Mendenhall M-1 (Mendenhall Special) low-powered racer

Jon Aldridge came across an old photograph of an interesting glider that has piqued his curiosity. Nothing seems to be known about the glider, but it appears to have possibly been built by Tony Schwamm of Anchorage, Alaska. He was a fairly prominent pilot in Alaska during the late 1930s and 1940s. As with so much of Alaskan history, it appears that Schwamm also had a Seattle tie.

The glider is a complete unknown, but based on other photos of Tony Schwamm, it appears to be him sitting in the unfinished craft. The gull wings and twin tail are completely unique in what appears to be a single-seat glider design. It’s not known if he designed or built it or was just posing in it in front of his hangar in Petersburg, Alaska.

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Among an interesting assortment of aircraft, including the Vance Viking in the background, Tony Schwamm’s hangar was the scene for a quick shot of our
June Mystery Plane. The aircraft in question is the 1936 Mendenhall M-1, aka Special. A gull-winged, twin-boom, low-powered racer. Test-flown flown by Anthony “Tony” LeVier of (latter day) Lockheed fame. Registered as 16097, it was flown three times using the 22.5-hp Cyclomotor powerplant. On all three occasions the engine failed. The first two times LeVier was able to execute dead-stick landings. The third time, the aircraft was destroyed and LeVier was slightly injured. It was designed and built by Eugene Mendenhall of Los Angeles. (...) At the time, LeVier was flying in Arizona and California, so it makes perfect sense that the photo came out of Arizona.

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Avimimus said:

I think the lesson here is (sadly) to go with two 12.5 hp engines... like the Lazair.

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