Boeing School of Aeronautics

[hesham]

Hi,

The Boeing School of Aeronautics was started by Boeing to compete against the Wright brothers' Wright Flying School and Curtiss Flying School in San Diego, California. Founded in 1929 at Oakland Municipal airport, the school started with a staff of 19 and 100 students. It was licensed by the Aeronautical Chamber of Commerce, who had taken over the licensing of aviation schools.

By 1937 the school had expanded operations to 41 staff and 500 students.In October 1938 General Arnold brought in the top three aviation school representatives to request they establish an unfunded startup of Civilian Pilot Training Program schools at their own risk. These were Oliver Parks of Parks Air College, C. C. Moseley of the Curtiss-Wright Technical Institute, and Theophilus Lee, Jr.,of the Boeing School of Aeronautics; all agreed to start work.This expanded in 1940 to include training of 5000 U.S. Army Mechanics. The school expanded to 14 buildings and 1000 students at its peak in 1942. Commercial pilot training was suspended to customer United Airlines to meet wartime demand in August that year. By 1943 the CPTP contract had expired and Boeing absorbed the school operations into the parent company. The facilities remained under the new name United Air Lines Training Center which continued to train mechanics under a Navy contract until 1945, before closing.

The school operated early Boeing aircraft. These included the Boeing Model 81 and Model 100 pursuit fighter 1928, Boeing Model 203 in 1929. Students would help design, develop, test fly and maintain Boeing aircraft, providing the parent company sales and engineering feedback. Several original aircraft were designed by students and teachers, such as the 1939 Thorp T-5, and T-6.

I want to know if there was a Project or little known aircraft by its students or not ?,and for Thorp
T-5 & T-6,please see;

https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,26498.msg271017.html#msg271017

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_School_of_Aeronautics

 

[Stargazer]

[list type=decimal]
[*]A Travel Air 2000 fitted experimentally by W. J. Besler (helped by his brother) with a 150hp 2-cylinder Besler V-2 steam engine was developed with Doble Steam Car Co. and the Boeing School of Aeronautics [X4259]. We do have a Besler topic on the forum, so you should be able to find it.
[*]The first of two Boeing Model 81A airplanes with a 145hp Axelson engine was first flown Dec. 27, 1928 and delivered to the BSA. Model 81A became Model 81B with change to a 115-hp Axelson which was later changed to five-cylinder J-6-5 of 165 hp. It became 81C when a 100-hp Kinner K-5 five-cylinder radial engine was installed, after several years an unairworthy Axelson engine was reinstalled and it became a classroom maintenance trainer.
[*]Five Boeing Model 203 biplanes, also with the 145hp Axelson, were built for the Boeing School of Aeronautics and never seen outside school flying area. The fifth 203 actually had a 165-hp five-cylinder Wright J-6-5 Whirlwind engine, and all examples were subsequently modified at the school with the J-6 as Model 203A. In 1932 another conversion to 220-hp Lycoming R-680 was made and the school called it the 203B. Hoods were installed over the front cockpit and they served as instrument trainers.
[*]The Thorp-designed Paulic XT-3B side-by-side trainer [NX21726] was initially planned for the Boeing School of Aeronautics, but was eventually replaced by the similar Thorp T-5/T-6, which you've mentioned.
[/list]


Other aircraft of the Boeing School of Aeronautics (BSA)
(Aircraft type / Dates / Period of use / Number of seats / Powerplant / Notes)

• Hamilton H-45 1930-1936 8 425-hp P&W Wasp Used for cross-country and aerial photography.
• Stinson SM-2AA 1930-1931 4 175-hp Wright R540 Used for aerial photography.
• Stearman 6-A 1930-1940 2 165-hp Wright J-6-5
• Boeing 40-C2 1930-1937 4 425-hp P&W Wasp
• Stinson SM-8A 1931-1936 4 215-hp Lycoming R680 Used for night flying.
• Boeing 100 1934-1936 1 425-hp P&W Wasp Damaged in China, returned to Boeing factory and given to BSA. Used very little and only for special students.
• Boeing 40B 1934-1940 2 525-hp P&W Hornet Shared with UAL Oakland Line pilots. Equipped for blind landings.
• Ford 5-AT-D 1934-1936 14 3-450-hp P&W Wasp Used for copilot training of BSA flight students.
• Boeing 80A-1 1935-1937 14 3-450-hp P&W Wasp Used for copilot training of BSA flight students.
• Stinson SR-5C 1936-1940 5 260-hp Lycoming
• Boeing 247 1937-1941 13 2-550-hp P&W Wasp Shared with UAL Oakland Line pilots. Equipped for blind landings.
• BSA T-5 1938-1940 2 350-hp Wright Whirlwind Built by BSA students.
• BSA T-6 1939-1940 2 215-hp Lycoming T-5 converted to tri-gear and called T-6.
• Waco UPF-7 1939-1941 4 240-hp Continental
• Waco JKS-7 1940-1942 4 225-hp Jacobs
• Waco VKS-7 1940-1942 4 225-hp Jacobs
• Fairchild 24R40 1940-1942 4 175-hp Ranger
• Piper J-4A 1940-1942 2 65-hp Continental
• Howard DGA-9 1940-1942 4 285-hp Jacobs
• Stinson SR-10E 1940-1942 5 320-hp Wright
• Stinson HW-75 1941-1942 5 350-hp Wright Whirlwind
• Link Trainer 1937-1942

The story of the school became more complicated after 1934. Boeing Air Transport transferred its operating properties to United Air Lines
(UAL) on July 20, 1934, and this included the BSA, which became a division of UAL until its termination on August 31, 1942. One of the divisions of BSA was the Tracy, Calif., school for training new UAL first officer pilots. The other division was the U.S. Army Air Corps Mechanics Training Center at Oakland, California. Beginning in October 1940, flight trainers were being transferred from BSA Oakland to Tracy for the beginning of the first class of October 14, 1940. At the end of the program, the Tracy school had the following aircraft:

• Boeing 203B [NC13392] 225hp
• Waco VKS-7 [NC29371] 240hp
• Waco VKS-7 [NC29372] 225hp
• Waco JKS-7 [NC29373] 225hp
• Stinson SR-9BD [NC17138] 260hp
• Stinson SR-10E [NC26212] 350hp
• Fairchild 24 [NC15995] 175hp
• Fairchild 24R [NC25329] 175hp
• Fairchild 24R [NC28528] 175hp
• Fairchild 24R NC28531] 175hp
• Link Trainer
• Boeing 247*
• Douglas DC-3*

*The 247 and DC-3 were at BSA Oakland and available between commercial flights or when down for other reasons.

The UAL Board of Directors on January 8, 1943, changed the BSA's name to United Air Lines Training Center.


I warmly recommend two AAHS articles dedicated to the subject:

• "Boeing School of Aeronautics, 1929 to 1943", by Kenneth E.. Bourke (American Aviation Historical Society Journal, Winter 2007)
• "Boeing School of Aeronautics Expansion 1940", by Kenneth E. Bourke (American Aviation Historical Society Journal, Winter 2013)

 

[hesham]

Thank you my dear Skyblazer.

 

[Boxman]

Of interest (if not aware already), the San Diego Air & Space Museum (SDASM) Archives' Flickr Commons photostream features a collection consisting of, "Photos from an Album presented to Theopilus (T) Lee upon his retirement from United Airlines. Lee was a pioneer in United's training programs." Among these are several photos and items relating to the Boeing School of Aeronautics.

Here's a link:
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/sdasmarchives/sets/72157635623439836/">Flickr - SDASM Archives - AL-6 Theophilus Lee Photo Album Collection</a>

 

[Stargazer]

Of interest (if not aware already), the San Diego Air & Space Museum (SDASM) Archives' Flickr Commons photostream features a collection consisting of, "Photos from an Album presented to Theopilus (T) Lee upon his retirement from United Airlines. Lee was a pioneer in United's training programs." Among these are several photos and items relating to the Boeing School of Aeronautics.

I wasn't aware... the SDASM adds new albums regularly and I don't always try to keep up, which I should. Thanks for this collection, which complements the subject nicely.

 

[hesham]

Thank you Boxman.

 

[dan_inbox]

I wasn't aware... the SDASM adds new albums regularly and I don't always try to keep up, which I should.

If you create a Flickr account (or have a Yahoo account), you can "follow" SDASM and you'll be notified when they post new stuff.
There's a lot of dreck (especially the "curatorial images"), but there are also regularly some gems.