James Harold Mangham
James Harold "Stormy" Mangham (* 1906 ; † 1974 near Luling , Texas ) was an American pilot and owner of an airfield in North Richland Hills , who gained fame in 1956 for the record ride of the motorcycle "Texas Ceegar" he designed.
Life
Even as a teenager, Mangham often drove motorcycle races, and a "Jenny" plane paid for by his father was supposed to dissuade him from this dangerous pastime. At 21 he flew commercially, hauled banners for a bakery, later still during Prohibition, and began a career as a pilot in 1928 with Texas Air Transport , the forerunner of American Airlines . He stayed there until he retired in 1966. The nickname "Stormy" is partly attributed to the fact that as a motorcyclist he always pulled clouds of dust behind him, or his days as an airmail plane when no storms kept him from taking off could.
In 1932 he bought land as pasture for his horses, which also gave up the northern part of what would later become "Mangham Airport", which, with additional land acquired in 1946, was large enough for commercial use from 1954 - it lasted until 1986. The airfield had hangars for 100 aircraft, one of the original three runways remained, unfortunately with a high-voltage line crossing it not far from the southern end. The closure of the airfield was important for urban development, today only the "Stormy Plaza" reminds of the former use of the area.
In the 1950s, Mangham constructed record motorcycles with streamlined fairings, among which the "Texas Ceegar" with the Triumph engines from tuner Jack Wilson was particularly successful. Even Harley-Davidson engines were used, and in 1963 Mangham sent along with the driver Johnny Allen at the absolute land speed record breaking. The Big John vehicle , however, was immature, and it was not successful.
In 1974, Mangham suffered a heart attack while on a flight, crashed and died near Luling, Texas.
Web links
- Stormy Plaza article on the North Richland Hills City website
- Mick Duckworth: 1956 Triumph streamliner , Classic Bike, October 1999, pp. 32–36 (PDF; 6.1 MB)
- Mangham takes photos next to one of his record-breaking machines
Individual evidence
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Mangham, James Harold |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Mangham, Stormy |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American pilot, designer of record-breaking motorcycles |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1906 |
| DATE OF DEATH | 1974 |
| Place of death | near Luling , Texas |