aeromarineairways

Aeromarine Airways' Model 85 flying boat (a converted Curtiss HS-2L), named "Waldorf", in the foreground, as the French Line ship SS Paris (1916) approaches in the distance. See: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Paris_(1916) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeromarine_West_Indies_Airways www.timetableimages.com/ttimages/aeromfl.htm

TVL1970 Hello Jonathan. I think you have identified the Aeromarine "Waldorf" cleanly but I was not able to link the name 'Waldorf" of this flying boat to the Model 85. There seems to be only an incomplete list of names of the ca. 15 Model 85 flying boats, about 7 names are identified but not the "Waldorf".

Thank you for the comment, Kees. Looking into this deeper, I came across some information that should secure Waldorf's identity as an Aeromarine Model 85 flying boat. At The Aeromarine Website, Waldorf is identified as an "Aeromarine Model 85/80" among a list of aircraft operated by the airline. Both types of aircraft were modified surplus HS-2L flying boats, but the Model 80 could be distinguished from Model 85 by the Model 80's addition of an enclosed passenger cabin (which Waldorf lacks). Further, just a bit of circumstantial evidence, all of the Aeromarine Airways' aircraft named after famous hotels and captured in photos - Ambassador, McAlpin, Vanderbilt, and Biltmore - were Model 85s, like Waldorf. However, the best evidence as to Waldorf's type is a two-page Aeromarine advertisement in Aviation and Aircraft Journal, February 7, 1921, Vol. X, No. 6, on pages 173-174. The ad illustrates the company's line of surplus HS-2L (and derived) aircraft, including the Model 85 as "Aeromarine-Navy HS-2-L, Six Seat. Open Cockpit Flying Boat, Model No. 85," and "Aeromarine-Navy HS-2-L, Enclosed Cabin De Luxe Flying Limousine, Model No. 80." As an aside, this ad is in the middle of a pretty interesting article about the company, spanning pages 171-176. As best I can tell, from The Aeromarine Website, contemporary direct sources - like the company's advertisements, the configuration of the aircraft, etc., the best available evidence points to Waldorf being a Model 85 flying boat.

Thanks for your research, TVL1970 and Kees Kort . We will add some of this information to the catalog record for the image.

One of Aeromarine Airways' modified Navy F5L flying boats for passenger service, Aeromarine Model 75, named "Santa Maria." See: www.timetableimages.com/ttimages/aerom.htm The Dawn of American Commercial Aviation, by Ladislas d'Orcy; Scientific American, Vol. 123, No. 22 (November 27, 1920), p. 546, 555, 557.