1929 Blaine Tuxhorn Endurance Flight Photo, Barling NB-3, AP Verified For Sale

1929 Blaine Tuxhorn Endurance Flight Photo
Barling NB-3, AP Verified
Pilot Identified via AP Wire Caption (Hagley Museum Archive)
Named Aircraft and DeviceDESCRIPTIONThis is an original period photograph identifying aviator inventor Blaine M. Tuxhorn beside his synchronized ejector pickup apparatus and the Nicholas Beazley Barling NB-3 monoplane, tail marked "355," at the start of his attempt to break the world endurance flight record on January 2, 1929, at the Nicholas Beazley factory field in Marshall, Missouri.The pilot pictured, in leather flying helmet and goggles, matches the man identified as Tuxhorn in an Associated Press wire photograph of this same apparatus and aircraft, captioned as follows.Blaine M. Tuxhorn is shown with his synchronized ejector "cannon" by which he and a co-pilot expect to load fuel on a Barling NB-3 monoplane while in full flight and remain aloft more than 60 hours.Tuxhorn started on an endurance flight Jan. 2nd, and hopes to remain aloft more than 60 hours to break a world's endurance flight record. That AP photograph is held in the Lammot du Pont, Jr. collection of aeronautical photographs at the Hagley Museum and Library, Hagley ID 75360_00546.Tuxhorn had spent 1928 developing this pickup device, first successfully tested carrying mail from Chillicothe to St. Joseph, Missouri that September.Backed by the Marshall Chamber of Commerce, he and co-pilot Leonard Rhiner of Kansas City took off in the 675 pound, LeBlond engined NB-3 on January 2, 1929, completing ten successful in-flight pickups of fuel and supplies via the device before the attempt was disqualified the following evening at 7:48 PM, when Rhiner's wheels accidentally touched ground while trying to throw out a note. Tuxhorn took the controls, circled, and landed.This photograph shows the ground apparatus, twin signal poles, and the NB-3 on its trestle stand, with period automobiles and the Nicholas Beazley factory hangar visible in the background, consistent in every particular with the archivally documented event.The reverse of the print is captioned by hand in period ink, reading "Barling NB-3" and "Air Mail pick-up," with a further name, "J.P. Kennedy," noted alongside. The "Air Mail pick-up" caption refers to the device's original 1928 application, when Tuxhorn first proved it carrying mail from Chillicothe to St. Joseph. The specific flight and apparatus pictured in this photograph relate instead to Tuxhorn's January 1929 endurance attempt, during which the same device was used to pick up fuel and provisions rather than mail, as confirmed by the AP wire caption on the Hagley Museum's copy of this image, titled "Refueling 'Cannon' for Planes."Both applications used the identical apparatus, so the period caption is understandable even though it names the device's earlier use rather than the fuel and supply pickup shown here. "J.P. Kennedy," noted alongside the caption, is likely a photographer or collector credit from a later point in this print's history, unrelated to the AP wire distribution and the Hagley Museum's copy of the image.The image was scanned at 600dpi to preserve full detail for research and display purposes.Sources: Chillicothe Constitution-Tribune, Sept. 12, 1928; St. Joseph Gazette, Sept. 23, 1928; Kansas City Times, Dec. 28, 1928; The Daily Northwest (UP wire), Jan. 3, 1929; "Refueling 'Cannon' for Planes," Lammot du Pont, Jr. collection of aeronautical photographs (Accession 1975.360), Hagley Museum and Library, Hagley ID 75360_00546.CONDITIONOriginal vintage photographic print, page and edge wear and handling consistent with age. Please review all photos closely, as they are the best representation of condition. Handwritten period ink captioning is present on the reverse. Buyer to judge condition from images provided.