Culver Photos Wanted

[Bill Poynter]

Here's a link to a website showing photos and info on the Culver PQ-9, PQ-10 and PQ-15.  It's too bad the government didn't buy the PQ-15.  The mock-up shown is a really nice looking plane.

http://www.designation-systems.net/dusrm/app1/pq.html

[Brett Lovett]

Wow!  That mock-up of the XPQ-15 looks very detailed (engine installation, nose wheel, antenna, etc.).  I don't believe the XPQ-15 design was ever mentioned in Al Mooney's biography, nor included among the designs credited to him, although he certainly was Chief Designer at Culver when the XPQ-15 design was developed.  I certainly would like to learn more about the XPQ-15 (including what the Culver model designation for it was).  It certainly is a great looking airplane.  I wonder if there'd be any possibility of locating enough data to build a reasonably accurate replica.

[Bill Poynter]

I've never seen a PQ-14 with the cowling off, but my guess is that the mock-up is probably a PQ-14 from the firewall forward.  That would be the easiest way to produce such a detailed model during the mock-up stage. 

It's too bad that Culver didn't pursue this design theme for it's post-war models.  This plane looks better than anything on the market in 1946.

If they actually did provide four flying examples, there had to have been complete drawings. 

[Bill Poynter]

Here's a photo of Neal LaFrance's clock:

[Bill Poynter]

I've just posted some factory shots of Cadet production as well as an early photo of serial number 102.  They're on the photo page of the culvercadet.com website.

[Brett Lovett]

I've just posted some factory shots of Cadet production as well as an early photo of serial number 102.  They're on the photo page of the culvercadet.com website.

I'd like to know what the text is at the bottom of the vertical stabilizer on the pic of S/N 102.  The new factory shots appear to all be from Wichita.  The Kansas Aviation Museum has prints of most of those photos in their archives.

[Bill Poynter]

I'd like to know what the text is at the bottom of the vertical stabilizer on the pic of S/N 102.  The new factory shots appear to all be from Wichita.  The Kansas Aviation Museum has prints of most of those photos in their archives.

I've tried enhancing the image with Photoshop, but either the original photo wasn't sharp enough or the resolution was set too low when it was scanned.  Maybe NCIS or CSI could do it.  They sure seem to do impossible photo enhancements on TV.

[Bill Poynter]

Is that Al Mooney in the photo?

I believe that is Foster Lane.

I've replace the photo of the Cadet prototype on the photo page with a 1200DPI scan.  A little more detail shows up.  The most noticable is the tail skid that appears to be bolted onto the tailwheel spring.  Another is the cellphone he's holding in his hand.   

[Bill Poynter]

I'd like to know what the text is at the bottom of the vertical stabilizer on the pic of S/N 102.  The new factory shots appear to all be from Wichita.  The Kansas Aviation Museum has prints of most of those photos in their archives.

I've tried enhancing the image with Photoshop, but either the original photo wasn't sharp enough or the resolution was set too low when it was scanned.  Maybe NCIS or CSI could do it.  They sure seem to do impossible photo enhancements on TV.

As a follow-up on the text appearing on the vertical stab of serial number 102, I think the last part is Russell J Alley, the Culver west coast distributor.  While looking through the registration file, I noticed that another early owner was George S Wing of Hi-Shear Rivet Co.  Mr. Wing was also responsible for the Wing Derringer, the high performance 2-place twin.

[Bill Poynter]

I've posted a photo on the website of Joe Maridon's newly finished Cadet.  Looks good Joe

[JoeB]

I've posted a photo on the website of Joe Maridon's newly finished Cadet.  Looks good Joe

Looks great! Where's it located?

[Bill Poynter]

Las Vegas

[Bill Poynter]

Here's a couple of photos of a prototype Culver V with a nosewheel that rotates 90 degrees when retracted.

[Bill Poynter]

This is a recent photo of the hangar appearing in the shot of the prototype Cadet.  It's the original Port Columbus hangar.  Does anyone know if  this building was the location of the original factory?  With the Cadet and a Dart parked out front, it appears that it could be.

[Brett Lovett]

Bill,

I believe that is the factory location, at least for the early production of the Cadets, and probably for some or all of Dart production as well.  Production was moved to Wichita, KS in early October 1940, and most of the factory there is still standing too.  There are several photos of the AB-xxx airplane at the Wichita plant (the one that is in the home page photos), so I thought it might be the first produced there, but Stan Piteau's notes show that it was actually the second aircraft finished in Wichita.  Somewhere in my notes I have the serial numbers for those two.  I'm going to send you some photos of the Wichita factory as it appeared in April 2008. 

Brett