Mystery Friday Foto #33 Solved; Clarence Chamberlin’s Plane on Stewart Avenue
Steve Davis, of Waretown, NJ, challenged you with last weekend's mystery photo. Did you identify Clarence Chamberlin's Plane on Stewart Avenue?
Mystery Foto questions:
- Identify the road in which the airplane took off and later landed! Hint: It is not the Long Island Motor Parkway.
Looking east, the road was Stewart Avenue in (East) Garden City.
- Identify the airplane. Hint: It was made on Long Island.
This early Sperry Messenger (circa 1920) was built by the Lawrence Sperry Aircraft Company in its Farmingdale plant. Between 1920 and 1926, Sperry built approximately 50 Messengers and the civilian two-seat version, the Sport Plane.
- Identify the pilot of the airplane. Hint: Several months before this flight, he was the first person to fly across the Atlantic with a passenger. Second Hint: The pilot was a rival to Charles Lindbergh for the Orteig Prize.
Clarence Duncan Chamberlin (1893-1976) was an American pioneer in aviation. Only two weeks after Lindbergh's historic flight in 1927 and delayed by a legal suit, he was the second man to pilot a fixed wing aircraft (a Wright-pwered Bellanca) over the Atlantic, while carrying the first transatlantic passenger (the airplane's owner Charles Levine). By the time Chamberlin and Levine ran out of gas near Berlin, Germany, the Bellanca had flown a record 3,911 miles.
- Bonus: Identify the date of the photo and the reason for this unusual flight. Hint: Another photo from this event has been previously used as a mystery photo.
The photo was taken on January 23, 1928 as a publicity stunt for Chamberlin who was beginning a 30,000-mile lecture and air tour of the United States. See the previous mystery photo for more info on the historic flight.
Congrats to Art and Steve for identifying Clarence Chamberlin.
Greg O,
Comments
All answers taken from original mystery photo of April 7, 2015.
Road: Stewart Avenue
Plane: Sperry Messenger
Pilot: Clarence D. Chamberlain
Date of Photo: January 23, 1928
Purpose of Flight: Publicity stunt for Chamberlin who was beginning a 30,000-mile lecture and air tour of the United States.
Hello Art;
I found the same 9 year old mystery photo post and was going to submit the same info as you with the additional note that it looks like Chamberlin himself walking along just beyond the left wing.
I read somewhere that Clarence Duncan Chamberlain owned or operated the L.W.F airfield in Hempstead plains / Island Trees, (pre Levittown), where todays Target is off of Hempstead tpke. I can’t find that information anymore though.
David Miller - Below is some screenshots I took out of my Levittown Book. One has some info about the L. W. F. Airfield you mentioned. Also an overview of Levittown in 1947, prior to the construction of the Levitt Homes. The aerial was number marked, describing the landmarks.
Since we can attach 3 images per comment, there’s an image of Lake Ronkonkoma in 1905, so prior to the LIMP being built : )
Brian McCarthy- Thanks for the info. Very fascinating.