The General Aircraft Company was an American aircraft design and manufacturing company that was formed in the late 1930s and ceased involvement with aircraft in 1976.
| Industry | Aerospace |
|---|---|
| Founder |
|
| Headquarters | , United States |
Key people | Lynn L. Bollinger |
| Subsidiaries | Helio Aircraft Company (1969–1976) |
History
editThe company was established at Lowell, Massachusetts to build an aircraft designed by Doctor Otto C. Koppen, a professor of aeronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The aircraft was the G1-80 Skyfarer, a two-seat cabin high-wing braced monoplane.[2][3] The company was applied for its first patent, an airplane wing, in 1939.[4]
Before the company could produce the aircraft in any numbers the Second World War intervened, and the Skyfarer programme was abandoned after either 17 or 18 examples had been built.[5][6] After establishing a factory in Astoria, New York, the company became a manufacturer of the Waco CG-4A troop glider[7] and the interests in the Wayfarer were passed to Grand Rapids Industries.
The company announced plans to produce a new regional airliner called the GAC-100 at its plant in El Segundo, California in 1968.[8]
In 1969, the company bought the Helio Aircraft Company which specialised in building STOL aircraft for use by government agencies in south east Asia.[9] The company ceased to manufacture aircraft in October 1976 when it sold the production rights and assets of its Helio Aircraft division.[10]
Aircraft
edit| Model name | First flight | Number built | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Skyfarer | Single engine cabin monoplane | ||
| General CG-4A | 1,112 | Assault glider | |
| General GAC-100 | N/A | 0 | Unbuilt four engine regional airliner |
References
editNotes
edit- ^ "Fahnestock, Gen. Aircraft Founder, Dies". Chicago Tribune. 28 July 1970. p. 6. Retrieved 25 December 2020.
- ^ Orbis 1985, pp. 1935–1936
- ^ C.B. Allen (1 June 1941). "Auto Driver Can Solo New Plane In Two Hours". The Washington Post.
- ^ "Airplane Wing". United States Patent and Trademark Office. 1 April 1941. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
- ^ Cagle, Howard C. (June 1974). "General Skyfarer" (PDF). The Vintage Airplane. Vol. 2, no. 6. Hales Corners, Wisconsin: Antique Classic Aircraft. pp. 20–21. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
- ^ Bissonette, Bruce (23 November 1969). "Prop Pitch". El Paso Times. p. 11-C. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
- ^ "This Week's Hero on the Home Front". Daily News. 26 April 1944. p. 8B. Retrieved 25 December 2020.
- ^ "STOL Plane Announced by General". Independent. 5 September 1968. p. C22. Retrieved 25 December 2020.
- ^ Visschedijk, Johan (30 June 2010). "No. 9946. Helio H-295 U-10D Super Courier (66-14348 c/n 1250) US Air Force". 1000AircraftPhotos.com. Retrieved 25 December 2020.
- ^ "General Aircraft Corp – '10-K' for 12/31/97". SEC Info. Fran Finnegan & Company LLC. 25 September 1998. Retrieved 25 December 2020.
Bibliography
edit- The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985). Orbis Publishing. 1985.