American Eagle Aircraft Corporation
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
aircraft design and manufacturing company which existed briefly in Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
, but which was a victim of the Great Depression, after building some 500 light airplanes, many of which were the Model A-129, a design attributed to noted aviation pioneer Giuseppe Mario Bellanca
Giuseppe Mario Bellanca
Giuseppe Mario Bellanca was an Italian-American airplane designer and builder who created the first enclosed cabin monoplane in the United States in 1922. This aircraft is now on display at the National Air & Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.-Biography:He was born on March 19, 1886 in...
.
History
The American Eagle Aircraft Corporation was started in 1925 in Kansas City, KansasKansas City, Kansas
Kansas City is the third-largest city in the state of Kansas and is the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri, and is the third largest city in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. The city is part of a consolidated city-county government known as the "Unified...
by Edward E. Porterfield. It was incorporated
Incorporation (business)
Incorporation is the forming of a new corporation . The corporation may be a business, a non-profit organisation, sports club, or a government of a new city or town...
in Delaware
Delaware
Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
in September 1928.
Porterfield was running a flying school at the Fairfax Airport outside Kansas City. He had been operating Jennies
Curtiss JN-4
The Curtiss JN-4 "Jenny" was one of a series of "JN" biplanes built by the Curtiss Aeroplane Company of Hammondsport, New York, later the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company. Although the Curtiss JN series was originally produced as a training aircraft for the U.S...
and Lincoln Standard biplane
Biplane
A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two superimposed main wings. The Wright brothers' Wright Flyer used a biplane design, as did most aircraft in the early years of aviation. While a biplane wing structure has a structural advantage, it produces more drag than a similar monoplane wing...
trainers, and felt the need for a more suitable and better-performing trainer aircraft. He consulted with several aeronautical engineers of the period, including Bellanca, and soon launched the production of several light single-engine two-seat high-wing and biplane aircraft.
Late in 1929, the worldwide stock market crash severely depressed the sale of non-essential items such as sport airplanes, although American Eagle continued producing airplanes until 1931. Early in that year, Porterfield's company declared bankruptcy
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
and halted production. On 15 May 1931, the company's assets were purchased by the Lincoln-Page Aircraft Company of Lincoln, Nebraska
Lincoln, Nebraska
The City of Lincoln is the capital and the second-most populous city of the US state of Nebraska. Lincoln is also the county seat of Lancaster County and the home of the University of Nebraska. Lincoln's 2010 Census population was 258,379....
, and Porterfield assumed the title of aircraft sales representative of that company, which became known as the American Eagle-Lincoln Aircraft Corporation, with production headquarters in Lincoln.
Porterfield left the company in 1932, later forming the Porterfield Aircraft Corporation
Porterfield Aircraft Corporation
The Porterfield Aircraft Corporation was an American aircraft design and manufacturing company founded in 1934 in Kansas by Edward E. Porterfield.-History:Edward Porterfield was running a flying school at the Fairfax Airport outside Kansas City...
, and died of a heart attack in 1948. Victor Roos
Victor Roos
Victor H. Roos was an American founder of several aircraft companies, including Cessna aircraft.- Early life :In 1917 Roos was a distributor of Harley Davidson pedal cycles in Omaha, Nebraska becoming one of the largest distributors in the Midwest....
, a co-founder of the 1921 Roos-Bellanca Aircraft Company in Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
, had left a management position with the Swallow Aircraft Company in 1928, and was tapped to head the American Eagle-Lincoln Aircraft Corporation. Most of the new company's effort went into producing the Eaglet, but the depth of the Depression soon killed this effort.
During the six years of its existence, the American Eagle company (including its merged existence with Lincoln-Page) produced over 700 airplanes. At the time of the Depression it was the world's third-largest aircraft production company. It held 8 Approved Type Certificates.
Products
- Eagle Model A-1: Three-place biplane open-cockpit aircraft of conventional configuration. Designed by Waverly Stearman. First flew in April 1926; received Approved Type Certificate #17 in November 1927 using a Curtiss OX-5Curtiss OX-5-Bibliography:* Angle, Glenn D., AEROSPHERE 1939. New York: Aircraft Publications, 1940.* Gunston, Bill, World Encyclopedia of Aero Engines. Somerset: Haynes Publishing, 1995. ISBN 1-85260-509-X...
V8 engineV8 engineA V8 engine is a V engine with eight cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of four cylinders, in most cases set at a right angle to each other but sometimes at a narrower angle, with all eight pistons driving a common crankshaft....
. Various versions were produced, powered by various available inline engines. - Eagle Model A-101: Improved version of the A-1, with ailerons on the lower wing and other improvements. During May 1928, A-101 production was 12 airplanes per week; unit price was $2,815. About 300 of the A-1 and A-101 aircraft were built.
- Eagle Model A-129: Similar to the A-1, but with a five-cylinder Kinner radial engineRadial engineThe radial engine is a reciprocating type internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinders point outward from a central crankshaft like the spokes on a wheel...
. Since the Kinner was considerably lighter than the OX-5, it had to be mounted in a longer nose in order to maintain balance, leading to the A-1/A-101 being known as "short-nose Eagle", and the A-129 being known as "long-nose Eagle". However, the A-129 was also sold with other available engines, including the OX-5. - Eagle Model A-139
- Eagle Model A-201
- Eagle Model A-229
- Eagle Model A-329
- Eagle Model A-429
- Eaglet Model A-230 EagletAmerican Eagle Eaglet 31The Eaglet 31 was a United States ultra-light high-winged monoplane of the early 1930s.The Eaglet 31 was a United States ultra-light high-winged monoplane of the early 1930s....
: Single-place high-wing monoplane open-cockpit aircraft of conventional configuration. Powered by various small radial engines of 25-45 hp range. A well-preserved example of the Eaglet with a three-cylinder Szekley radial is at the Arkansas Air Museum. - Eagle Model A-231 EagletAmerican Eagle Eaglet 31The Eaglet 31 was a United States ultra-light high-winged monoplane of the early 1930s.The Eaglet 31 was a United States ultra-light high-winged monoplane of the early 1930s....
- Eagle Model A-31 EagletAmerican Eagle Eaglet 31The Eaglet 31 was a United States ultra-light high-winged monoplane of the early 1930s.The Eaglet 31 was a United States ultra-light high-winged monoplane of the early 1930s....
- Eagle Model B-31 EagletAmerican Eagle Eaglet 31The Eaglet 31 was a United States ultra-light high-winged monoplane of the early 1930s.The Eaglet 31 was a United States ultra-light high-winged monoplane of the early 1930s....
- Eagle Model B-32 EagletAmerican Eagle Eaglet 31The Eaglet 31 was a United States ultra-light high-winged monoplane of the early 1930s.The Eaglet 31 was a United States ultra-light high-winged monoplane of the early 1930s....