Harlow PJC-2            N18978            (c/n  1)

                              

                              The PJC-2 was designed by Max Harlow who was primarily an educator, but was also an aircraft designer
                              of some note. The original PJC-1 was drawn up, laid out and basically constructed by students at Pasadena
                              Junior College hence the PJC nomenclature.   The PJC-1  and -2 aircraft were built in a plant on the old
                              Alhambra Airport, some 10 miles northeast of Los Angeles. Only about a dozen were assembled in 1939
                              -1940.  The No 1 ship was a frequent visitor to Santa Paula Airport in Southern California in the late 1990s
                              where the above shot was taken. Anyway, as with a lot of aeronautical firms, WW II came along and series
                              production for this chubby little all metal cabin monoplane were shelved.  A trainer version, the PC-5 was
                              developed in the early days of the war, but the US Government invoked no interest.  It is reputed that 50
                              airframes were shipped out to India in crates as trainers for either the Indian Air Force (it would have been
                              a branch of the RAF in those days) or, more likely, Indian flying schools.  One assembled, complete example
                              was registered as VT-ATN, but years of research by myself and countless letters to India have failed to reveal
                              any data on this reputed shipment whatsoever.   Unfortunately, 'spotters' or aviation enthusiasts such as myself
                              were, and always have been, thin on the ground in India, and hence photographs of Indian civilian aircraft
                              (VT- registered) are extremely difficult to come by.  It sure would be nice to know what happened to those
                              50 Harlows!  A further development of the PJC-2 was made after the war, and I stumbled across it at the old
                             Grand Central Air Terminal in Glendale, California, in 1956.  This was the Atlas H-10 and below is my photo of it.
                              The Alhambra Airport was closed somewhere around 1940 and all of Harlow's assets were moved to GCAT.
                              (which in turn was also closed in the late fifties).  For more on the H-10 visit
                                                                    http://1000aircraftphotos.com/LowWingMono/995.htm
                               In April 2010 I was contacted by Robert Henry whose father, Robert Sr. worked with Max Harlow.  From
                               his father's albums, Robert has submitted a couple of fascinating images. They appear below and are (i) an
                               early shot of the H-10 bearing Atlas Aircraft Company titling and (ii) the data plate from X18136, the original
                               Harlow PJC-1.

                                Atlas H-10          N37463                                 (c/n   1)