1902-1974 |
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Collection of Walter E. Lees |
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So interesting was the 10,000 mile demonstrating flight of Edward Macauley and Fred Brossy, Packard pilot of their Diesel-powered plane, that Mr. Macauley set forth their experiences en route. A legend under a picture of the Buhl Airsedan reads: "Fred insists he heard a fuel pump laughing up its sleeve when we wheeled our Buhl air sedan to let pilots discover for themselves whether a Packard-Diesel could fly at high altitudes." From an article in the "Packard Inner Circle, Detroit Mich., November 24, 1930, titled Oh What a Rep for "REVS" Has the Packard- Diesel Engine! by Edward Macauley, Sales Manager, Aircraft and Marine Division. |
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"Just a comment or two about Fred Brossy. He was an ensign in reserve squadron VN-9RD9 at the Naval Reserve Aviation Base in Grosse Ile, Michigan, at the time of the 28 May 1931 endurance flight with Walter E. Lees. Lees was a lieutenant in the same squadron. Both men were on inactive duty and were test pilots for Packard at the time. Brossy later went on active duty and became a flight instructor at NRAB Long Beach in the late 1930's. I haven't really followed his career so I don't know that happened to him afterward". This came from Mr. Wayne H. Heiser on October 6, 1997. He explained that the information came from a series of articles on NRAB Long Beach which appeared in the American Aviation Historical Society Journal, in the Winter, 1971, Spring 1972, and Fall 1972 issues. |
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I received recently, August 25, 1997, an e-mail message from Roger Brossy, the grandson of Frederic Brossy. He explained that he was surprised to find my site by searching for the family name. He explained that Fred had died in the 70's, but that his son, Fred Jr.,still lives in Hawaii. Roger wrote that he and his five-year old son Max really enjoyed seeing the photos and reading the stories about Fred Sr. Fred Jr. had ordered several of my wife's book when it was published and she had saved his address in Hawaii. I wrote a letter asking him to send a short biography of his father to me for inclusion on the website. Roger wrote that his dad did receive my request and hopes to respond. At this time, I only know that he was an Ensign in the United States Navy at the time of the endurance flight. My wife recalls that he continued in the Navy, but doesn't remember anything more. 
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