Commonwealth Aircraft was a manufacturer of light aircraft in the United States in the period immediately after World War II; for the Australian company of the same name, see Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation

Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation

The Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation was an Australian aircraft manufacturer. The CAC was established in 1936, to provide Australia with the capability to produce military aircraft and engines.-History:...

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Commonwealth Aircraft was formed in late 1942 on the acquisition of the assets of Rearwin Aircraft & Engines. Commonwealth continued producing the acquired Rearwin designs in the acquired Rearwin facilities in Kansas City, Kansas

Kansas 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...

. In early 1946, Commonwealth took over Columbia Aircraft Corporation, and consolidated operations in Valley Stream, on Long Island

Long Island

Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...

. Commonwealth ceased production of aircraft in March 1947.

Aircraft produced

During World War II, Commonwealth participated in contract production of the eight-place Waco CG-3A

Waco CG-3

-References:...

 and thirteen-place CG-4A

Waco CG-4

The Waco CG-4 was the most widely used United States troop/cargo military glider of World War II. It was designated the CG-4 by the United States Army Air Forces, and named Hadrian in British military service....

 USAAF troop-carrying tactical gliders; Commonwealth produced 100 of the CG-3A model, as well as a total of 1,470 of the CG-4A, third most among the sixteen companies involved in the program.

Following the war, Commonwealth in 1946 began building the Skyranger 185

Commonwealth Skyranger

The Commonwealth Skyranger, earlier produced as the Rearwin Skyranger, was the last design of Rearwin Aircraft. It was popular due to its easy and stable flight characteristics.-Design and development:...

, a model developed from Rearwin's Skyranger 175 (and the only model certificated under Commonwealth).