OTHER RESOURCES
There is no data for NC9872 in the archives of the National Air & Space Museum (NASM), Washington, DC. This is because the airplane is still registered with the FAA.
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THANK YOU!
YOUR PURCHASE OF THESE BOOKS SUPPORTS THE WEB SITES THAT BRING TO YOU THE HISTORY BEHIND OLD AIRFIELD REGISTERS
Your copy of the Davis-Monthan Airfield Register 1925-1936 with all the pilots' signatures and helpful cross-references to pilots and their aircraft is available at the link. 375 pages with black & white photographs and extensive tables
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The Congress of Ghosts (available as eBook) is an anniversary celebration for 2010. It is an historical biography, that celebrates the 5th year online of www.dmairfield.org and the 10th year of effort on the project dedicated to analyze and exhibit the history embodied in the Register of the Davis-Monthan Airfield, Tucson, AZ. This book includes over thirty people, aircraft and events that swirled through Tucson between 1925 and 1936. It includes across 277 pages previously unpublished photographs and texts, and facsimiles of personal letters, diaries and military orders. Order your copy at the link.
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Military Aircraft of the Davis Monthan Register 1925-1936 is available at the link. This book describes and illustrates with black & white photographs the majority of military aircraft that landed at the Davis-Monthan Airfield between 1925 and 1936. The book includes biographies of some of the pilots who flew the aircraft to Tucson as well as extensive listings of all the pilots and airplanes. Use this FORM to order a copy signed by the author, while supplies last.
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Art Goebel's Own Story by Art Goebel (edited by G.W. Hyatt) is written in language that expands for us his life as a Golden Age aviation entrepreneur, who used his aviation exploits to build a business around his passion. Available as a free download at the link.
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Winners' Viewpoints: The Great 1927 Trans-Pacific Dole Race (available as eBook) is available at the link. This book describes and illustrates with black & white photographs the majority of military aircraft that landed at the Davis-Monthan Airfield between 1925 and 1936. The book includes biographies of some of the pilots who flew the aircraft to Tucson as well as extensive listings of all the pilots and airplanes. Use this FORM to order a copy signed by the author, while supplies last.
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Clover Field: The first Century of Aviation in the Golden State (available in paperback) With the 100th anniversary in 2017 of the use of Clover Field as a place to land aircraft in Santa Monica, this book celebrates that use by exploring some of the people and aircraft that made the airport great. 281 pages, black & white photographs.
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YOU CAN HELP
I'm looking for additional information and photographs of this airplane, especially earlier photos, to include on this page. If you have some you'd like to share, please click this FORM to contact me.
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TRAVEL AIR NC9872
This airplane is still with us and is flying in California. It is owned by Fun Flights, LLC of Carlsbad, CA, and is used for recreational passenger flights. An abbreviated history of NC9872 is at the link. Below, courtesy of the folks at Fun Flights, are six photographs of NC9872. First is an image in Parks Air College livery (refer to the history link, above and the Saint Louis University Digital Collection [SLU} Web site). By the looks of the aircraft parked in the background, this is not a vintage photograph. Indeed, Janene Shepherd of Fun Flights states, "The Parks Airline livery was done sometime in the 1960’s by pilot Spencer Nelson who bought N9872 in 1965, joined up with Richard Bach's 'Great American Flying Circus’ for a brief spell (from Chapter 16 onwards in “Nothing by Chance” by Bach) and later in the 1973 movie about that summer."
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Next are images as NC9872 appears today. At the Fun Flights Web site, linked above, you can purchase a flight in this airplane. Below, the first shot of airplane with wooden propeller was taken October, 2015 when the prop was installed.
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NC9872 landed three times at Parks Airport. Each time it was piloted by P.C. Collins. Collins' first landing was on Monday, July 28, 1930 at 9:20AM. Based at Chicago, IL, he cited no passengers or destination.
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Collins' second landing at Parks was on Wednesday, April 8, 1931 at 1:30PM. This time he cited his home base as St. James, MO. He arrived at East St. Louis from Canastota, NY, but did not identify a destination.
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Collins' third and final landing was on Monday,June 15, 1931 at 7:15PM. He was again based at St. James, MO and cited his destination as St. Louis, MO. No passenger identification. Please link to Collins' biography page for additional information about him. He was killed by a propeller strike in 1937.
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The history link above has a video that shows Travel Air duster planes in action. It is not clear if NC9872 is in the film, but it did, like many of its peers, serve as a spray aircraft for a time in California.
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I visited with this airplane in Carlsbad during February 2019 on a chilly, dreary day. Below are some photos I snapped. First, a port aft quarter profile.
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Next a view from 6:00.
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A view of your Webmaster, NC9872 and owner/pilot "Biggles" Shepherd.
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Below, the registration number appears on the large rudder. The clear covering over the elevator cables and bellcrank facilitates their inspection.
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Below are the dataplates for the airplane, left, and the engine.
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SPONSORED LINKS
THIS PAGE UPLOADED: 11/1/15 REVISED: 07/22/17, 02/21/20