Online Catalogue

Bonhams are pleased to announce the auction of the CURTISS MF 'SEAGULL' HYDROAEROPLANE this April at 580 Madison Avenue.
Estimate on request.

Viewing at the public atrium, 590 Madison Avenue

From Saturday, April 3rd - Wednesday, April 14th, 2010
Monday - Friday 8am-8pm
Saturday/Sunday 7am-10pm

Technical specification

Two seat, side-by-side hydroaeroplane with open cockpit and dual control. Price when new $6,000.

Engine: Curtiss OXX6, V8, overhead valve, 4 x 5 inches, 502.7 cu.ins., 100hp at 1,200 rpm.

Measurements: Wing span: upper wing – 49 feet, 9 3/8 inches. Overall length: 28 feet, 10 3/16 inches. Weight: 1796 pounds

Curtiss MF 'Seagull' Hydroaeroplane

Built by the Naval Aircraft Factory at its facility in the Philadelphia Navy Yard, A-5543 was the sixty-first Curtiss MF flying boat produced in a batch of eighty. There are no log books and its service history is undocumented, but an effort is underway to ascertain as much as possible from naval archives and records in FAA dead storage. Almost certainly A-5543 was posted to a naval aviation training station, possibly at Pensacola or Atlantic City. It is thought to have been released for sale as government surplus in 1923 or '24.

Records are sketchy, but it appears that A-5543 had a single owner, William H. Long, who was the owner and longtime operator of the Lorain, Ohio airport. Long is said to have based the MF at Sandusky Bay, from which he made frequent trips to Cedar Point Amusement Park, presumably flying joyriders and sightseers. With the advent of federal control of civil aviation in late 1926, A-5543 was licensed as a 2-seater and received the Dept. of Commerce registration C903, later as NC903, in compliance with commercial flight regulations at that time. The engine appears to be the 100-hp Curtiss OXX6, outwardly identical to the ubiquitous OX5.

Long's pilot was an Early Bird by the name of Albert J. Engel, who began flying in 1911. Engel is said to have been the son of a designer employed by the White Co. of Cleveland, builder of luxury automobiles. Albert apparently had the wherewithal to purchase his own Curtiss-built pusher biplane, which cost about $5,000.

Engel acquired another Curtiss-built pusher which he operated on pontoons from Rocky River at the Lakewood Yacht Club, now the Cleveland Yachting Club. He called it the "Bumble Bee" and barnstormed with it from the Edgewater and Willow Beach Parks as well as Chautauqua Lake until about 1914. Some thirty-odd years later Engel and his friend Bill Long refurbished the MF with new wing fabric and varnished the hull. They subsequently donated their vintage aircraft to Cleveland's Frederick C. Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum on June 21, 1945. On display for many years at the Western Historical Reserve Society, the MF was retired from public exhibition in recent times.

Through display and while in storage, the flying boat has been treated with considerable care, and today it is in remarkably good order for its age. A careful visual analysis of the wood shows it to be consistent with the belief that it was re-varnished in the mid 1940s. There are some small tears to the aerofoil fabric covering, most notably the underside of the left side upper wing. Structurally it seems to be excellent. Close examination of the hardware shows it to be original including the structural wiring, fasteners and wing struts many still have Curtiss numbering stamped into them. Most of the hardware is also stamped with the US Navy insignia and numbered also. The motor seems to have its original matched 'Dixie' twin spark magnetos with original dash control switch, the cockpit instrumentation consists of US Navy engraved gasoline, altitude, oil and temperature gauges and a Lunkenheimer air pressure pump sits between the two pilots.

Aesthetically, when fully assembled the "Seagull" is a magnificent sight to behold, aside from its obvious significant presence, it is probably most attractive for the warm color of the gently aged wood, hammered copper trims and overall patina the like of which only time can bestow on an object. For any person who appreciates this innovative and pioneering era of flight, sailing and engineering, it harnesses all in one single beautiful package.

USA Motor Car Department