I was called by the airport today at lunchtime, and I was told the T-hangar behind my hangar was on fire. That would be the hangar that I share the back wall. The person said the fire department was onsite, but the airport didn't have a fire hydrant, so the fire department was waiting for another truck that could haul the water. The fire ended up going to five alarms. I saw trucks from neighboring towns there, and then finally a foam truck from L3 Harris. When I finally was able to get to my hanger I wasn't really prepared to see what happened.
NC35778 had a rich history. It was first owned by the Clayton Flying Club in Clayton, New Mexico. The bill of sale says that that NC35778 sold for $1608.00. Then during WWII it was purchased by the Defense Plant Corporation. After the war it as purchased by Robert and Emma Browning. They lived in the Abilene area. There's even a story that Amelia Earhart became friends with the Brownings when she made a hard landing at their airfield and stayed with them while waiting on parts for her gyro plane.
The Brownings eventually moved to Austin and started the Browning Aerial Service Company. They built a hangar at the Robert Mueller Airport which still stands today, even though the airport is long gone.
http://www.muelleraustin.com/news/journal/looking-back-in-time-the-browning-hangar/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mueller_Community
This family owned NC35778 for 58 years. I regretted not attempting to contact the family in hopes of retrieving old photos. Emma Carter Browning and her husband Robert had a rich history of aviation. Emma's wiki can be found here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emma_Carter_Browning
Her link to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum is here: https://airandspace.si.edu/support/wall-of-honor/emma-carter-browning
The plane bounced around to a couple of owners before I ended up with it this year. I've enjoyed flying it so much, and today I feel like I've lost a friend.
NC35778 had a rich history. It was first owned by the Clayton Flying Club in Clayton, New Mexico. The bill of sale says that that NC35778 sold for $1608.00. Then during WWII it was purchased by the Defense Plant Corporation. After the war it as purchased by Robert and Emma Browning. They lived in the Abilene area. There's even a story that Amelia Earhart became friends with the Brownings when she made a hard landing at their airfield and stayed with them while waiting on parts for her gyro plane.
The Brownings eventually moved to Austin and started the Browning Aerial Service Company. They built a hangar at the Robert Mueller Airport which still stands today, even though the airport is long gone.
http://www.muelleraustin.com/news/journal/looking-back-in-time-the-browning-hangar/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mueller_Community
This family owned NC35778 for 58 years. I regretted not attempting to contact the family in hopes of retrieving old photos. Emma Carter Browning and her husband Robert had a rich history of aviation. Emma's wiki can be found here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emma_Carter_Browning
Her link to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum is here: https://airandspace.si.edu/support/wall-of-honor/emma-carter-browning
The plane bounced around to a couple of owners before I ended up with it this year. I've enjoyed flying it so much, and today I feel like I've lost a friend.
