John Oder's Burbank Photos

Pinging John here, Several years ago JO posted some photos perhaps from the 1920s of Lockheed in Burbank. They were building maybe the Dl2a. There was at least one particularly cool photo that showed the china kilns in the background. I can't seem to find any of this I think it was all lost in the Photobucket fiasco. Could John repost those, and let us know where we can get high resolution scans? Also I think you were discussing a replica of the Dl2a that someone was building, maybe you did some castings for the landing gear. My memory is fading. How about an update on that project?

I'm not John, don't play him on TV, and haven't slept in a Holiday Inn in a few decades, but -

DL2A PICS

Hmm, I didn't realize you could stalk someone's photobucket account like that. Interesting, and unnerving in a way. Anyway, yes cool project but those are not the photos I'm looking for. The ones I'm looking for were vintage pics of the day taken outside in Burbank.

No such thing as Hi Res that I know of. It would take multiple posts to get them on here five at a time.How about PMing me an email address and I'll send what I have. You can do as you like with them. It seemed to me in my 40 odd years of study that almost no one had the least interest in the dusty old Burbank of the twenties

Here is the DL-2A sitting out at the NW corner of what used to be the B1 plant and is now a garish shopping center. This ship survives as Orion 9C in the Swiss Museum of Transport - the only Orion 9 and the only 9C to survive. (there were less than 20 DL - for Detroit Lockheed - and most were Vegas - basically an alloy monocoque fuselage with everything else wood-as-usual. Photos posted above are Tom's recreation of the DL-2 fuselage - ongoing since 2004)

As far as I am aware, there would be no Empire China kiln stack photos if someone taking pictures of Lockheed had not just by chance pointed his camera that way. Lockheed bought the derelict property in 1928, but did absolutely nothing about cleaning up the remains of EC until WW2 loomed

Lots of cool photos of Empire China here:
Inside the Empire China Company
Couldn't have been too derelict when Lockheed bought them as the last photo is dated April of 1928 and clearly they are still in business. Here is a cool pic of the two business operating one across the street from the other:
empire china burbank - Google Search

I spent a lot of time in this area once upon a time. When Lockheed was closing down all sorts of equipment was surplussed. It sure looks different now, and not for the better in my opinion. Empire China, it had to be murder working in that place in the summer.

Your EC photos are way better than mine. When I was looking some years ago, there was no such to be found, though my search terms may have been lacking.

Thumbnail is the shot taken of Lockheed - but incidentally showing kiln stacks of EC South East of Lockheed

adh2000 said:

Lots of cool photos of Empire China here:
Inside the Empire China Company
Couldn't have been too derelict when Lockheed bought them as the last photo is dated April of 1928 and clearly they are still in business. Here is a cool pic of the two business operating one across the street from the other:
empire china burbank - Google Search

I spent a lot of time in this area once upon a time. When Lockheed was closing down all sorts of equipment was surplussed. It sure looks different now, and not for the better in my opinion. Empire China, it had to be murder working in that place in the summer.

Click to expand...

A Mr. Keeler was the real estate gent that fixed LAC up with the property - and got to have a local street named for him (RED marker) PLUS LAC made him President for a short while

The crowd of eateries almost due south of the RED marker are where the B1 plant was back in the day

I recall the B1 plant. It was certainly huge. Well, now we have a Sharky's and an Olive Garden. What can I say.

Cool to think that the Lockheed brothers moved there in 1928 from Hollywood. They actually built airplanes in Hollywood for about 15 years I think. Makes me think of these Clark lathe tool holders:
LOT of 2 Robt Clark Lathe No.P62L and P62R boring threading turning tool holder | eBay
Made in Berverly Hills apparently, I used to have a few of these. Maybe they're still here somewhere in my pile. I'm guessing most of the forging and machining operations have moved out of Beverly Hills by now.

I don't remember what photos you posted in the past but if you have anything you'd care to repost that would be cool. I remember going in to one of those plants and they had rows and rows of wing rib patterns all numbered and hanging on the walls. To make a rib you would lay the pattern on a piece of spruce I suppose and then cut it out on a pin router with the pin following the pattern. Amazing.

In the "wood" days they made them from dozens of pre cut pieces, piles of ply gussets, pre laminated curvey parts and teeny nails and glue. Hopefully I can find the thumbnail.

Well not the one I was looking for, so this open wing shot of the Orion getting worked on in Swiss Air shops before going off to the Swiss Museum of Transport will have to serve as a stand in to show the ribs. (yes, this Orion has the DL alloy fuselage)

adh2000 said:

I recall the B1 plant. It was certainly huge. Well, now we have a Sharky's and an Olive Garden. What can I say.

Cool to think that the Lockheed brothers moved there in 1928 from Hollywood. They actually built airplanes in Hollywood for about 15 years I think. Makes me think of these Clark lathe tool holders:
LOT of 2 Robt Clark Lathe No.P62L and P62R boring threading turning tool holder | eBay
Made in Berverly Hills apparently, I used to have a few of these. Maybe they're still here somewhere in my pile. I'm guessing most of the forging and machining operations have moved out of Beverly Hills by now.

I don't remember what photos you posted in the past but if you have anything you'd care to repost that would be cool. I remember going in to one of those plants and they had rows and rows of wing rib patterns all numbered and hanging on the walls. To make a rib you would lay the pattern on a piece of spruce I suppose and then cut it out on a pin router with the pin following the pattern. Amazing.

Click to expand...

A few more. The late one is about how it appears today

During WW2, the Burbank plant and the airport were hidden under a giant tarp painted to make it look like a farm.

How The Military Hid The Lockheed Burbank Aircraft Plant | Amusing Planet

I was reminded of this thread when I noticed an article about Douglas Aircraft’s new “Blackout Factory” in Long Beach Cal. that turned up when I was look for something else in the 1941 volume of Flying Magazine here.
Flying Magazine - Google Books

Some of Tom's wood work here for the DL-2A

https://www.practicalmachinist.com/...altair-dl-2a-scratch-269069/?highlight=Altair

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