and/or his racers, I would like to hear from them.

Thanks,

Chris

wacoykc · **Posted:** Sun Nov 16, 2008 8:04 am

What kind of info are you looking for on Art Davis?

10kDA · **Posted:** Sun Nov 16, 2008 8:32 am

Anything related to his flying the Hansen racers. I'm hoping something will turn up about the color scheme of #2. All I have are b&ws, and everyone I have contacted about this airplane has the same. I really don't want to paint my airplane two-tone grey.

barnbstormer · **Posted:** Sun Nov 16, 2008 12:48 pm

Andy;
Beautiful photos. Please post some of the more oddball pre-war racers if you can. Those are really sharp and clear, so they appear to be first generation and from 8 x 10 size?
Quite horrifying to hear that there are still people out there that will come and rob your photos. I often leave strangers in my library for hours of research, while I go elsewhere. Blind trust has its risks, but living in fear of crooks is worse for me. Takes all the fun out of it..Can you tell me when and where they were stolen? any rare items to keep an eye out for. I come across, and am offered a LOT of aviation memorabilia collections. But now that I am getting older, I am collecting less than the past 40 years of obsessive collecting.
As to the Hansen..I have at least 1500 original photos (and another half dozen boxes)from Cliff Henderson's collection. Before I go through the 11 albums, can you advise if you have any of the other registration #s and/or racing numbers or unique markings. I am happy to look through the photss again,and often..for more Hansen images.
I have all kinds of fun stuff like a group of photos set to Cliff Henderon by Roscoe Turner-along with one of his corncob pipes. and a whle set of (about 7)different pilot licenses and certificates and factory photo I,Ds for Benny Howard. including the years he won the big races. Bt the photos are great, as they are the original photos (some with Lindbergh, Earhart & Eckner etc) which still have the various Cleveland,(and other) professional photographers stamps on the backs. will dig out a few to post here, after the weekend. Also have Charles Hubbels set of 44 Original pencil dwgs of air racers, and a companion set that were printed and matted and signed by of most of the pilots and designers. Alo have Hubbell's Original oil painting of the Laird Super Solution and the painting is signed on the front by Hubbell, Laird, & Jimmy Doolittle. Also got Hubbell's Original signed & dated 1933 oil painting of the Gee Bee from the grandson of Robertson, who Hubbell gave the painting to , back then.
Lots of Original air racing paintings & dwgs are shown on my website, as listed in my signature below.

wacoykc · **Posted:** Sun Nov 16, 2008 1:41 pm

You certainly sound like you have items I would love to have! I'll try to post some more items this week. I also have a huge stack of 4x5 negs of Golden Age Air Racers somewhere in our house and would love to try out this new scanner with them. Most of all that stuff has not been published. As I mentioned before in a previous thread, I was friends with alot of the major collectors and air race experts about 20 years ago. Most are gone now. They got a big kick out of someone so young who knew so much about 1920's-30's race planes and who actually had photos alot of them had never seen!

10kDA · **Posted:** Sun Nov 16, 2008 1:52 pm

Thanks for looking. The reg number on the Hansen #2 was NR282W, time frame was 1932 and 1933, race numbers 44 and 46 - and for a time in 1932, it had 44 on the fuselage and 46 on the wing.

Ztex · **Posted:** Sun Nov 16, 2008 5:10 pm

Great!

What is the PFTTT? I don't think I have ever seen that one or the NX84Y.

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