J-56
Grumman first flew the G-73 Mallard in September 1946, when J-1 departed Bethpage, N.Y. as a demonstrator. It flew to show off this new amphibian to the country and the world. By December of 1950, Grumman had built 56 of the 59 Mallards. J-56 started with General Motors and still flies today with private owner. Read more of the history of J-56 and those that flew this amphibean.
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J-56 N5118 with GMATS crews with Director Gene Zepp
Bill of Sale / Grumman to GM 1950
CAA Repair Form
Detroit City Airport - GM Hangar #1
J-56 arrived at Antilles Air Boats in 1974. Photo credit Tony Pierce
photo from the Detroit Historical Society - Digital Collection
Detroit City Airport terminal and hangars.
GM hangar #1
The above verbiage is from Wikipedia
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Detroit City Airport opened in 1927 with the hangars completed 3 years later. For the next 20 years the airport was the primary airfield for Detroit until Willow Run opened in 1949. Detroit City Airport continued with corporate/business/general aviation operation until 2000.
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J-40 / N5110 / GMATS
photo from the Bill Bailey Collection
J-42 was registered to C.F. Kettering but also utilized by GMATS. See 337 records
Registration from N5118 to N51181
General Motors Air Transport Service - Convair 580 at Hydra-Matic Transmission, Willow Run, MI
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Pacific Airmotive Corportation - Burbank, CA
When you look at the FAA records of J-56 it will indicate that Pacific Airmotive Corp. was the next registered owner of N5118. The records would also indicate it was not to be operated by PAC but to offer a sale and export to Japan.
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Even though PAC didn't operate J-56, you can not talk about PAC without acknowledging John W. Myers. John was a legend. Read more...
John W. Myers
John Myers learned to fly while attending Stanford University in the early 1930's. After he received his degree in political science, he attended Harvard Law School. After returning to California, he practiceD law with his father's firm, O'Melveny & Myers. When the U.S. was preparing to enter WWII, John left his job for another in the legal department of Lockheed. This allowed him to be closer to his love of airplanes. It didn't take long before he got a lot closer than he believed was possible. He wound up being a test pilot for Lockheed. Jack Northrop heard of Myers flying expertise and offered him the position of chief engineering test pilot, which he took in 1941. He flew for both Lockheed and Northrop all during WWII.
Over the course of more than ten years of ownership, Myers acquired the distributorship for Cessna in the western U.S. - California, Arizona and Nevada.
After the war, John Myers returned to California but not to practice law as his father hoped. Airplanes needed to be part of his life. Myers went to work for the Union Oil Co. Union had a controlling interest in Pacific Airmotive which was headquartered in Burbank but in 1954 Myers acquired the company and became chairman and principle stockholder.
In November of 1959, PAC bought J-56
(Union Oil Co. owned and operated J-54 for nearly 20 years) ​
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photo credit Dave Proffer / AirFllite at Long Beach Airport
Side bar... In the late 80's I managed Hemmeter Aviation in Hawaii, an FBO servicing corporate jets including Toyota. I made visits to AirFlite in Long Beach to meet with Director of Flight Operations, Terry Habeck. I also visited Gulfstreams in Long Beach when I was involved with completions of GIV's - Tom Anusewicz
Read more about N51181 next owner...
When a partner wanted out of the Long Beach operations, Myers developed a AirFlite, a new fixed base operations in 1970. It was almost 20 years later, when he decided to return to a little lawyering and ranching. It was then that he got acquainted with Yukiyasu "Yuki" Toga, president and chairman of Toyota and sold AirFlite in 1989.
1911 - 2016
Yukiyasu "Yuki" Toga
Toyo Menka Kaisha Ltd.
J-56 arrived at the Haneda Airport in December 1959 and awaited its new registration JA5057
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photo credit Yasunori Toda
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photo credit Yasunori Toda
No formal record available for transfer between Toya Menka Kaisha Ltd. and Nitto Aviation.
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photo credit Yasunori Toda
photo credit Yasunori Toda
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photo credit Yasunori Toda
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On April 15, 1964, Nitto Aviation Co., Fuji Airlines Co., and North Japan Airlines Co. merged to form Japan Domestic Airways. In 1964 JDA added 4 G-73
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Mallards J-6 / J-38 / J-52 / J-56 . The amphibians were discontinued in 1966.
Mergers continued until they all merged into Japan Airlines by 2000.
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J-56 / JA5057
photo credit Yasunori Toda
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J-6 / JA5090
photo credit Y. Toda
J-52 / J-56 / J-38
Enter Universal Trading Corporation - Panama
(a subsidy of Frederick Ayer & Associates) purchases the Mallards then transfers to Frederick Ayer & Assoc. back to U.S.
Enter Dean Franklin's Amphibious Airways then another transfer to Chalk's' International Airlines before it arrives at Antilles Air Boats in 1974
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photo credit Fritz Henle
N7356 departs Christiansted, St. Croix
photo credit Roger Syratt
11/3/81 N7356 in Miami / Opa-locka Exec.
N7356 and N7338 both arrived in 1974 and 5 years later they were joined by 5 additional Mallards and operated until AAB closed its doors in 1981.
The Mallards served the Virgin Islands well.
J-56 continued to fly after AAB.
The current owner John Mayes has restored N7356 to its glory days with its current airworthiness certificate valid until July 31, 2028
Will add additional information when time allows
