Remaining Research

Martin Jensen just before takeoff.

We hope to close up some loose ends in this project soon.  Here are notes about our remaining research.

1) Martin Jensen's papers

Pilot Jensen donated his personal collection of paper to the Wyoming Heritage Center in Laramie, Wyoming.  We have been in contact with the Center and made arrangement for the 28 pages relating to Leo The Lion to be scanned and sent to us.  We are eagerly awaiting receipt of that material as we have no idea what those pages may contain.

(Update 02/13/20)--We received 44 pages instead of 28.  Unfortunately, a personal narrative by the pilot is not part of the collection. We did transcribe and post an interview with Bill Boardman and you can read the 2,900 word document here:
https://issuu.com/arizonahistorystories/docs/william__bill__boardman_interview

2) Fuel Capacity

Some accounts have speculated the Ryan B-1 aircraft was carrying as much as 450 gallons of extra fuel.  Frankly, that's impossible in such an aircraft.  Even 300 gallons would weigh 2,000 pounds (including tank weight) and take up a space of approximately 45 by 38 by 40 inches.  The aero dynamics of that simple airframe design simply could not support that weight nor could the engine provide enough power to lift such a load off the ground.  We are waiting for information from the Yanks Air Museum in Chino, California regarding insights about fuel capacity.

(Update 02/13/20) We have been in contact with Scott Gifford who salvaged the wreckage remains in 1991.  Gifford said the aircraft contained 5 fuel tanks--three in the wing and two in the belly. Gifford also claims the aircraft was carrying 450 gallons of fuel.  A Yanks Air Museum Staff member says the "stock" fuel capacity was 84 gallons.)

3) Did Jensen refuel in Phoenix?

This is a big question mark in the Flyin' Lion Story. At this point in our research there's nothing whatsoever to indicate he either did or didn't stop in Phoenix.

(Update 02/13/20) At this point we can infer that Jensen did not land in Phoenix.  He took off from an airfield near San Diego shortly after 10 AM on September 16, 1927 and crashed shortly after 2 PM the same day at a site approx 350 air miles from the origin of the flight.  There simply would have been no time to land in during the amount of elapsed time between take off and crash.

4) Cruising Range

What would have been the nominal cruising range for a Ryan B-1 Brougham carrying a full load?

(Update 02/13/20) The OEM nominal cruising range for the aircraft was 700 miles.

5) Why Tonto Basin?

Jensen's flight path into Tonto Basin made no sense for that era of flight in the Southwest.  Pilots traveling to Albuquerque normally went out of their way to El Paso and then north to avoid the Central Arizona Mountains and The Mogollon Rim beyond.  Jensen was an accomplished barnstormer pilot with extensive flight time around America.  We may never learn the answer to this question but that doesn't mean we won't stop asking!

6) The Rim Country Museum

The Northern Gila County Historical Society is a huge help!

We visited in person again February 19, 2020 and the NGCHS President Sandy Carson really went the extra mile to help us.  We're going to receive excellent photos including: 1920's Payson Main Street scene; the first Grady Harrison Garage where the lion was kept; a 1926 view of both schools AND a photo of Bill Boardman!  How good is that?  VERY GOOD!  Thank, Sandy.

7) Scott Gifford

There seems to be zero doubt that Scott Gifford recovered the wreckage from Leo Canyon.  We are determined to make contact with him to learn the progress toward his stated goal to restore the aircraft to flyable condition.

(Update 02/13/20)  We have indeed made contact with Scott Gifford.  We are looking forward to working with him to learn more about the many aspects of this incident.

8) Newspaper Dot Com

Supposedly Leo The Lion's crash made copious national news.  We're planning to buy a subscription to the online newspaper archives and try to find as many reports as possible about such coverage.

Well, that pretty well wraps up what we "think" we have to do.  One final possibility would be to buy flying time to fly over Leo Canyon and record some aerial video.  But that sounds mighty expensive and we doubt that we will be able to afford such a luxury.

9) Who was the pilot?

We have accumulated quite a bit of background about pilot Martin Jensen, probably too much, but that's the way it goes sometimes.  Now the chore is to write it up in a way that's readable and goes get annoyingly long.

Thanks for reading!  John Parsons