Tulsa-Oklahoma
City Airline Stinson SM-1 Detroiter
NC1929 (c/n 211)
The first flight of what was to become Braniff Airways was undertaken
on 20 June 1928 on the
116 mile route from
Oklahoma City to Tulsa using the Stinson Detroiter shown above.
This
model received
its type certificate (ATC 16) in 1927. The airline had
three employers, owner
Thomas E.
Braniff, pilot Paul Braniff (his brother) and E.E. Westervelt. On
3 November 1930
the name of the
company was changed to Braniff Airways. In the above shot
the pilot is seated,
looking
almost as if he's about to 'start engine'. I hope he remembered
that the tail was sitting
on a 55 gal oil drum
before taxiing off!