Bob Hall's Flight Log: Summer of 1932
Part of The Hall Bulldog Project — documenting Bob Hall's 1932 Thompson Trophy racer.
Explore the Project →This page from Bob Hall’s flight log (Book 2) documents his flying activity during the pivotal summer of 1932. The entries trace his work on two aircraft: the Hall L-1 Cicada (a sportsman aircraft he had designed earlier) and the Hall Bulldog racing plane he was frantically preparing for the National Air Races.
Note on Historical Accuracy: These entries are transcribed from Bob Hall’s flight log—we do not have the original document. According to Eric Hall (Bob’s son), Bob was notoriously bad about keeping his log book up to date during this period and would often fill in entries days or weeks later from memory. Some dates and details may be inaccurate, and some flights are not recorded at all. This log should be considered a general guide to Hall’s flying activity, not a definitive record.
Summary page from Bob Hall’s flight log, Book 2
The Flight Log Entries
The following table transcribes Hall’s log entries from this period. The highlighted entry marks the historic first flight of the Hall Bulldog on August 16, 1932. (The flight was originally scheduled for August 15, but a tire blew out during taxi tests that day, delaying the first flight by 24 hours.)
Hall L-1 Cicada (NR-13265, Wasp Jr)
| Date | Duration | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 6/26/32 | 1:30 | Niagara to Detroit |
| 6/27 | 3:25 | Detroit to Springfield |
| 7/6 | 1:00 | — |
| 7/13 | 1:10 | Misc Tests |
| 7/10–16 | 1:50 | Misc Tests, Speed Obs Thurston |
| — | 2:46 | Springfield–Washington, Pass Akron |
| 7/18 | 4:15 | Washington to Springfield |
| 7/20–21–22 | 1:30 | Misc Speed Tests |
Hall Bulldog (NR-0111, Wasp 760)
| Date | Duration | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Aug 16 | 0:25 | 1st Test Hop (Thaw–Bulldog) |
| 8/22 | 1:15 | Misc Tests–Thaw Racer |
| 8/24 | 1:00 | To NY + Return |
| 8/29 | 2:15 | NY to Cleveland |
| Late Aug–Sept | 1:30 | Misc Tests – Thompson TR Races |
Return Flights & Other Aircraft
| Date | Aircraft | Duration | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9/6 | L-1 Cicada (NR-13265) | 2:55 | Cleveland to Springfield |
| 10/15 | ” | 0:30 | Springfield to Brooklyn |
| 10/15 | ” | 0:15 | OP + Brooklyn Race |
| 11/3–15 | Gee Bee Y (Lycoming) | 1:30 | Misc Test–Test Rigging |
| 11/23 | NR-13265 (Wasp Jr) | 0:20 | 2 Joy Hops Jr, Providence |
| " | " | 0:25 | Providence to Hartford |
| " | " | 0:10 | Hartford to Springfield |
| " | " | 1:18 | Springfield–Newark–Hadley (Long Island) |
| " | " | 0:20 | Hasbrouck to Newark |
| 12/1/32 | Springfield L | 0:55 | Newark to Springfield |
| 12/4 | ” | 0:15 | Joy Hop Springfield, Return Flight of Cicada |
| 3/12/33 | Stinson R (Lycoming) | 0:45 | Stinson Flight |
| 4/11 | ” | — | — |
| 4/14 | ” | 1:15 | Speed + Climb Test |
Historical Context
The most significant entry in this log is the August 16, 1932 first flight of the Hall Bulldog—highlighted in yellow on the original document. This was just over two weeks before the Thompson Trophy Race in Cleveland.
The log shows the intense pace of development: after the first test hop on August 16, Hall flew additional test flights on August 22, then ferried the aircraft to New York on August 24 (returning the same day), and finally flew to Cleveland on August 29 for the races.
The entry “Thaw–Bulldog” refers to Russell Thaw, the wealthy young pilot who had commissioned the aircraft but would ultimately reject it, leaving Hall to fly his own creation in the Thompson Trophy Race.
Also notable is the November 1932 entry showing Hall test-flying a Gee Bee Y—one of the Granville Brothers’ aircraft. After contributing to the design of the Gee Bee Z before his departure from the company, this would have been an interesting experience for Hall.
