Metal Aircraft Flamingo Explained

The Metal Aircraft Flamingo was a monoplane produced in Cincinnati, Ohio by the Metal Aircraft Corporation in the 1930s.^[1]

Design and development

The Metal Aircraft Corporation purchased the design from the Halpin Development Co. and unveiled it at the 1929 National Air Races with Elinor Smith.^[2] Following an accident at Bowman Field in May 1928, the prototype Flamingo was redesigned with a different nose, windscreen, and tail.^[3] The interior was insulated with Balsam-Wool Blanket.^[4]

Operational history

The Flamingo was first flown from Lunken Airport on 8 April 1928 by Thomas E. Halpin.^[5] At one point, the aircraft carried an African-American porter in a red suit named Benny Smith.^[6] Following a teaser, marketing for the new airplane began in March 1929 and dealers were being solicited by the following month.^{[7] [8] [9]}

One G-2-W, named El Rio Caroní, is best remembered for its role in the discovery of Angel Falls by Jimmy Angel in 1935. Although well known to the local indigenous population, the falls had been glimpsed only by European explorers until Jimmy Angel crash-landed while attempting to land above the falls on Auyán-tepui during gold exploration.

The Metal Aircraft Corporation Flamingo that crashed above the falls was recovered by helicopter in the 1960s by the Venezuelan government and is on display at the entrance of the Ciudad Bolívar airport, in Venezuela. A replica was put in its place for visitors of the crash site.^[10]

Other operators included the Mason & Dixon airline.^[11] Another operator of the aircraft was United States Airways which flew a route from Denver to Kansas City in the early 1930s. Stops were made Goodland, Salina, and Topeka, Kansas.

Variants

Halpin Flamingo:six-passenger 410hp P&W<ref>May 1928 . The Halpin "Flamingo" . Aero Digest . Aeronautical Digest Publishing Corporation . XII . 5 . 800, 802 . 28 August 2018.

G-1:five-passenger 450hp P&W ;G-2:six-passenger

G-2-H:six-passenger 525hp P&W

G-2-W:eight-passenger 410hp P&W<ref>March 1929 . The Flamingo G-2-W . Aero Digest . Aeronautical Digest Publishing Corporation . 94, 96 . 28 August 2018.

G-MT-6:five-passenger 410 or 525 P&W<ref name=CAHS/>

Operators

United States

• Comet Air Express^[12]
• Embry-Riddle Division of American Airways^[13]
• Iowa Airways Corporation^[14]
• Mason & Dixon Airlines – 4 aircraft^[15]
• United States Airways
• Vermilya-Huffman Flying Service^[16]

Accidents and incidents

• On 26 May 1928, a Flamingo nosed over on landing at Bowman Field in Louisville, Kentucky, injuring the pilot, mechanic, and a passenger.^[17]
• On 8 November 1930, a G-2 operated by the Embry-Riddle Company made an emergency landing near Indianapolis following an in-flight fire.^[18]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Halpin Flamingo . Cincinnati Aviation Heritage Society & Museum . 4 July 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160315004146/http://cahslunken.org/flamingo.htm . 15 March 2016.
2. Book: Jane's all the World's Aircraft 1928 . Grey . C.G. . 1928 . Sampson Low, Marston & company, ltd . London .
3. Web site: Gampfer . Scott . The Flamingo Takes Flight: Cincinnati's First All-Metal Airplane, Pt. 2 . Cincinnati Museum Center . 28 August 2018 . 29 May 2018.
4. [Advertisement] ]. Aero Digest . October 1929 . Aeronautical Digest Publishing Corporation . 15 . 4 . 263 . 4 July 2021.
5. News: First Flight of Home Ship Success . 22 December 2020 . Cincinnati Enquirer . 9 April 1928 . 10.
6. PersonAIRLities . Aero Digest . June 1928 . 954 . 24 May 2021.
7. March 1 . Aero Digest . February 1929 . Aeronautical Digest Publishing Corporation . 14 . 2 . 16 . 4 July 2021.
8. All Metal Flamingo for Greater Operating Profit . Aero Digest . March 1929 . Aeronautical Digest Publishing Corporation . 14 . 3 . 16 . 4 July 2021.
9. Aircraft Dealerships . Aero Digest . April 1929 . Aeronautical Digest Publishing Corporation . 14 . 4 . 13 . 4 July 2021.
10. Skyways. July 1999.
11. Book: Crosley: Two Brothers and a Business Empire that Transformed the Nation. 978-1578602919. Clerisy Press. 9 November 2006. Rusty. McClure. David. Stern. Michael A.. Banks. registration.
12. Milk Pickets Balked by Airplanes . Aero Digest . February 1934 . 56 . 24 May 2021.
13. News: Sky Trail to Be Opened from Gateway City with Planes' Pioneer Flight South Today . 4 July 2021 . Cincinnati Enquirer . 1 May 1931 . 15.
14. News: Gilmore Farmer Flys New Fort Dodge Plane . 4 July 2021 . Humboldt Independent . 5 January 1932 . 1.
15. Efficiency Rating . Aero Digest . August 1929 . 125 . 24 May 2021.
16. News: Aviation Lanes . 4 July 2021 . Cincinnati Enquirer . 4 November 1934 . 2.
17. News: 3 Injured Here in Plane Crash . 25 May 2021 . Courier-Journal . 27 May 1928 . 1.
18. Web site: Goutierez . Russell . Charred Seats and Cow Pies: The Day a Flamingo Ran With the Bulls . World Airline Historical Society . 24 May 2021 . 3 July 2019.