Silvered Wings: Bellanca ‘Cruisair’ 14-12-F3 (1941)

Bellanca “Cruisair” 14-12-F3 (1941) NC28987

By late 1940 Bellanca, like others in the industry, had begun to move away from small radial engines in favor of the “flat” opposed-type models. The gracefully contoured “Cruisair” 14-12-F3 featured the 120-horsepower Franklin F3 engine and added cabin space for three.

During World War II, Civil Air Patrol flew several of these aircraft out of its Southern Liaison Patrol and coastal patrol bases. NC28987, call sign “Beaver Fox 5,” was a shiny new model co-owned by Coastal Patrol Base No. 5’s commander, Maj. Julius Gresham, and a fellow base pilot, Lt Harry Clinton. 

Neither was at the controls, however, on Nov. 22, 1942, when Lts. Lew Rhodes and Gates Clay crash-landed the aircraft at sea, 15 miles east of Daytona Beach Pier, after an engine failure.

The plane floated for eight minutes before sinking. The pair were rescued 90 minutes later by a patrolling U.S. Navy patrol bomber. 

Rhodes and Clay’s mishap made them the second of three inductees in the base’s “Duck Club.”

Maj. Ron Finger is a freelance illustrator and member of the Minnesota Wing’s Crow Wing Composite Squadron. Recently honored by the Minnesota Aviation Hall of Fame as Artist of the Year, he is an Air Force Art Program artist, where a select pool of artists are assigned “art missions” to document specific U.S. Air Force operations. 

Among his duties as Civil Air Patrol’s national artist, Finger researches and creates art that portrays our historical emergency service. A personal goal is to complete paintings documenting every aircraft type CAP has flown. 

This is the 18th painting in Finger’s second series of depictions of vintage CAP aircraft. More of Finger’s CAP artwork can be seen at redpine.net.

Silvered Wings No. 1 — Fleetwings Sea Bird F-401Silvered Wings No. 2 — Curtiss-Wright 15-D SedanSilvered Wings No. 3 — Rearwin Sportster 7000Silvered Wings No. 4 — Cessna U-3B “Blue Canoe”Silvered Wings No. 5 — Aeronca C-3 (1932)Silvered Wings No. 6 — Rearwin Sportster 900-LSilvered Wings No. 7 —Travel Air C-4000Silvered Wings No. 8 — Kinner ‘Sportster B’Silvered Wings No. 9 — Boeing Model 40-A/BSilvered Wings No. 10 — Brunner-Winkle ‘Bird,’ BK (1929)Silvered Wings No. 11 —Meyers OTW-125 ‘Out-To-Win’Silvered Wings No. 12 — Cessna 0-1/L-19 Bird DogSilvered Wings No. 13 —Monocoupe 90A Silvered Wings No. 14 — Silvered Wings: North American/Ryan L-17A NavionSilvered Wings No. 15 — Aeronca LBSilvered Wings No. 16 — Helio U-10D/HT-295 Super CourierSilvered Wings No. 17 — Aero Commander L-26/U-4B 55-4647