J-6
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J-6 NC2943
Alfred C. Fuller
photo credit FORTUNE Mag 1937
Alfred C. Fuller started the Fuller Brush Company in 1906. It grew to involve multiple subsidies, including many that were international. It has a great history with some that can be read through various links below. Alfred C. Fuller gave up the leadership to his eldest son, Alfred Howard Fuller, when he was made President in1943. Howard's more bold and aggressive personality allowed the company to recognize positive changes that resulted in higher profits..
However, his temperament also contributed to his and his wife Dora's untimely death. Howard, always interested in thrilling, high-risk pursuits (such as driving sports cars, piloting airplanes, and racing speedboats and sailboats) was cruising through Nevada at 120 mile per hour for a business trip, uncharacterisically
accompanied by his wife, when his Mercedes-Benz 300 SL blew a tire. Both Fullers died in the accident in 1959. Following the accident, Howard's younger brother, Avard Fuller assumed the leadership of the Fuller Brush Company. Avard was more conservative and not the adventurer that his brother had been.
J-6 NC2943 arrived at Fuller Brush during Howard's presidency and was sold not long after his death. It was Howard more than Fuller Brush that operated the newest amphibian aircraft on the market in 1946.
Howard
photo credit AP wire
some verbiage above comes from previuosly internet postings
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Pacific Airmotive Corportation - Burbank, CA
When you look at the FAA records of J-6 it will indicate that Pacific Airmotive Corp. was the next registered owner of N2943 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-6, you can not talk about PAC without acknowledging John W. Myers. John was a legend. Read more...
Read more about N51181 next owner...
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
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
Santa Monica, CA - April 1961 photo credit Ed Coates
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photo credit - David Zekria Collection
photo credit TKO - san
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photo credit TKO - san
Nitto Air Lines was a company that operated local routes mainly from Osaka to the Nanki and Setouchi regions. Unusually for Japan, it used small amphibious aircraft. These aircraft could fly to cities without runways and were used for maneuverable maneuvers unique to small aircraft. The Tokushima route had "increased flights during the Awa Odori festival," with twice the usual number of extra flights.
JA5090
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The Fate of Small and Medium-Sized Airlines These local airlines often experienced accidents
　due to the less favorable operating environment compared to today. Eventually, strengthening the base through mergers was considered, and in 1964, Nitto Airlines merged with three other local regional airlines to become Japan Domestic Airlines (later reorganized into Toa Domestic Airlines, and now Japan Air System).
photo credit - David Zekria Collection
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photo credit TKO - san
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photo credit Peter Keating /a flying history
Universal Trading Corporation operated as a Panamanian subsidiary and division of the aviation brokerage firm Frederick B. Ayer & Associates, which specialized in buying, leasing, and selling commercial transport aircraft during the mid-20th century. Frederick B. Ayer utilized Universal Trading Corporation in Panama to manage international aircraft leases, transfers, and sales—
UTC ..FBA transfer same day Maintained ownership for
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BOS Japan to Universal Trading 1961
BOS Universal Trading to F. Ayer 1961
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FAA337 Frederick Ayer 1968
App Airworthiness Cert. 1968
Aircraft Holdings, Corp. - Washington, D.C.
1225 19th Street N.W. located in the commercial center of the city's Dupont Circle neighborhood. Michael L. Lehrman was an accomplished military aviator, test pilot and corporate executive. He served as President of Aircraft Holdings, Corp Lehrman had more than 15,000 hours of flight time, held FAA Airline Transport Pilot ratings in both fixed-wing and helicopter aircraft and was an FAA Designated Examiner for lighter-than-air vehicles (hot air balloons). For years, he was an unpaid aviation consultant to NBC News. Later in his career, he transitioned to medical technology and became a prolific inventor with more than 25 patents. He passed away in April 2024 at the age of 91.
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Aircraft Holdings Corp was another aircraft broker and acquired N7306 in November 1968 and sold the aircraft to Dean Franklin in April 1970.
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J-6 arrived in Miami to join other Grumman Mallards in 1970. Dean Franklin had been at Chalk's since 1937 and in 1966 purchased the company from "Pappy" and began to add the G-73's as the aircraft of choice, fazing out the Grumman Goose.
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December 1976
photo credit Ellis M. Chernoff
photo credit Mick Bajcar
BOS Aircraft Holdings, Inc. to Dean Franklin 1970
Dean F. Franklin Aviation Enterprises, Inc.
photo credit Mick Bajcar
June 1978
Dean H. Franklin Aviation Enterprises, Inc. was the entity that Dean used to procure the aircraft and then lease to Chalk's..
June 1978
photo credit Tim Chaloner
March 1982
photo credit Lewis Grant
photo credit Steve Ozel
1977
photo credit Mick Bajcar
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December 1980
photo from Martin Harrison Collection
photo credit Keith Sowter
June 1978
November 1983
March 1981
August 1981
April1982
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In 1972, Dean transferred ownership directly to Chalk's International Airline, Inc. while continuing to hold the mortgage. Ed Dixon arrives and purchases Chalk's the same year but lasted only months before the next owner Resorts International takes on the airline in 1973, (see assignment of mortgage dated 7/11/73)
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RI also started construction of a runway (STOL) on Paradise Island.
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J-6 / N7306 was parked in 1984 and parts began to be removed for other aircraft and got further from airworthiness. Virgin Islands Seaplane Shuttle
showed interest in J-6 for possible Frake's turbine conversion but it never came to be.
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In 1987, Donald Trump's continued interest in Atlantic City buys Resorts International which included Chalk's International Airline. Merv Griffin enters in 1988 to acquired Paradise Island and buys Resorts International leaving Trump with the ill fated Taj Mahal.
Chalk's International Airline continued to operate and awaited its next owner, with
J-6 / N 7306 fuselage sitting at the airport. Dean H. Franklin Aviation Enterprises, Inc.
re-acquires the aircraft for parts on June 7, 1990 and kept the aircraft registered until 2013. On May 21, 2015 after multiple unsuccessful efforts to correspond with the owner, the FAA revoked the registration and J-6 became a non-entity.
photo credit Paul Seymour
November 1986
April 1990
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photo credit Brian R. Burrage
photo credit Paul Seymour
Summary
​J-6 NC2943 spent nearly 15 years at Fuller Brush before its next owner., Pacific Airmotive Corporation. PAC Aero n Burbank, Ca. was more of a stopover of several months while being prepped for Nitto Air Lines in Osaka, Japan (JA5090). Nitto Air Lines merged with Japan Domestic Airlines. In 1966, after five years in Japan, J-6 returned to the U.S. when Frederick B. Ayers & Associates acquired the aircraft and reregistered to N7306. He owned the aircraft for less than 3 years before transfer to Aircraft Holdings and then again to Dean Franklin Enterprises, Miami in April 1970. Dean leased it to Chalk's International Airlines, where it flew for 4 years. On December 26, 1974, it was damaged upon landing in Miami and stored for further evaluation. 10 years later, Virgin Island Seaplane Shuttle (VISS) showed interest and secure options with the hopes of sending it to Frakes for conversion to turbine. It continued to sit in Miami and then Ft. Lauderdale until the certificate of registration expired in 2015
The late Geoff Goodall, Fred Hotson and Matt Rodino along with Fred Knight & Colin Smith have done the hard work on documenting the history of so many amphibians. I have enjoyed taking their work and elaborate on those individuals that owned some of these iconic airplanes.
Thank you gentleman .
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The above material has been produced from many sources with a number of links to additional websites. The verbiage comes from myself and others. Photos and documents have been reviewed for posting. Thank you to the various photographers for allowing me to post their Mallard images. In some rare cases I was not able to reach the photographer. Any questions or concerns regarding material, please contact me. Tom Anusewicz