Chicago's Midway Airport: The First Seventy-five Years
by Christopher Lynch

Lake Claremont Press
Phone: 773/583-7800
www.lakeclaremont.com

Flying Through History: The Story of the Stinson NC-11153

Stinson NC-11153, parked at Chicago Municipal (Midway), late 1930's-40's.

For aviation, the early 1930's was era of the Tri-motors, and two of the most popular models were those manufactured by Stinson and Ford.

In 1936, Pierce "Scotty" O'Carroll purchased Stinson NC-11153 for his business, Monarch Air Service. The "N number" is how planes are identified, like a license plate on a car.

O'Carroll flew this ship for his sightseeing business over the city. He would fly passengers over the Lakefront and downtown Chicago, many for the first time. The plane flew charters and sight seeing for eight years, until O'Carroll sold it in 1943.

Stinson NC-11153, flying over Chicago, and operated by Monarch Air Service

O'Carroll's Stinson flew into memory, known to his grandchildren as a mighty ship, its propellers spinning, frozen in time in an old photograph. Their mother, Sheila, flew as a child in this Stinson, her memories still strong, even after sixty years.

The Stinson, its propeller's spinning at Chicago Municipal (Midway Airport), late 1930's-40's.

Thanks to the age of the Internet, NC-11153 would recently fly back into the family's consciousness. While conducting an Internet search, it was discovered that the plane is still flying seven decades after it was first manufactured in 1931. It has been restored to its original glory, and painted with the original American Airway colors. It's remarkable that it is the same Stinson that countless of Chicagoans first viewed their city through its windows.

It is joyful to know that NC-11153 still flies, in the physical world, as opposed to frozen in a photograph. When it flies today, the imaginations of many who value historic airplanes soar along with it.

To read more about NC-11153's fascinating provenance, click here.