History

CF-DEP September 1988  South of Mont Tremblant Quebec prior to dismantling

Previous owner John Mast and myself during our chat November 2018.

John's brother Glen purchased the airplane then N96586 in Denver Co in 1966 for $350.00!

Looks like the Wings had been recovered but the rest of the aircraft not.  Glen completed the recovering and replaced the engine, which was the last full restoration, in 1968.

John bought it in June 1972 and imported N96586 into Canada as CF-DEP in 1973 and based it in Red Lake Ontario.

 Here is the log entry from March 1968 recording the recovering of the wings, fuselage and flight controls with grade A fabric.

The US records for the aircraft, then NC96586, are kinda sparsely populated!  But with the records received from the FAA I've managed to figure out an accurate ownership timeline.

Here is the first page of the first log book showing the factory test flight and then an entry that says "Ferry time Alliance Ohio."

With some help from the Taylorcraft forum, we have agreed that the initials of the test pilot are "WJW."

A search of the Alliance Memories photo gallery revealed one name that fits;  Bill Ward.

This photo was taken in 1941 so it's not certain yet but I think its probable  Mr. Ward was the first person to fly CF-CLR.

The Name and Address fields in the first logbook are all blank but the handwriting suggests the owner was the same as that of the second logbook.

Within a year NC96586 had flown over 400 hours.

In August of 1947 the aircraft upper surfaces were "redoped" which is a sign the aircraft remained outdoors in sunny weather!

By January of 1948 at 517.5 total time, the second log book was opened by Clent Breedlove of Lubbock Texas.  Other potential ownership or pilot names that appear in this log book are Jack Strong and Billy D. Cunningham of Wellington Texas.

Clent Breedlove was somewhat of an aviation pioneer.  Thanks to sleuthing by my wife Claire:

William Clent Breedlove was a pioneer South Plains aviator who was born in 1900 in Wolfe City, Texas. As manager of the Lubbock Municipal Airport 1930-1940 and as a pilot he stimulated interest in South Plains aviation. As an Army Air Corp pilot, Breedlove participated in General Billy Mitchell's battleship bombing test in 1921. In the 1930s, he taught in the civilian pilot training program, a precursor to the war training service, during World War ll. On December 20, 1941, Breedlove moved his aerial service to his commercial airport southwest of Lubbock Texas, from where he carried on a glider training program, and operated related training programs at Plainview and Lamesa, Texas. Breedlove retired in 1947 and died in 1953. [Source: Texas Tech University]

And from the Lubbock Morning Avalanche 1953:
In 1942 he took a contract with the US Air Force to operate a glider training school at Plainview.  About the same time he opened his own airport southeast of Lubbock called the Commercial Airport,...  From 1943-44, he trained Army liaison pilots at Lamesa Field and throughout the war continued operating his own school where many of the boys going through flight training at Texas Tech took their flight schooling.

1937: Clint Breedlove (at left)
Lubbock Municipal Airport, leaning on a Waco S

This potentially explains the relatively high rate of time accumulation on NC96586 and by the end of May 1950, total time had reached 841 hours and regular flying ceased.

Interestingly,  Mr. Breedlove had taken a $10,605.69 mortgage against the airplane.  I assume it was only partial collateral!

Three flights  recorded by "Rogers" in the Fall of 1950 added 2.5 hours.  The last entry in the second logbook is for an annual inspection "prior to relicense" May 13th 1951 by an A&E mechanic who does not appear prior to that point.

What happened between 1951 and when Glen Mast purchased the aircraft in the mid sixties is a bit of a mystery.  Based on the records from FAA, it's clear I'm missing a log book, but I was able to reconcile total times from the annual airworthiness reports and ownership transfer information.

Here is the 72 year chronology:

NC96586 changed hands many times from 1950 to 1966.  Was recovered for the first time in 1959, and repairs to the fuselage and left wing in 1961 and 1962 respectively.  Then changed hands a couple more times before Glen Mast's restoration 66-69.

CF-DEP Looking a little sorry for itself, Markham Ontario 1976
(Photo courtesy George Trussell)

John Mast sold CF-DEP and it was trucked to Amos Quebec where it received new wing lift struts and landing gear, returning to service December 1974.

DEP sat in Markham Ontario for most of 1976, presumably as a result of some sort of "adventure."

More repairs completed in May 1977 suggest another minor incident and a new home for the airplane in Greenbank Ontario.  It is assumed that during these repairs the colour and scheme was changed to the Cruiser orange and white livery that existed when I purchased the aircraft.

It is clear from the various past repairs to the airframe and spars that it was ground-looped or similar at some point(s).  The fuselage repairs in 1961 accounts for the tube splices, but the splice of the left main spar is undocumented in terms of major repair paperwork.  Whether this splice was in the 50s or in the 70s (when lift struts and gear legs were replaced) or both is not clear from the records (of no consequence now because I built all new spars).

Cruiser orange, on skis in the Laurentians Circa 1987

I bought CF-DEP in Cornwall Ontario in 1985 and it had 1494 total time.  That's where this story started!   Due to a registration error, Transport Canada cancelled the registration in 1998.  In 2014 I re-registered the aircraft CF-CLR.  (go to Introduction)