buhlaircraftcompany

This Buhl CA-3C Airsedan (reg. NC5860; c/n 28) is still extant. Here's a 2012 photo of it in the collection of Flickr user John Tomlinson. www.flickr.com/photos/jlt_egcc74/7757780474/

This is a photo of Mildred Doran, of the ill-fated "Miss Doran" and Emory Bronte prior to the start of the Dole Air Race from Oakland, California to Honolulu, Hawaii on or about August 16, 1927. Bronte was the navigator for the Travel Air 5000 "City of Oakland" (piloted by Ernest Smith) which had taken off from Oakland for Honolulu on July 14, 1927. "City of Oakland" would ultimately exhaust its fuel and make a crash landing on Molokai on July 15th. While Smith and Bronte did not reach Honolulu, they did become the first civilian flight to reach Hawaii non-stop from California. For comparison purposes, below is a photo of Smith and Bronte. Note Bronte's jacket pants and socks - virtually identical to those in this photo.

The unshaven gentleman to the left side of the frame is Roland B. "Pete" Reinhart, the unshaven gentleman to the right side of the frame is Loren W. Mendell. Both would fly an endurance flight lasting over 246 hours, from July 2 to July 12, 1929 in the Buhl CA-5 Airsedan named "The Angeleno" (Reg. NC3763 / NR3763) . The aircraft was able to remain in the air for that time due to several aerial refuelings performed by a Curtiss Carrier Pigeon (reg. NR35), also captured among the photos in the SDASM Luqueer collection. See: www.dmairfield.com/airplanes/NC3763/index.html

Here is British Pathe newsreel footage of Mendell and Reinhart's marathon flight aboard "The Angeleno," including its in-flight refueling by the Curtiss Carrier Pigeon (NR35). Mendell, Reinhart, and Carrier Pigeon crew N. Paul Whittier and Slade Hulbert (each with flying goggles atop their heads) can be seen at the conclusion of the newsreel: YouTube- British Pathé: "Aloft 10 Days Aka A Loft 10 Days (1929)"