Lockheed Vega NC31E Amelia Earhart Owned Airplane Photo 8x10 Vintage Aviation
Post flew it, Parks College used it ... 1979 MDC PrintDESCRIPTIONThis 8x10 black and white photograph shows Lockheed Vega NC 31E parked on open grass. The registration NC 31E is lettered in white on the rudder, a pale stripe runs the length of the dark, smooth fuselage, and the nose view shows the radial engine inside a half-cowl ring, a large wheel with a white hub disc, and several people standing beside the airplane.NC31E was a Lockheed Vega Model 1, construction number 36, built at Burbank, California in January 1929 with a 220 hp Wright Whirlwind radial engine. Registry records describe it as a five-place airplane painted red and cream, which fits the dark body and pale trim seen in this black and white print.After serving as a Lockheed demonstrator, NC31E went to Amelia Earhart in 1929 in exchange for her earlier Vega, NC6911. Lockheed had it again by March 1930, when Wiley Post flew it into Tucson on March 19 and March 28. Parks Air College of East St. Louis, Illinois bought it on May 24, 1930 and used it for instruction and charter. Registry records note a half-cowl speed ring added to its engine in Parks service, the same type of ring seen around the engine in this photo, which suggests the picture may date from the Parks years. The print itself carries no date or caption. Records also show an accident at East St. Louis on March 8, 1934, a sale to the St. Louis Flying Service in June 1937, a sale to Mountain Flying Service of Denver that August, and a CAA file closure on November 1, 1938. Accounts differ on which of Earhart\'s Vegas she flew in the August 1929 Women\'s Air Derby, so no Derby claim is made for this one.From the AITKEN COLLECTION. This is a 1979 company print made by McDonnell Douglas Corporation (MDC) at St. Louis, not an original period print, and it is offered and priced as such. The reverse is stamped MDC ST. LOUIS, DEC 12 1979, NEGATIVES NOT FILED, and carries an owner\'s stamp for Donald and Barbara Aitken of Irvine, California. Scanned at 600dpi.Donald Aitken was a Navy-trained aviator who flew helicopters and then spent his airline career as a United Airlines captain on the 747, 727, 757, 767 and DC-10, retiring in 1996. He grew up watching planes overhead in rural North Dakota and flew radio-controlled airplanes well into his later years.Every effort is made toward fact checking and provenance, including background research through news and historical archives. If any listing is incorrect in any way and you\'re unsatisfied with the item, please connect with me and I\'ll make it right. Orders placed before Noon CDT ship same day via Ground Advantage with tracking so you know exactly when it will arrive. Returns accepted on all items exceeding $25 in cost. All shipments receive rigid, professional packaging, sealed and protected in acid free protectors. Shipping is free and already built into the price, so the BIN price is exactly what you pay, no surprise shipping costs at checkout.CONDITIONBlack and white 8x10 print on cream-toned photographic paper, a 1979 MDC St. Louis company print. The NC 31E lettering on the rudder is sharp and easy to read, with fine grain and strong contrast. The nose end is softer, with some blur around the propeller and the people beside the airplane that comes from the original photograph and not from wear. A few hairline scratches, small white flecks and dust specks show in the image, mostly across the dark tail and fuselage. No tears, creases or stains are visible in the scans. The reverse is blank apart from the blue MDC ST. LOUIS stamp with its date and NEGATIVES NOT FILED line and the Aitken owner\'s stamp, with faint tonal show-through of the image visible on the blank paper, all as pictured. Please review all photos closely, as they are part of the description.
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