LC-11 All-American Ranger – Registry X551E, SN
502
Built by: Vearne C. Babcock – c. 1929
All-American
Aircraft Company
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| Photograph of the oversized tire equipped on the X-551E, 'Ranger'. The tire was designed to allow landing on rough, and/or muddy airfields - Press Photo - taken at All-American Aircraft Show, Dearborn, Michigan, April 1929. |
The ill-fated X551E, second of the three LC-11’s had a career measured in months instead of years. Built in March of 1929, she was similar to her sister X7997 and NC889E, except that she had a slightly shorter fuselage and larger tires with smaller hubs designed to eliminate the need of shock-absorbers and allow landings on rough fields, hence the designation Ranger instead of Cadet. [1][7][8]
The only known record of her flying is during the All-American Aircraft Show, April 1929, hosted by Ford Motor Company at their airport in Dearborn, Michigan. Like her sisters she was designed as an affordable two seat, open cockpit, monoplane. The Aircraft Show at Dearborn was the perfect venue to demonstrate this economical little ship, sadly, tragedy struck on April 13, 1929, the second to last day of the event. [2][3][4]
Piloting X551E that day was Captain Alan E.T. Bruce, formerly of the Royal Air Corps in Canada, and a veteran of the First World War. His passenger was noted balloonist, William C. Naylor. Captain Bruce was piloting the Ranger over the airfield when Ammon H. Kreider, owner of Kreider-Resiner Aircraft Company, and noted race pilot took off. Wanting to show the spectators below the rapid climb rate of the new C-6 Challenger biplane, Kreider pulled his ship into a steep climb and slammed into the bottom of the Ranger. [2][3][4][8]
Locked together the planes plummeted from a height of 500 feet. Shortly before contact with the ground, the planes separated. The Challenger slammed into the earth, killing Kreider instantly, as the Ranger attempted to right itself. Unfortunately, even Captain Bruce’s skill was no match for gravity and the Ranger pancaked on top of him and Naylor. [2][3][4]
Captain Bruce was rendered unconscious with severe injuries and died later that day. Naylor lasted the longest, living for three days until succumbing to his wounds on April 16. The official report cited failure of either pilot to see the other. [5][6]
X-551E was reported as a total loss, however, it seems parts of her, including the LeBlond 5D engine, serial number 371, was salvaged for the construction of X-889E. [8][10]
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| A Fairchild KR-21 (aka, Kreider-Reisner C-6 Challenger) - Wikimedia Commons, Photo by William "Bill" Larkins |
References:
1.
1929 Press Photo of X551E – Shows a shorter fuselage and larger tires.
2.
“Mid-Air Crash Fatal to One” – Associated Press Article – Abilene
Reporter-News, Abilene, Texas – 14-Apr-1929, Pg 1 & 2
3.
“Detroit Air Crashes Take Lives of Two” – The News-Palladium, Benton
Harbor, Michigan – 15-Apr-1929, Pg 7
4.
“Death Stalks at Aircraft Show” – W. B. Ragsdale, Associated Press Staff
Writer – The Escanaba Daily Press, Escanaba, Michigan – 14-Apr-1929, Pg 1
5.
The Michigan Alumnus – Vol. 35, No. 27 – 27-Apr-1929, Pg 559
6.
“Aircraft Accidents: Letter from Sectary of Commerce” – Congressional
Serial Set #9342, 71st Congress, 3rd Session, Document
#319 – 24-Feb-1931, Pg 140
7.
Article in Winnipeg Tribune – Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada – 27-Apr-1929,
Pg 26
8.
Aircraft
Registration Records for X-551E, LC-11, All-American Aircraft Co. – National Air
and Space Museum
9.
Aircraft
Registration Records for X-597E, Challenger C-6, Kreider-Reisner Aircraft Co. –
National Air and Space Museum
10. Aircraft Registration Records for X-889E,
LC-11, All-American Aircraft Co. – National Air and Space Museum
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