Waco 125
Fact Sheet
Aircraft Make & Model:	Waco 125
Registration No.:	NC4546
Serial No.:	1397
Manufactured Date:	March 14, 1928
Manufacturer:	Advanced Aircraft Company (later Waco Aircraft Company) – Troy, Ohio
Engines:	Siemens-Halske SH-12
Propeller:	Hamilton Standard
Wingspan:	30 feet, 7 inches (upper wing) 29 feet, 5 inches (lower wing)
Length:	23 feet, 9 inches
Height:	9 feet
Range:	575 statute miles
Cruise Speed:	96 mph
Occupants:	2 passengers & 1 pilot
Maximum Weight:	2,060 lbs.
Thrust:	125 hp
Fuel Capacity:	54.5 gallons with added center-section tank
Materials:	Wood and chrome-molybdenum steel tubing frame covered with linen and epoxy.
Price when New:	$12,000

Historical Significance
This Waco 125 is the only one remaining of its kind in the world. It is the last of the rare version of the Waco 10 biplane built with a Siemens-Halske SH-12 engine, made in Berlin, Germany, and distributed in the U.S. by Ryan Aeronautical Company.

The combination of this 125-horsepower, 9-cylinder radial engine with the popular Waco 10 aircraft type performed well, but Advanced Aircraft only built about twenty-one of this model. The engine was somewhat costly at $2,970, and various American radial engines in this power range were beginning to appear.

Northwest Airways Service
Northwest Airways purchased this "Siemens-Waco" for $6,500 in 1928, just two years after the airline's founding. Northwest briefly used the biplane, still in its factory red-and-cream paint job, for sales demonstrations (the airline had a Waco dealership), flight instruction and charters, but not in scheduled services, before selling it.

Northwest's Waco Fleet
Northwest operated a small fleet of Wacos primarily to carry air mail until 1936. A Waco 10W, later modified into a more aerodynamic "taper wing" model CTO by Northwest, and several "taper wing" JYMs initially flew between Chicago and the Twin Cities of Minneapolis/St. Paul and between Milwaukee and Green Bay, Wisconsin. When winter storms covered the runways with snow, the Wacos were outfitted with skis.

Restoration and Donation by Neuman Family
This Waco 125 was donated to Northwest Airlines by Capt. Daniel F. Neuman [Retired NWA Pilot] in memory of his wife Vona Jean Neuman, on December 16, 1985. Dan Neuman, Jr., the donor's son and also a former Northwest pilot, recalls:

"My dad purchased the Waco biplane on March 18, 1957. The fuselage frame was being used as a windmill tower and due to rust it needed extensive rebuilding," he said. "My parents completed 95% of the restoration in three to four years. My mother worked alongside my dad during the restoration completing all the fabric work and the interior. That's why he dedicated it in her memory."

The Neumans initially restored Waco 125 back to its original factory paint job, when Waco wings were painted either silver or cream with the fuselage in Stearman Vermillion.

Prior to donation to Northwest, this Waco 125 was repainted in the 1928 vintage Northwest black-and-gold livery it wears now. The name "C.W. Holman" stenciled on the plane honors Northwest's first chief pilot, Charles "Speed" Holman, a famous stunt flier.

Waco 125 went on display in the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport's Lindbergh Terminal in December 1985. For two and a half decades, it hung from the ceiling of Concourse G. After Northwest Airlines merged with Delta Air Lines in 2008, and preparations began for renovating the concourse, this Waco 125 came to the Delta Museum in August 2011.

Northwest CEO Steven G. Rothmeir (center) with Daniel F. Neuman, Sr. (right) and Daniel F. Neuman, Jr. after Waco 125's unveiling at MSP, 12/16/1985.

Video & Pics

• Flickr: More photos of the Waco 125: See close view of its features and journey from MSP airport to the Delta Museum – view photos »
• Airliners.net: Over 500 photos of Waco aircraft around the world. – view photos »
• Waco Historical Society – photos, fly-ins and information – web site »
• YouTube: Waco biplane start-up, take off and flight footage – watch »