General Aircraft Corporation

For the British aircraft manufacturer, see General Aircraft Limited.

The General Aircraft Company was an American aircraft design and manufacturing company formed in the 1940s and ceased involvement with aircraft in 1976.

History

The 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.[1][2]

Before the company could produce the aircraft in any numbers the Second World War intervened, and the Skyfarer programme was abandoned after 17 examples had been built.[3] The company became a manufacturer of the Waco CG-4A troop glider and the interests in the Wayfarer were passed to Grand Rapids Industries.

In 1969, the company bought the Helio Aircraft Company which specialised in building STOL aircraft for use by government agencies in south east Asia.[4] The company ceased to manufacture aircraft in October 1976 when it sold the production rights and assets of its Helio Aircraft division.[5]

Aircraft

CG-4 Glider

References

  1. ↑ Orbis 1985, pp. 1935–1936
  2. ↑ C.B. Allen (1 June 1941). "Auto Driver Can Solo New Plane In Two Hours". The Washington Post.
  3. ↑ Ercoupe history website
  4. ↑ http://1000aircraftphotos.com/Contributions/Larkins/9946.htm
  5. ↑ Fran Finnegan & Company (2009). "General Aircraft Corp · 10-K · For 12/31/97". Retrieved 2009-07-26.

Bibliography

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