Extremely rare Savoia Marchetti on display at NCAM
Very rare S-56 seaplane arrives at N.C. Aviation Museum
Historical
craft on loan from Reynolda House Museum of American Art
By Rick Bondurant
GM/Curator, NCAM
An extremely
rare S-56 Savoia Marchetti seaplane, like the model flown solo from
"We are very proud to be working with the NCAM," says Richard Murdoch, archivist, Reynolda House. "We think the museum will serve as a wonderful venue for this very unusual aircraft."
Very unusual, absolutely, but nearly unique is perhaps a slightly more apt description since there are only TWO like it left on EARTH.
One, of course,
has been in the care of Reynolda House officials since they purchased it in
2005 from the estate of longtime owner R.W. "Buzz" Kaplan. "It had been
masterfully restored to its current near-mint condition by
"What a great time for the museum,"said Bob Coyle, chairman of the NCAM Board of Directors. "First, a classic F4U-4 Corsair which we still have on site, although that can change any day, and now this, thanks to the great folks at Reynolda House" a nearly one-of-a-kind S-56 from the pioneering days of flight. Quite a daily double if you ask me!"
Furthermore, there might be a hat-trick or even a grand-slam in the offing, but Coyle couldn't elaborate at this time. He would only go on to say that "famous and fast" come to mind when describing two of the other potential new arrivals.
The Savoia Marchetti S-56 amphibian biplane was built by the American Aeronautical Corporation, starting in 1929. Only about three dozen were ever built. Of Italian design, the S-56 weighs about 1,400 pounds, and depending upon the variant (A, B, or C) had two or three seats. (The craft actually flown by Smith no longer exists. FAA documentation indicates it was destroyed in a hangar fire on the west coast in 1939.)
Since he was flying alone, Smith felt the removal of the additional seats was only logical and would allow him much more storage room for food and supplies. The youthful adventurer also had his S-56 fuel tanks modified, extending the range of the craft from about 200 miles to more than 1,000, thus decreasing the numbers of landings required during his trip.
A journey that started at Croyden Aerodrome in December 1931 as Smith, 20, an up-and-coming aviator and the youngest son of R. J. Reynolds, sat chilled and anxious in the open cockpit of his S-56C Savoia Marchetti seaplane ready to crank up its 125-horsepower engine.
It was a frigid
and foggy old day north of
Tragically, a few weeks later, Smith DID run out of tomorrows.
Smith had been hosting a get-together at Reynolda for longtime friend, Charles Gideon Hill, Jr. It was Hill's 21st birthday, and in the wee morning hours of July 6, after nearly everyone had left, a shot rang out and Smith was found gravely injured with a gunshot wound to the right temple. Suicide or murder was never formally determined. Charges were filed and later dropped without a trial. Exact circumstances surrounding the death are still being debated today.
"Although the tragic end to Smith's talented life often tends to overshadow, in many people's eyes, his strides in aviation," says Murdoch, "with proper interpretation of Smith's passion and his journey in the S-56, I think people, more and more, are coming to see him as a talented aviator, navigator and mechanic."
The NCAM is a
nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving the history, as well as
honoring, the heritage of world of flight. The museum features a variety of
vintage aircraft, including a Piper Cub flown by Orville Wright, as well as
many other historical, experimental and even unmanned aircraft. The museum also
has two hangars full of military vehicles, weapons, equipment and uniforms, and
artifacts from World War I, World War II, the Korean and
Now operating on
a winter schedule, museum hours are Wednesday through Saturday, from 10 a.m.-5
p.m., and Sunday, from 1-5 p.m. It's located near the
North Carolina Aviation Museum
2222-G Pilots View Road
Asheboro, NC 27205
Phone: (336) 625-0170
Fax: (336) 625-2984
