1929 Waco CSO
Specifications
- Year: 1929
- Make: Waco
- Model: CSO
- Wingspan: 30 Feet 7 Inches
- Length Overall: 22 Feet 6 Inches
- Number of Passengers: 3 pax
- Engine Manufacturer: Wright J-6 Cylinder
- Cruising Speed: 105mph
History
Waco introduced its “10” model in 1927 and, equipped with a variety of engines it went on to be its biggest seller. NC265M, serial number AT 3007, was constructed at the Troy, Ohio, factory in late 1929 and was licensed to fly on August 11th. Charles Silloway of Rittenhouse Plaza in Philadelphia was its first owner. He didn’t keep it long before selling to George Barber also from Philadelphia. The next owner kept it nearly a decade before he sold it to George Sherman from North Carolina in 1942. There it fell into the abyss of history only reappearing when an “owner” through whose hands an unbelievable number of airplanes passed acquired it, or at least its official title, 48 years later. Seventeen years after that, Bob Howie acquired title and began to restore it.
After Bob passed away, the Allens purchased the project for $5,000. NC265M then began to circle Kolstad Loop in Elbert, Colorado, as they then sold to Jim and Sheryl Baker, who ultimately sold it back to Dave and Jeanne.
Did the airplane fly after 1942 when it dropped from sight for nearly half a century? It seems unlikely. The FAA has no airworthiness records at all until Dave and Jeanne Allen began to restore it. So, for most of its nearly 100-year existence, we have no knowledge.
Words of Recognition
I remember when I went to the American Waco Club annual fly in at Poplar Grove, Illinois. Some of the first people to meet me were Dave and Jeanne Allen. They were there in an absolutely gorgeous Waco that they had restored themselves. Being the new person in any group can be a bit intimidating, and the Waco biplane group had a reputation I’d heard for being a bit insular. I found that not to be at all true and Dave and Jeanne were as friendly and welcoming as anyone I’ve ever met.
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Why this Waco?
As I have learned more about aviation in the 1920s and 1930s, the “golden age” as it is often called, I have become increasingly fascinated by the almost exponential development of aviation technology in that period. Most of the growth took place in the 1930s, despite the terrible economy, but its roots lay in the late 1920s as air mail, air lines, and Charles Lindbergh’s flight across the Atlantic served to excite entrepreneurs to build ever better airplanes. But all the growth of the 30’s stood on the designs of the 20s, particularly the latter part of the decade when the Model 10 was designed.
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Waco CSO Project
