The Businesses of Paul Mantz and Frank Tallman
United Air Services, Inc.
United Air Services is the earliest company in which Paul Mantz is known to be a principal owner. It was incorporated in California, the corporation documents being formalized on September 30, 1931. The first board of directors of the corporation were Alexander H. Chase, Myrtle L. Gorman, and A. Paul Mantz, all shown as residing in Los Angeles. Details of Chase and Gorman are unknown (not to be confused, Myrtle Harvey was Paul Mantz’s first wife). The filing of the corporation papers suggest the three were equal partners in the company. The first officers of the corporation have been lost to history, but it is presumed Mantz was the corporation president. The purpose of the corporation was detailed in the filing, and includes flying activities, transportation, carrying mail, and flight instruction among them.
The company opened for business at the United Air Terminal at Burbank, which later became the Lockheed Air Terminal and today is the Bob Hope Airport operated by the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority. Company dealings are sketchy, but statements suggest that Amelia Earhart was a later investor in the company. Earhart’s involvement appears to be part of the arrangement made when Mantz became her technical advisor. By the early 1940s, it appears that United Air Services was supplanted by Paul Mantz Air Services though, as noted below, it is probable that at this point United Air Services was doing business as Paul Mantz Air Services. Again, there are no filings on record, so nothing definitive is available about who was involved in the corporation after 1931.
Based on a 1948 lawsuit filed against Mantz, it would appear that the corporate directors in 1948 were Mantz, Lockheed executive Carl B. Squire, and Roscoe J. Behar. Further details of United Air Services are elusive. As far as the state of California is concerned, the corporate status was suspended in January 1961, presumably for a lack of updated paperwork. Curiously, it was revived on February 4, 1963, though there is nothing in the corporate file to indicate why. Finally, it was suspended again on January 3, 1966, and there is no further record of activity.
Paul Mantz Air Services
Paul Mantz Air Services was not incorporated in California, suggesting that this company was a “doing business as” name for United Air Services after Mantz’s name became well known in aviation and Hollywood circles. Paul Mantz Air Services remained based at Burbank. The company name was painted on his B-25H, N1203, and his DC-3. Examples of business cards, invoices, and other company papers indicate Mantz’s business operated under that name until Tallmantz Aviation was established in 1961.
Weath-Air, Inc.
The name Weath-Air, Inc. was painted on Mantz’s B-25H in the late 1940s, showing Paul Mantz as president. Also painted on the nose is Flying Laboratory. The state of California has no record of a corporation of that name. It is possible the company was established in another state which seems unlikely but can’t be ruled out. Or, Weath-Air was another “doing business as” company for United Air Services, and the “Inc.” was added to the name as a nice touch. No further information has been found about Weath-Air. It is known that Mantz and his B-25 were hired for some weather research in the Palm Springs area during this period, possibly by the U.S. government’s weather service.
Tallman Aviation
Media accounts from the late 1950s record Frank Tallman operating as Tallman Aviation from the Flabob Airport at Rubidoux, California. The state of California has no record of a corporation with that name being established. It is presumed that Tallman Aviation was a sole proprietorship company of Frank Tallman, thus Frank Tallman dba Tallman Aviation. Tallman lived in Palos Verdes at the time (Los Angeles County) with Flabob nearly fifty miles away near Riverside (Riverside County). No records of the existence of Tallman Aviation beyond the media accounts have surfaced.
Tallmantz Aviation, Inc.
Tallmantz Aviation was incorporated in papers signed on November 1, 1961, and recorded by the California Secretary of State on November 3, 1961. The board of directors was established as Franklin K. Kline III, Frank G. Tallman, and A. Paul Mantz. A filing of the first set of officers is not in the file, but other records indicate Frank Tallman was the corporation president. Presumably, Mantz was the vice-president. A sales agreement was established in 1961 whereby Mantz sold his assets to Tallman, a draft copy of which has been found. As noted in Tallman’s book Flying the Old Planes, Tallman makes this statement on page 212: “Following my purchase of Paul Mantz’s great fleet of historical aircraft and the merging of our firms under the name Tallmantz, both Paul and I undertook….” This confirms that Tallman was the principal owner of Tallmantz Aviation, though details are not known. It is probable that Tallman and Mantz merged so that Tallman could dramatically widen the scope of his business and allowing Mantz to effectively retire, but still keeping the better-known Mantz involved for his name, business connections and savvy.
In any event, with the loss of Mantz in July 1965, the corporation moved forward with Tallman at the helm. Corporate officer filings remain unavailable for the period, but it appears Tallman remained as president, with Frank Pine as vice president and also chief pilot. Martha (Marty) Marchak, Mantz’s long time secretary, was variously both corporate secretary and treasurer (and soon enough, Pine’s wife). With the loss of Tallman in 1978, Pine became the corporate president. With the loss of Pine in 1984, the days of Tallmantz Aviation were numbered. The last filing for the corporation, dated October 1984, shows Walter W. Pine (Frank’s brother) as chief executive officer and Martha Marchak Pine as secretary and chief financial officer. The board of directors consisted of Martha Marchak Pine and Ruth Marchak Tallman. The corporation was dissolved by Martha Marchak Pine and Ruth Marchak Tallman, a process that began in February 1985 and finalized on January 30, 1986.
Curiously, something of Tallmantz was sold in 1986 to Charles C. Seven, a investment businessman who had involvement with many companies. He showed himself as president of the company but, after January 1986, the company no longer existed. It is suspected that Seven purchased the right to use the name but he was operating Tallmantz as a “doing business as” entity for another of his companies. There is no current fictitious name statement on file with the County of Orange to provide any further information. Whatever entity was being operated by Seven, it filed for bankruptcy in February 1989, citing financial demands by the County of Orange for lease improvements and other charges. Whatever was left of the shell of Tallmantz Aviation, it was gone after 1991.
International Flight and Space Museum, Inc.
The International Flight and Space Museum was incorporated as a non-profit California corporation on August 29, 1962. The initial board of directors was shown as Tallman, Mantz, and Franklin K. Kline, III. This museum entity allowed Tallman and Mantz to display aircraft on loan from the U.S. government and operate other not-for-profit activities. Despite the museum closing in the late 1960s, the corporation remained active. The last filing for the corporation, dated March 30, 1976, showed Tallman as president and Martha Pine as vice-president and secretary-treasurer. The corporation was suspended on June 1, 1976.
Frank Tallman Aviation, Inc.
In a curious footnote to the history of Tallmantz Aviation, Frank Tallman Aviation, Inc., was established as a California corporation on August 25, 1967. Having no details, it is speculated that the new corporation was a reflection of the financial and legal difficulties that were dogging Tallmantz Aviation between 1965 and 1967. In any event, the new corporation was established with Irving M. Grant, Richard P. Ebbert, and Lizabeth H. Ball as the corporate directors. No information about these three individuals is known at this point. Tallman was the corporate president, and Martha Marchak was the secretary. The business address was the same as that of Tallmantz Aviation. In the last corporate filing of officers, dated June 1971, Tallman remained as president, Frank Pine was vice president, and Martha Marchak was secretary and treasurer. This is believed to mirror the corporate officers of Tallmantz Aviation at the same time. The corporation was dissolved by Frank Tallman effective November 5, 1971.
