Aeronca , contracted from Aeron autical C orporation of A merica, located in Middletown , Ohio , is a US manufacturer of engine components and airframe structures for commercial aviation and the defense industry , and a former aircraft manufacturer. From 1928 to 1951, the company was a major producer of general aviation aircraft , and also produced the engines for some of their early designs.
17-606: Aeronca is now (2011) a division of Magellan Aerospace , producing aircraft, missile, and space vehicle components at the same location adjacent to Middletown's Hook Field Municipal Airport . Originally formed as the Cincinnati Aeronautical Corporation, the Aeronautical Corporation of America was founded November 11, 1928, in Cincinnati, Ohio . The name was generally abbreviated to Aeronca. Backed by
34-600: A prototype very light business jet, the Foxjet ST600 . The project was eventually cancelled due to lack of WR-44 engine availability. Fleet Aerospace launched a successful hostile takeover of the company in 1986. Aeronca now builds components for aerospace companies including Boeing , Northrop Grumman , Lockheed and Airbus . In its 23-year history as a general aviation and military aviation manufacturer, Aeronca produced 17,408 aircraft spanning 55 different models. Magellan Aerospace Magellan Aerospace Corporation
51-573: A subsidiary of the US-based Fleet Aerospace located in Fort Erie, Ontario . They produced products and services for the Canadian military, as well as subassemblies for aviation companies. Through the 1990s, Magellan expanded, buying a number of Canadian aviation companies. These included: Several US companies were also added, including Aeronca Magellan Aerospace Middleton, (formerly part of
68-495: Is a Canadian manufacturer of aerospace systems and components. Magellan also repairs and overhauls, tests, and provides aftermarket support services for engines, and engine structural components. The company's business units are divided into the product areas of aeroengines, aerostructures , rockets and space, and specialty products. Its corporate offices in Mississauga , Ontario , Magellan operates in facilities throughout Canada,
85-542: Is now an integrated, international company and all of its subsidiaries are wholly owned, operating under the Magellan name. Magellan Aerospace also manufactures structures and assemblies for commercial and defence aircraft manufacturers: American Champion American Champion Aircraft Corporation , is a manufacturer of general aviation aircraft headquartered at the Rochester , Wisconsin airport . Founded in 1988 on
102-518: The 7AC Champion and the 11AC Chief . While the Champ shared its tandem seating arrangement with the prewar tandem trainer—and the Chief shared its name and seating arrangement with the prewar Chief designs—both were new fresh paper designs and designed for production economy, sharing over 80% of the components. One of the very few aircraft manufacturers that used an assembly line production layout. A benefit of
119-602: The Jean A. Roche -designed Aeronca C-2 monoplane , often called the "Flying Bathtub", in 1929 , the C designation standing for Cincinnati. The next major model was the Scout of 1937 , a two-seater, which was developed into the Chief and Super Chief the next year. The Ohio River flood of 1937 at the Lunken Airport resulted in the entire airport area being washed away. Aeronca's factory
136-756: The United States , and the United Kingdom . Magellan is a component supplier for the Airbus A380 , the Boeing 787 Dreamliner , the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter , and Bombardier 's complete line of business and commuter aircraft. Magellan also supplies gas turbine components for airplanes, helicopters, and military vehicles such as the M1 Abrams . Magellan was formed in 1996 from the remains of Fleet Industries ,
153-541: The Waco CG-4A . Aeronca's World War II designs—the Defender, TG-5 and L-3 variants—differed significantly from nearly all previous and subsequent Aeroncas by replacing Aeronca's traditional three- longeron , triangular-cross-section fuselage with a four - longeron , rectangular-cross-section fuselage for additional strength. In 1945, following the end of World War II, Aeronca returned to civilian production with two new models,
170-675: The Champion design to the new Champion Aircraft Corporation of Osceola, Wisconsin , which continued building variants of the Champion as well as the derivative design, the Citabria . The venerable aircraft design was acquired again by the Bellanca Aircraft Company in 1970 and again to American Champion in 1988, where it remains in production. Aeronca purchased the Longren Aircraft Corporation in 1959. However, by 1965 it
187-607: The Chief with a higher rear seat, was used in training many of the pilots who flew in World War II . Several observation and liaison aircraft designs were also produced during and after the war, seeing extensive front line use, including the L-3 / O-58 . A glider-trainer version of the Defender, the Aeronca TG-5 , replaced the engine with a third seat, facilitating the training of combat glider pilots destined to fly larger craft, such as
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#1732848576051204-558: The US-based portions of Fleet), AMBEL Precision Manufacturing, Ellanef Manufacturing, (Magellan Aerospace New York) Middleton Aerospace (Magellan Aerospace, Haverhill) and Presto Casting Company (Magellan Aerospace, Glendale). They also purchased the assets of Mayflower Aerospace in England, becoming Magellan Aerospace UK in 2003. The Fleet Aerospace division was closed in 2003, was sold, and later re-opened as Fleet Canada Inc . Magellan Aerospace
221-496: The acquisition of the Champ , Citabria , Scout , and Decathlon , it has been producing replacement parts for these aircraft since that time. It has also been producing new aircraft since 1990. The Champ, Citabria, Decathlon, and Scout designs were obtained from Bellanca which had acquired Champion Aircraft Corporation in 1970. While Bellanca was responsible for the design of the Scout,
238-481: The concurrent development was that the new designs had about 80% of their parts in common. Nevertheless, the tandem-seat Champ—resembling the extremely popular Piper J-3 Cub —was favored by the market, evidenced by its outselling its sibling, the Chief, at a rate of 4 to 1. Between 1945 and 1951, nearly 8,000 Champions were manufactured; while over the same period, approximately 2,000 Chiefs were produced. Aeronca ceased light aircraft production in 1951, and in 1954 sold
255-428: The financial and political support of the prominent Taft family and future Ohio senator Robert A. Taft who was one of the firm's directors, Aeronca became the first American company to build a commercially successful general aviation aircraft . The corporation changed its name to Aeronca Aircraft Corporation in 1941. When production ended in 1951, Aeronca had sold 17,408 aircraft in 55 models. Production began with
272-451: Was destroyed, along with the tooling and almost all of the very early blueprints and drawings. As a result, two years later the decision was made to move out of the floodplain to Hook Field Municipal Airport in Middletown, Ohio . By October of 1940 the plant had to expand by 25,000 sq ft (2,300 m) to keep up with production demands. The Defender , a tandem trainer version of
289-443: Was nearly bankrupt and a new president, Alfred A. Handschumacher, was hired to return the company to profitability. In the early 1970s, Aeronca was contracted by Bede Aircraft to assemble its first Bede BD-5J Microjet —the world's smallest jet airplane—but, after its experiences with the prototype, Aeronca declined to be further involved with the program. In 1978 Aeronca planned to start aircraft production again with production of
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