Phillips 66 Curtiss Pusher Biplane
N66U Vintage Photo Billy Parker Airshow
Phillips\' own pusher, built by its aviation chiefDESCRIPTIONOriginal vintage black and white photograph of N66U, a Parker-built Curtiss-type pusher biplane owned by Phillips Petroleum Company. A low, close view catches the open-frame airplane rolling past a packed grandstand, the pilot in a cap and sunglasses seated behind a large control wheel, a Phillips 66 sign mounted on the airframe and a Phillips 66 shield on the fuel tank above the upper wing. The registration N66U can be read on the tail. The photographer\'s credit, A. L. \"Al\" Bachmann, is printed in the lower white margin. Taken in the 1960s.FAA records list N66U as a \"Parker Curtiss Pusher,\" serial 8, registered to Phillips Petroleum Company in April 1960 and carried on the register until late 1970. The airplane came out of the work of Will D. \"Billy\" Parker, who built his first pusher in Colorado and flew it in 1912 as a teenager. In the 1920s he went to work for Phillips Petroleum running its aviation department. He helped develop the company\'s aviation fuels, worked with Wiley Post on his high altitude flights, and later served as president of the Early Birds of Aviation, the group for pilots who flew solo before December 17, 1916.Parker kept his own pushers flying for decades and took them to air shows and company events, where they drew crowds to the Phillips exhibits. In 1953 he flew one of them at Kitty Hawk for the 50th anniversary of the Wright brothers\' first flight. Phillips put N66U on the U.S. register in 1960, six years before Parker retired from the company in 1966. At a time when jets and corporate fleets were taking over the sky, a company that sold aviation fuel chose to put a pioneer-style pusher in front of the public with its own name and the Phillips 66 shield on it. In 1970 Phillips donated N66U to Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City, where it hung over the terminal lobby for years. This photograph shows the airplane doing its job in front of a full grandstand, during the decade it flew for the company. Aviation history, Oklahoma history and Phillips 66 collectors will all find something to study here.Images were scanned at 600dpi so the lettering, signage and crowd can be studied closely.Every effort is made toward fact checking and provenance, including background research through news and historical archives. If any listing is incorrect in any way and you\'re unsatisfied with the item, please connect with me and I\'ll make it right. Orders placed before Noon CDT ship same day via USPS Ground Advantage with tracking, so you know exactly when it will arrive. Returns accepted on all items exceeding $25 in cost. Rigid, professional packaging on every shipment, sealed and protected in acid free protectors. Shipping is free and already built into the price, so the BIN price is exactly what you pay, no surprise shipping costs at checkout.CONDITIONOriginal black and white print on cream paper with a thin white border and the photographer\'s credit printed in the lower margin. The image is sharp on the airplane and pilot with natural film grain, and the Phillips 66 signage and the registration on the tail are readable. Light surface specks from the original printing and a faint vertical light streak across the pavement area show in the scan. The reverse is blank with light, even age toning and one faint short crease near an edge. Corners and edges show only light handling wear. No tears or missing paper are visible in the scans. Scanned at 600dpi, shipped flat and sealed in rigid packaging with an acid free protector.
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