charleslawrance

Apparently another photo in the sequence of the Christening of the New York Naval Militia's Burgess-Dunne Seaplane at the foot of 52nd St. in Brooklyn in July 1916. The gentleman standing to the left, looming above a seemingly pensive and seated Vincent Astor (Astor's then-wife, Helen Dinsmore Huntington, with parasol and roses in hand, is seated to the right of Commodore Robert P. Forshew) is almost certainly Charles L. Lawrance. Lawrance would go on to play a vital role aviation (see below). Here's an article about the event in Aerial Age Weekly, Volume 3, July 10, 1916, page 503, Second Battalion N.M.N.Y. Seaplane Christened : books.google.com/books?id=FNRLAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA503&l... Note, that the Aerial Age story states that Charles L. Lawrance of the "citizens' committee which bought the seaplane," was also present. Lawrance is the very same person who would design the Lawrance J-1 radial engine, the direct predecessor to the Wright Whirlwind engine which would power countless historically significant flights, including that of Charles Lindbergh and the Spirit of St. Louis from New York to Paris. See a photo of Lawrance below standing to the right side of the frame, next to Lindbergh at Curtiss Field prior to Lindbergh's solo transatlantic flight in 1927: More about Lawrance: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Lawrance

Interesting that the article specifically states that Vincent Astor was in his Naval uniform. I wonder if he kept a spare sailor suit on his yacht?

Seuss. Good question, as Astor is still in his civilian clothes (with his back to the camera) in this other photo of the event.

Definitely looks like Lawrance there.

A photo of the Ryan NYP "Spirit of St. Louis" at Curtiss Field (adjacent to Roosevelt Field) on Long Island, after the replacement of the original nose cone. Standing from left to right are, B.F. Mahoney, Harry F. Guggenheim, Lindbergh, and Charles Lawrance. Mahoney was the owner of Ryan Airlines, the builders of the "Spirit of St. Louis." Guggenheim, a wealthy buinessman and philanthropist from the North Shore of Long Island, had just met Lindbergh. After Lindbergh's triumphant return to the US, he and Guggenheim would assist the work of another aviation pioneer, Robert F. Goddard. Lawrance was an aeronautical engineer who was instrumental in the development of the air-cooled radial engine. His own company, the Lawrance Aero Engine Company, was purchased by Wright Aeronautical in 1923. In 1925, Lawrance would become the president of Wright Aeronautical and lead the development of the Wright J-5 Whirlwind that powered the "Spirit of St. Louis."

BF Mahoney had already purchased Ryan Aircraft. BF kept the name of the company as Ryan Aircraft leading to some confusion. see link: www.charleslindbergh.com/plane/mahoney.asp

Replacement propeller spinner and nosecone, which replaced the original spinner and more blunt nosecone which cracked during Lindbergh's May 12, 1927 flight from San Diego to Long Island. That places this photo at Curtiss Field (adjacent to Roosevelt Field), where the spinner and nosecone were replaced prior to Lindbergh's flight to Paris.

Grover Loening is to the far right, and radial engine pioneer Charles Lawrance is the gentleman seated with the moustache. See: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Lawrance en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grover_Loening

Charles Lawrance is indeed the mustachioed gentleman. The man at the right is not Grover Loening.

7ARed I strongly believe this to be Loening. Not only was he a member of the Long Island Aviation Country Club and a colleague of Bud Gillies (who's to Lawrance's right, and whose photo collection this comes from), there are also several contemporaneous photos from the era of Loening (see below - including the first one also taken at the Aviation Country Club) which clearly illustrate the strong resemblance. www.flickr.com/photos/sdasmarchives/9843691976/ www.flickr.com/photos/sdasmarchives/9843780083/ www.flickr.com/photos/sdasmarchives/9843595865/ www.flickr.com/photos/sdasmarchives/9843721906/ www.flickr.com/photos/sdasmarchives/9843606234/

I'm sorry, but I don't see a resemblance to Loening at all. I have many personal photos taken by my father (who worked for Loening from 1925-1933) of both Loening and B. Allison "Bud" Gillies and the ACC (of which my father was a member. He appears in at least one photo in the online Gillies collection here.) The comparison of the gentleman in the photo to Loening doesn't hold up. We'll have to agree to disagree.