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STAFF
Links Section
President:
Jeff Whitesell
CAF - SO. CA WING
ALL ABOUT AOA
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AOA's Martin 404 Skyliner N636X at the recent Point Mugu Naval Air Station Airshow, showing two visitors deplaning.
N636X HISTORY
Airliners of America's flagship #N636X was built in 1952 and
delivered to TWA as Ship No. 429.
The new owners changed the registration to N636X and made
extensive modifications - including: long-range fuel tanks;
jet-assisted take-off capability (JATO); self-contained auxiliary
power unit; engine analyzer; state-of-the-art avionics with weather radar; flight director; and coupled auto-pilot. The
original 44 passenger seats were removed and replaced with a
luxurious 16-place interior.
The aircraft then toured the world as one of the nation's premier
corporate aircraft. On this tour, 636 was the first Martin 404
to cross the Atlantic, and the first to visit the continents of
Europe and Africa.
THE WHITESELL FAMILY AND N636X
Captain William C. Whitesell had flown Martins for Eastern Airlines until his retirement in 1960. When his Philadelphia-based charter company needed a larger aircraft, his natural choice was the Martin 404. He found N636X at Hobby Airport in
Houston, Texas and purchased it. To make up the rest of his
crew, he trained his two sons, Jeff and Bruce. Together, they
conducted luxury charters for the rich and famous. N636 carried
such notables as boxer Mohamed Ali, Howard Cosell, Don Meredith, and Frank Gifford.
Twenty-five years later, Jeff founded Airliners of America. He
began a search for a suitable flagship for AOA, not knowing his
quest would land him in Pueblo, Colorado, where N636X sat in
dilapidated condition. He bought the aircraft in 1994 and began
an extensive restoration.
N636X now wears Pacific Air Lines livery, and tours the Western
States as a travelling museum of airline history. She is the
lowest-time Martin in existence, and one of only five remaining
that are airworthy. Members of AOA, young and old, delight riding
aboard this unique aircraft to airshows, museums and other functions.
© Copyright Airliners of America, Inc.,
Registered as N40429, the aircraft wore TWA colors until 1960,
when it was purchased by the E.F.MacDonald Corporation of
Dayton, Ohio.
except as otherwise marked.
All rights reserved.
