Page 22 - Volume 12, Number 7

In 1928 Cessna’s engineers designed the Model CW-6 that featured a larger and more comfortable cabin than the earlier Model AA, AW and BW airplanes.
By 1929 the CW-6 had evolved into the Model DC-6 series. (ROBERT PICKETT COLLECTION/TEXTRON AVIATION/ KANSAS AVIATION MUSEUM)
Soon after departing there, the Warner radial began to run rough. As the engine’s condition seemed to worsen, Rowland could land in the desert or throw caution to the wind and keep flying toward El Paso while nursing the Scarab onward. He chose the latter. It was difficult to hold altitude as convention currents tossed the monoplane around like a cork in an angry sea. Finally, Earl landed at El Paso, but he had lost eight precious minutes to Dake. A Warner mechanic soon diagnosed the issue as ignition problems. He quickly replaced the faulty components and declared the Warner ready for action. Having solved one problem, however, another suddenly appeared – the left main landing gear tire was hissing its last breath as it settled to the ground, flat as a pancake.
The next morning heralded the final leg of the race to Mines Field. As the Model AW charged westward,
Earl was happy that he maintained nearly a one-hour lead over Dake, but nine hours of hard flying lay ahead. Passing Yuma, Arizona, Earl climbed the ship higher to find cooler air. He had no mercy on the Warner, shoving the throttle full forward and keeping it there, just as he had throughout the race.
On Sept. 10, Rowland and his Cessna roared across the finish line at Mines Field. He had beaten Dake and won the Class A Division, as well as the first prize of $5,000. After parking the monoplane and exiting the cockpit, he was glad to see his friends Arch Merriam, H.G. O’Dell, Roscoe Vaughn and Marcellus Murdock, all of whom were representing the National Aeronautic Association’s Wichita chapter at the races. The four men congratulated Earl for a great victory that was not only his and that of the Cessna Aircraft Company, but of Wichita, too.
Earl Rowland posed with the Model AW he flew to victory in the New York – Los Angeles Air Derby held in September 1928. His flying time from coast to coast was 27 hours 31 seconds. (COURTESY LES FORDEN)
JULY 2018