Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Have you seen the Gilmore airplane?






all from a Flikr page of George, who has the cool trucking blog http://georgedennis.blogspot.com


The "GILMORE" plane was a Wasp powered C/n 75, NR-3057, the third of a total of eight air Expresses built, started its life on May 13 1929 as Lockheed’s development/demonstrator plane. c/n 75 failed in an attempt by Lockheed on the cross-country speed record. General Tire and Rubber Company bought her as their entry in the 1929 Los Angeles-Cleveland Non-Stop Derby.

 Fitted with a 525 hp Pratt & Whitney R-1690 Hornet, she won. Shortly thereafter Gilmore Oil Company bought c/n 75 for “Colonel” Roscoe Turner. The “Colonel” rank was self-bestowed for use on his self-designed uniforms. Turner set many point-to-point speed records with “Gilmore” carrying “Gilmore” the lion cub as his passenger as a publicity gimmick. “Gilmore” was fitted with his own parachute just in case.

A Wasp replaced the big Hornet in 1931. In 1932 Turner bought the plane and acquired sponsorship from MacMillan Petroleum and renamed the plane “Roscoe Turner’s Ring-Free Express.” Due to extensive dry rot, beyond economic repair, c/n75 was parted-out and burned in 1940.


3 comments:

  1. It looks like a modified Lockheed Vega, but I know that's not it...


    Did some looking around, and it's an Air Express, which was based on the fuse of the Vega.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hopefully "DENNIS" will be hereafter known by his first name -- George.

    ReplyDelete
  3. The "GILMORE" plane was a Wasp powered C/n 75, NR-3057, the third of a total of eight air Expresses built, started its life on May 13 1929 as Lockheed’s development/demonstrator plane. c/n 75 failed in an attempt by Lockheed on the cross-country speed record. General Tire and Rubber Company bought her as their entry in the 1929 Los Angeles-Cleveland Non-Stop Derby. Fitted with a 525 hp Pratt & Whitney R-1690 Hornet, she won.

    Shortly thereafter Gilmore Oil Company bought c/n 75 for “Colonel” Roscoe Turner. The “Colonel” rank was self-bestowed for use on his self-designed uniforms. Turner set many point-to-point speed records with “Gilmore” carrying “Gilmore” the lion cub as his passenger as a publicity gimmick. “Gilmore” was fitted with his own parachute just in case. A Wasp replaced the big Hornet in 1931. In 1932 Turner bought the plane and acquired sponsorship from MacMillan Petroleum and renamed the plane “Roscoe Turner’s Ring-Free Express.” Due to extensive dry rot, beyond economic repair, c/n75 was parted-out and burned in 1940.

    ReplyDelete