FAA Aircraft History Project
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FAA Aircraft History Project
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Back to the Main Aero Vintage Page
N1 through N50
Manufacturer: Aero Commander Through Curtiss-Wright |
L-749 Constellation N119 as operated by the CAA and FAA beginning in 1958. (FAA) |
The listings contained on these web pages are the results of a continuing project to document the history of those aircraft operated by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and its predecessor organizations. These agencies include the Aeronautics Branch of the Department of Commerce (1926-1933); the Bureau of Air Commerce (also under the Department of Commerce), 1933-1938; the Civil Aeronautics Authority (1938-1940); the Civil Aeronautics Administration (under the Department of Commerce), 1940-1958; the Federal Aviation Agency (1959-1967); and the current FAA under the Department of Transportation, 1967 through today.
All told, these government agencies have owned and/or operated approximately 1,050 aircraft of about 150 types, ranging from deHavilland DH-4s of 1927 through Lear 60s of today. Some of the more unusual types: Boeing F4Bs, North American B-25 Mitchells, Martin B-57s, Lockheed F-80s, Boeing KC-135s, and a Convair 880.
From the early days of the Aeronautics Branch and spanning the seventy-years since, these agencies have operated aircraft for four basic missions:
1. Facility flight inspection to verify the performance of the aviation navigation aids and integrity of instrument flight procedures;
2. Research and development of navigation aids, safety equipment, and technology;
3. Currency and proficiency of aviation safety inspectors;
4. Adminstrative transportation of agency adminstrators and other government officials.
During World War II, the CAA was also instrumental in pilot training with the Civilian Pilot Training Program and the War Training Service, as well as accelerated airport and facility development
As a general rule, these agency aircraft have carried low-sequence registration numbers between "N1" and "N500." At times the fleet has numbered in the hundreds; it currently stands at forty-nine aircraft, mostly assigned to flight inspection roles.
The intent of this project is to bring together information from a variety of sources to assemble as complete a listing as possible of all the aircraft used by these government agencies. Major sources for this listing are individual registration number assignment cards maintained by the FAA's Registry Branch in Oklahoma City. When a registration number has been assigned to a particular aircraft a card is prepared and filed, so sequential listings of number assignments are discernable. Unfortunately, owner, date and disposition information is not usually recorded. These cards are being scanned and will be available on-line shortly.
Another source has been FAA inventory accounts. The FAA maintained fairly accurate monthly listings beginning in 1961 of the aircraft they operated. Other FAA sources have also been used to provide additional information. Obviously, a good source are the individual registration files stored by the the FAA but these are often time-consuming and expensive to obtain.
Finally, a myriad of other sources has been consulted, trying to tie together all of the tiny minutia and flotsam of aircraft information. Pioneering work on CAA and earlier agency aircraft was done by William T. Larkins and his files have also been used. The Aero Files website has been consulted extensively, as have Joseph Juptner's series on civil aircraft.
A note about dates: The dates presented in the "Aircraft by Registration Number" listing are approximated but based on the best information available. Records are very sketchy in some cases and dates cannot be determined with precision.
This information has been adapted into a six-part series published in 2000 in the Journal of the American Aviation Historical Society and included photos and more detailed information.
This is an on-going project and will be updated as information becomes available. Please forward any additional details and corrections for review and incorporation. Also, please credit any information drawn from this listing to the source. And buy a book.
Very helpful assistance from: Peter Berry (Beech 17); Ed Davies (DC-3); Benno Goethals (SNJ); and Peter Riool.
N1 through N50
Manufacturer: Aero Commander Through Curtiss-Wright
Back to the Main Aero Vintage Page
Updated:
N51 through N100
N101 through N150
N151 through N200
N201 through N300
N301 through N400
N401 through MISCL
Manufacturer: DeHavilland Through Noordyun
Manufacturer: North American Through Weick