OTHER RESOURCES

A very readable volume about the Grand Central Air Terminal is this book:

Underwood, John. 1984. Madcaps, Millionaires and 'Mose'. Heritage Press, Glendale, CA. 144pp.

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THANK YOU!

YOUR PURCHASE OF THESE BOOKS SUPPORTS THE WEB SITES THAT BRING TO YOU THE HISTORY BEHIND OLD AIRFIELD REGISTERS

Your copy of the Davis-Monthan Airfield Register (available in paperback) with all the pilots' signatures and helpful cross-references to pilots and their aircraft is available at the link. 375 pages with black & white photographs and extensive tables

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The Congress of Ghosts (available as Kindle Edition eBook) is an anniversary celebration for 2010.  It is an historical biography, that celebrates the 5th year online of www.dmairfield.org and the 10th year of effort on the project dedicated to analyze and exhibit the history embodied in the Register of the Davis-Monthan Airfield, Tucson, AZ. This book includes over thirty people, aircraft and events that swirled through Tucson between 1925 and 1936. It includes across 277 pages previously unpublished photographs and texts, and facsimiles of personal letters, diaries and military orders. Order your copy at the link.

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Military Aircraft of the Davis Monthan Register, 1925-1936 (available in paperback) at the link. This book describes and illustrates with black & white photographs the majority of military aircraft that landed at the Davis-Monthan Airfield between 1925 and 1936. The book includes biographies of some of the pilots who flew the aircraft to Tucson as well as extensive listings of all the pilots and airplanes. Use this FORM to order a copy signed by the author, while supplies last.

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Art Goebel's Own Story (available as free PDF download) by Art Goebel (edited by G.W. Hyatt) is written in language that expands for us his life as a Golden Age aviation entrepreneur, who used his aviation exploits to build a business around his passion.  Available as a free download at the link.

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Winners' Viewpoints: The Great 1927 Trans-Pacific Dole Race (available as Kindle Edition eBook) is available at the link. This book describes and illustrates with black & white photographs the majority of military aircraft that landed at the Davis-Monthan Airfield between 1925 and 1936. The book includes biographies of some of the pilots who flew the aircraft to Tucson as well as extensive listings of all the pilots and airplanes. Use this FORM to order a copy signed by the author, while supplies last.

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Clover Field: The first Century of Aviation in the Golden State (available in paperback & Kindle Edition) With the 100th anniversary in 2017 of the use of Clover Field as a place to land aircraft in Santa Monica, this book celebrates that use by exploring some of the people and aircraft that made the airport great. 281 pages, black & white photographs.

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I'm looking for information and photographs of Gaskill and his airplanes to include on this page. If you have some you'd like to share, please click this FORM to contact me.

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JAMES PHILLIPS GASKILL, Jr.

James Gaskill, Jr. is identified in the Grand Central Air Terminal (GCAT) Register 193 times between at least December 14, 1930 and January 19, 1932. He flew at least eight different airplanes that were owned by the Curtiss Wright Flying Service (CWFS) at GCAT. He flew the Curtiss Robin NC971K (6 times), the Curtiss Thrush NC9787 (3 times), Lockheed Vega NC6526 (twice), deHavilland Moth NC372H (1 time), the Cessna NC654K (14 times), the Travel Air 623K (twice) and the Ford trimotor NC5577 (163 times). Interestingly, the many flights made by Gaskill with NC5577 were near dusk, probably sight-seeing flights so Los Angeles citizens could enjoy a Pacific sunset. As with most of the landings recorded in the GCAT Register, the destinations, passengers or other details are not mentioned.

According to the California Birth and Death Index, Gaskill was born September 7, 1908 in Salt Lake City, UT. He died January 4, 1981 in Los Angeles, CA, age 72 years, four months. His birth certificate is below. Notice that this certificate was validated by the physician on November 18, 1939. This could be a duplicate birth certificate.

James Phillips Gaskill, Jr., Birth Certificate, September 7, 1908 (Source: ancestry.com)

I found no Census information for 1910. The 1920 U.S. Census placed him at age 11 living with his parents and a servant at 402 South Hobart Blvd., Los Angeles, CA. His father was a mining engineer as indicated on the birth certificate, but on the 1920 Census form he was identified as the manager of an estate. He owned their home, which was valued at $20,000. At Google Earth, none of the buildings on that intersection today look like homes of the era.

Unsourced News Article, September 18, 1931 (Source: Woodlilng)

 

On the 1930 Census form the three still live on South Hobart. Gaskill was 22 years old and unmarried, the servant was no longer listed, and none of the family was employed. The Census in that neighborhood that year was taken in April, about six months after the beginning of the Great Depression. Interestingly, Gaskill, Sr. listed his wife's name in 1920 as Luella. In 1930 he listed his wife's name as Gertrude. I don't know the reason for this discrepancy, but Gertrude was Gaskill's mother, as indicated on the birth certificate above.

The reason Gaskill, Jr. was listed as unemployed was because, about that same time, he was a student in the training program for transport pilots operated at GCAT by CWFS. Almost concurrently, left, he inherited a handsome fortune from a John Phillips in Boston. I'm not sure of the relationship of Phillips to Gaskill, a great uncle perhaps. The value of New Calumet stock in 1916 was $10/share. I don't know what it was in 1931, less probably. Even if it was half of that, 1377 shares amounted to another $7,000 in his pocket. He could certainly pay for flying lessons.

A news article from April 15, 1930 posted at fellow Register pilot Nate Morse documents that training. With that training, he soon began working for CWFS hopping passengers on recreational rides and carrying passengers to Mexico. Despite his new-found riches, which he would not receive for another year and a few months, he persisted with his aviation career.

One of those flights to Mexico was on February 1, 1931. Although it doesn't identify him as the pilot, he was on board the Thrush NC9787 returning to GCAT via San Diego, below. None of his three flights logged in the Register with this airplane coincide with this arrival at GCAT, because there is a gap in the Register from January 12-March 10, 1931.

 

U.S. Immigration Form, GCAT & San Diego, CA, February 1, 1931 (Source: ancestry.com)
U.S. Immigration Form, GCAT & San Diego, CA, February 1, 1931 (Source: ancestry.com)

As second trip to Mexico was documented on December 1, 1931, below. This time he was a passenger with C.W. Gilpin. Their airplane, NC388, was a Bach transport. This flight also was not recorded in the Register due to a gap from November 4 to December 30, 1931.

U.S. Immigration Form, San Diego, CA, December 1, 1931 (Source: ancestry.com)
U.S. Immigration Form, San Diego, CA, December 1, 1931 (Source: ancestry.com)

Gaskill also flew the Ford NC5577 from Agua Caliente, Mexico to San Diego as documented in the Immigration form, below. Again, unfortunately there is a 3-day gap in the Register from March 19-24, 1932, so there is no GCAT record of that flight returning to Glendale. Note also the age entered on the form. He would have been closer to 24 years old. Copilot Thornberg does not show up in any Register.

U.S. Immigration Form, San Diego, CA, March 20, 1932 (Source: ancestry.com)
U.S. Immigration Form, San Diego, CA, March 20, 1932 (Source: ancestry.com)

I have no information about what Gaskill did during the rest of the 1930s. The 1940 Census placed him at 150 N. Rossmore Avenue, Los Angeles. This neighborhood today is one of stately homes of relatively new construction. He lived (age 31) with his wife, Elizabeth (23). They rented their home for $135/month. He worked as a "Transport Pilot" in the "Aviation" industry. His income was listed as $5,000/year, a good sum for the time. I do not know when he and Elizabeth were married, or whether they ever had children.

I found reference to postal cachets signed by Gaskill while he flew for Western Air Lines (WAL). WAL operated airmail route 63. History can be examined to date the cachets, and to tell us that Gaskill was working as a transport pilot near the end of WWII. Western Air Transport broke off from TWA's structure and in 1934 changed its name to General Airlines. In 1941 General changed its name to Western Air Lines. WAL was awarded AM-63, and on May 1, 1944 began flight service between Los Angeles and San Francisco CA. Therefore Gaskill's cachets are from the post-1944 time period.

A city directory for Manahattan Beach, CA lists him as a commercial pilot with WAL. His address was given as 3212 The Strand. That address today, although directly on the beach, appears to be a gutted building. No mention was made in the directory about his wife.

I have no other information about his life between late 1940 and 1980. If you can help fill in the blanks, please let me KNOW.

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THIS PAGE UPLOADED: 11/08/15 REVISED: 04/18/18