1931 Mooney A-1 with Diesel Engine

[RogerDetroit]

Quick update.  I have spoken with and e-mailed the Univ. Texas aviation archivist regarding the 2 folders that Dave C posted.  As I said earlier, the archivist told me it is a minimum of a 4 week wait.

Dave C.  You asked about the source of the photo I posted.  That is a good question.  The Packard historian that I thought sent it to me claims he is not the source.  I did some more searching and it seems the (late) Robert Neal had the photo in his collection.  Robert was the author of the definitive work, Packard – Master Motor Builder.  Robert’s photo may be the original (see attached) as it shows more of the Packard Proving Grounds.  I would dare say that the photo I first posted is cropped from that original print.

BTW, the Packard Proving Grounds were opened June 14, 1928.  So with the PPG fairly new and the DR-980 new, it seems to me that Packard would have arranged a flight of the Mooney A-1 over the PPG for a photo op. 

This MAY be the only known photo of the A-1 model.  Has anybody seen another photo of this airplane?

As pilots, you folks may enjoy reading the starting sequence by Walter Lees, Packard Test Pilot:

From Jo Cooper's book PIONEER PILOT:

“I made the first test in a Stinson, a cabin job, the SM-IDX "Detroiter". The official test flight was to be in the morning, but Captain Woolson and I took the plane up the evening before just to be sure.  The engine had only one valve which acted as intake and exhaust. Our first test engine did not even have short exhaust stacks, but exhausted directly out of the cylinder into the open air.  

It flew all right, but coming in to land, I couldn't throttle under 1500, so took off again.  In my next attempt at landing, I lined up the plane on a glide to the field, then cut the fuel off entirely and landed with a dead stick. The next day I made several flights.  Capt. Woolson had installed a revolving valve on the intake and exhaust ports. It was hooked to the throttle so that it was open for takeoff and flying, but then closed off the ports and put back suction in the cylinders so the engine would slow down when landing.   

I made many experimental flights with Capt. Woolson, also with mechanics.  Once we made a flight to 19,000 feet without oxygen. We also made several night flights with automobile headlights for landing lights.  While flying one day, Capt. Woolson confided to me that he someday wanted to make an engine with one moving part. 

To start the engine in cold weather, we heated each cylinder with a blow torch, then ran the engine to warm it up. The flying was done inside the Packard Proving grounds, approximately 3/4 mile long and 1/4 mile wide. There was a hangar at one end.   

To impress the visitors who came out to see the engine run and fly, in winter time Capt. Woolson would call me up from the plant in Detroit, telling me the approximate time he and the visitors would reach the Proving Grounds. We would warm the engine up in the hangar and keep it running until we saw the car with the Capt. and the visitors turn into the grounds. Then we would shut the engine off and when they arrived, push the plane outside and start the engine before they could inspect it and see it was already warm.  

The first starter was a shot gun. Later, it was replaced by a special electrical starter. We also installed glow plugs in the head of each cylinder, hooked up directly to a large battery. When the push button for the starter was depressed, contact with the glow plugs was made. At no time was gasoline used to start the engine.”

[Dave Colangelo]

A quick search does not reveal anything immediately but this site has some photos of stuff it seems Al worked on.

However this site provides a different source for your image

According to Roger Luksik, the “Proving Grounds were opened on 6/14/1928.” The first diesel engine for airplanes was developed at the Packard Proving Grounds in 1929. Roger Luksik reported, “On 6/3/1929 the first 2-way, radiophone communication took place over the skies of the Packard Proving Grounds. Heretofore, gasoline powered aircraft caused too much electromagnetic interference for the weak voice signal to be heard over the static. Only a strong Morse code signal could be heard. As diesel engines neither have spark plugs, nor spark plug wiring the EM static was greatly reduced and allowed voice communication to be used. The 2-way ground-to-plane voice communication was witnessed by the U.S. Department of Commerce.” 

Image

A circa 1931 aerial view of a Mooney A-1 (possibly the sole example) powered by a Packard DR-980 diesel radial engine overflying Packard Proving Ground Airfield (courtesy of Roger Luksik), with the test track & hangar visible in the background.

You may be able to contact him. 

It would not shock me if that was the only image of the aircraft. keep in mind we are talking about a time in history when photography was still a very young thing. Pictures were not only costly but simply difficult to take. The under exposed right edge indicates this was most likely (and im pretty certain of it) taken on a 4x5 press camera and that either occurred due to a poorly loaded negative or a miss alignment while making the print. These cameras are not exactly the smallest thing on earth and would have been cumbersome to get into an aircraft from that time and not so easily operated. Photo op's were not what they are today. Its possible they went up into the plane with only a single negative (or possibly a few) when this photo was taken. On a press camera each negative is loaded into an individual film back (some are double sided and hold 2 negatives) and then the backs are slid into the camera individually and exposed one at a time. To give you an idea of cost, when I shoot 4x5 today when all is said and done its about $10 an image and that is just for the film and development (no printing). 

 

Dave

 

Edited June 3, 2017 by Dave Colangelo

[RogerDetroit]

Hello Dave C:

My screen name is RogerDetroit, but my real name is Roger Luksik - I am the source of the material on the "Abandoned Airfield" website.  I am the president of the the Packard Motor Car Foundation, a non-profit 501 (c)(3) working on saving the historic Packard Proving Grounds.  Thus, my interest in the Mooney.

I agree with you that a 4" X 5" photo plate was used back in 1931 - the image is very sharp.  You can read the tail number that corresponds to the FAA data sheet.

Our group could not save the entire 540 acres PPG site.  In fact, we moved the hangar from the infield of the high-speed test track onto the 14 acre site we now own.  BTW, in 1928 the test track set a world's closed course speed record at 148+ mph and that speed record stood until the Monza race track opened in the mid 1950s.   

[Dave Colangelo]

26 minutes ago, RogerDetroit said:

My screen name is RogerDetroit, but my real name is Roger Luksik

Sufficed to say, you should be able to contact him.... 

On any note, I did see all that in my searching and its pretty neat! Was there anything left in the hanger or on the estate related to the airplanes that once flew out of there? 

Dave

[Mcstealth]

I have nothing to but my interest. Good stuff guys. 

[RogerDetroit]

On 6/2/2017 at 10:22 PM, Dave Colangelo said:

Was there anything left in the hanger or on the estate related to the airplanes that once flew out of there? 

Dave

 

[RogerDetroit]

Sorry, there was nothing left behind about any of the historic airplane that flew out of that hangar.  

After Packard moved from Detroit in June of 1956 the site was eventually owned by the real estate unit of the Ford Motor Co.  I am pretty certain Packard cleaned out the building when they left and Ford never used the hangar in the 40 years they owned it.

When we moved the hangar about 14 years ago we set it down on a new perimeter foundation and rehung the doors.  It was only in April of this year that we saved enough money to pour the concrete floor.  We are rather certain it the hangar was a "pre-fab" building as we have never run across any blueprints for it.  If anyone knows who made pre-fab hangars, then please let me know.