/3
In the years following World War I, most civil aircraft in the U.S. were repurposed warbirds such as the Curtiss Jenny. The Swallow emerged from Wichita, Kansas in 1924 and was among the first all-new civil aircraft. Its design was a collaboration of Lloyd Stearman, Walter Beech, and J. M. Moellendick. Powered by the famous Curtiss OX-5 engine, Swallows were prominent participants in the high-profile Ford Air Tour of 1925. The 1927-28 OX-5 Swallow featured a 3-place open cockpit, “N-type” interplane and cabane struts, and usually featured a gloss black fuselage with high-visibility orange wings.
In 1925, under the Kelly Act, the Post Office began to make contracts with private operators to carry air mail. The route from Pasco, Washington to Elko, Nevada, called CAM 5 (Contract Air Mail route number 5), was awarded to Walter T. Varney, who was the only bidder. Varney acquired six new Swallows for the high-risk route over the mountains and desert. On April 6, 1926, thousands of Pasco residents came to see pilot Leon Cuddeback and the first mail-laden Swallow take off for Elko via Boise, Idaho. The Swallow carried 207 pounds of mail, consisting of 9,285 individual pieces, as well as some bottles of grape juice intended for President Calvin Coolidge. Varney soon found that the Swallows were underpowered for hot-temperature and high-altitude conditions, and larger Wright J-4 engines were installed quickly thereafter. Later, Varney Air Lines and other companies, including Boeing Air Transport, merged to become United Air Lines.
The Museum’s example is a 1928 Swallow Commercial or “OX-5 Swallow” restored to look like a Varney Swallow mail plane. It was at one time owned by a group of about twenty Buick mechanics in the Chicago area, who partnered to purchase it at an air show there in 1929. Over time the aircraft was damaged, eventually disassembled, and placed in storage. It was found by Dario Toffenetti in Chicago in 1965. After buying the vintage aircraft, he and E. E. “Buck” Hilbert worked on restoration during 1975-76. In 1976, Hilbert flew the aircraft from Pasco to Boise, Idaho as part of United Airlines’ fiftieth anniversary celebrations. It was donated to United, who in turn donated it to the Museum in 1988.
The plane was originally powered by a Curtiss OX-5, 90-horsepower engine but currently has a Continental W 670 6N 220-horsepower power plant.
In the years following World War I, most civil aircraft in the U.S. were repurposed warbirds such as the Curtiss Jenny. The Swallow emerged from Wichita, Kansas in 1924 and was among the first all-new civil aircraft. Its design was a collaboration of Lloyd Stearman, Walter Beech, and J. M. Moellendick. Powered by the famous Curtiss OX-5 engine, Swallows were prominent participants in the high-profile Ford Air Tour of 1925. The 1927-28 OX-5 Swallow featured a 3-place open cockpit, “N-type” interplane and cabane struts, and usually featured a gloss black fuselage with high-visibility orange wings.
In 1925, under the Kelly Act, the Post Office began to make contracts with private operators to carry air mail. The route from Pasco, Washington to Elko, Nevada, called CAM 5 (Contract Air Mail route number 5), was awarded to Walter T. Varney, who was the only bidder. Varney acquired six new Swallows for the high-risk route over the mountains and desert. On April 6, 1926, thousands of Pasco residents came to see pilot Leon Cuddeback and the first mail-laden Swallow take off for Elko via Boise, Idaho. The Swallow carried 207 pounds of mail, consisting of 9,285 individual pieces, as well as some bottles of grape juice intended for President Calvin Coolidge. Varney soon found that the Swallows were underpowered for hot-temperature and high-altitude conditions, and larger Wright J-4 engines were installed quickly thereafter. Later, Varney Air Lines and other companies, including Boeing Air Transport, merged to become United Air Lines.
The Museum’s example is a 1928 Swallow Commercial or “OX-5 Swallow” restored to look like a Varney Swallow mail plane. It was at one time owned by a group of about twenty Buick mechanics in the Chicago area, who partnered to purchase it at an air show there in 1929. Over time the aircraft was damaged, eventually disassembled, and placed in storage. It was found by Dario Toffenetti in Chicago in 1965. After buying the vintage aircraft, he and E. E. “Buck” Hilbert worked on restoration during 1975-76. In 1976, Hilbert flew the aircraft from Pasco to Boise, Idaho as part of United Airlines’ fiftieth anniversary celebrations. It was donated to United, who in turn donated it to the Museum in 1988.
The plane was originally powered by a Curtiss OX-5, 90-horsepower engine but currently has a Continental W 670 6N 220-horsepower power plant.
