The O.W. Timm Aircraft Company was an American aircraft manufacturer founded by Otto William Timm , based in Los Angeles, California .
19-687: Between 1911 and 1922 O.W. Timm built several aircraft with varying success before he founded, in 1922, the O.W. Timm Aircraft Company. Timm manufactured six models of a parasol design, the Collegiate. In 1934 Otto and his brother Wally Timm joined to form a new company named the Timm Airplane Company to produce the Timm T-S140, a high wing twin engine aircraft using new features developed at NACA such as flaps and tricycle landing gear. Wally Timm formed his own Glendale based aviation company later on,
38-683: A copy of the Santos-Dumont "Demoiselle" monoplane while living in Milwaukee, Wisconsin , although it appears this was never completed. The next year he moved to Cicero Field in Chicago , where a group of aviation enthusiasts had gathered. In Chicago, he built a copy of the Curtiss Pusher , which flew in 1911. Timm started a business flying the aircraft in Pennsylvania with a partner. In 1913, Timm sold
57-714: A large (for the era) passenger biplane, the Timm Coach with an enclosed cabin seating seven and an open cockpit for two pilots. Timm changed the name to Timm Aircraft Company in May 1934, and introduced the Timm T-S140 , a high-wing monoplane twin-engine design. In World War II, Timm built planes for both the Army and the Navy, including hundreds of trainers and CG-4 assault gliders. The assault gliders were used to land troops on D-Day. In 1965, Timm
76-809: A new trainer biplane known as the Timm Model T-18 . With the ending of the war, Timm moved to Venice, CA and opened the Pacific Aeroplane and Supply Co. , where he started construction of a six-passenger biplane known as the Pacific Hawk . Over a six-week period in 1920, Timm designed and built the C-1 racing monoplane, which would win the International Air Tournament in Los Angeles in 1921. In July 1921, Timm traveled to Lincoln, Nebraska to test fly
95-562: A proxy war among shareholders was started, with C. D. Rudolph winning control of the board. The company did not produce any new aircraft after this point. In 1957, the company merged with the International Glass Corporation. Otto Timm Otto William Timm (October 28, 1893 – June 29, 1978) was an American barnstormer and aircraft manufacturer of German descent based in California . Charles Lindbergh 's first flight
114-603: The CG-4A glider used by allied troops. A Plywood construction variant, the CG-4B was developed by Timm in case of material shortages, but did not go into production. In some episodes of the 1941 movie serial, Sky Raiders , aircraft hangars of Timm Aircraft Corporation are clearly visible. They were located adjacent to the Van Nuys Airport in Van Nuys, Los Angeles . After World War II,
133-567: The 1928 International Air Tournament. He built another one-off design in 1926, the two-place monoplane Collegiate . In 1922, Timm founded the O.W. Timm Aircraft Company in Glendale, California . In 1928 the name was changed to the Timm Airplane Co . The company's first design was the Timm Collegiate series of five parasol-winged, twin-seat light aircraft. In California he also produced
152-535: The Aero Coast Patrol System, a Navy sponsored effort at a coast guard. Robinson died in May 1916 attempting to break a 17,000 ft altitude record, crashing in Ewart, Iowa. His aircraft was witnessed climbing to altitude, before drifting down like a falling leaf, and gliding to a landing, which was controlled enough to leave skid marks, but rough enough to rupture the fuel tank and ignite the aircraft. Hypoxia
171-611: The Grinnell Aeroplane company was founded with D.S. Morrison as President. Robinson developed a 706 cubic inch 100 hp six-cylinder air cooled radial engine to be built by the company to power its aircraft. In 1916, fellow Cicero aviator and designer, Otto Timm joined Grinnell Aeroplane as an instructor, and helped develop the Grinnell Biplane. In 1916, the company offered $ 10,000, training for one pilot from each state, at its factory in order to establish an Iowa station of
190-583: The Wally Timm Inc. The company developed a "plastic" material made of resin and wood similar to the Duramold process. The Duramold and Haskelite process was first developed in 1937. Followed by Gene Vidal's Weldwood and later the Aeromold process. The Aeromold process differs in that it is baked at a low 100 °F (38 °C) at cutting and forming, and 180 °F (82 °C) for fusing together sections after
209-479: The aircraft, and would go on to become an aircraft and aero engine designer as well. Timm then built another design under contract for the Grinnell Aeroplane Company in 1915, later flying it at town fairs around the mideastern region during the summer of 1916. In October 1916, Timm became a senior flight instructor at Rockwell Field , San Diego . He remained there during the war, while also building
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#1733086012528228-458: The business to his partner and returned to Cicero Field to begin construction of a "conventional" biplane design under contract. The next year he built a second for his own use, and started a cross-country tour that ended on May 25, 1915, when it crashed in a field in Magnolia, Minnesota . His aircraft happened to come down in the field of Bert Kinner , who repaired the engine. Kinner was fascinated by
247-546: The company specialized in returning surplus Douglas C-47 aircraft back into airliner configurations. The company also created a subsidiary, Timm Industries, Inc to manufacture vending machines such as the Frank-O-Matic and Coca-Cola bottle dispensers. By 1948, production had ceased to the point where the company leased out its production facilities to the Marquardt Corporation , a maker of Ramjet engines. In 1953,
266-634: The new Lincoln Standard L.S.5 where he met Charles Lindbergh . In February 1922, Lindbergh had enrolled as a student at the Nebraska Aircraft Corporation's flying school and flew for the first time on April 9, 1922, when he took to the air as a passenger in a two-seat Lincoln Standard "Tourabout" biplane piloted by Timm. Later, on April 16 and 17, Lindbergh, as a student pilot, had two more flights with Timm. The two remained friends, and when Timm built another Curtiss Pusher for film use in 1925, Lindbergh later bought it and stunt-flew it during
285-557: The resins are added. In 1939, at the onset of World War II, the company operated as the Timm Aircraft Corporation , building the PT160K trainer prototype using the aeromold process. By 1941, the U.S Navy ordered the aeromold N2T-1 with a production run reaching 260 aircraft along with other small aircraft parts made of the aeromold process. Profits increased to $ 70,000 from $ 240 the year prior. The company also license-built 436 of
304-667: Was contacted by the TallMantz company to design a "one-off" movie model called the Tallmantz Phoenix P-1 which had a short and tragic lifespan, being involved in the death of its pilot, Paul Mantz . Timm died on June 29, 1978, two months to the day after his younger brother Wally. Notes Bibliography Grinnell Aeroplane The Grinnell Aeroplane Company was an American aircraft manufacturer based in Grinnell, Iowa , that built aircraft prior to World War I. The company
323-519: Was flown by Timm. Timm partnered at times with his brother Wally Timm who did a lot of flying for the nascent Hollywood movie industry. Timm was born on October 28, 1893, in Lakefield and spent a few years in Windom, Minnesota before moving to pursue aviation. By the age of 19, he had established himself as a pioneer aviator. Timm originally started in the aviation field in 1910 when he attempted to build
342-595: Was formed to develop the "Scout" aircraft designed by Billy Robinson . Robinson trained at the Max Lille school in Cicero, Chicago as a mechanic, learning to fly Wright aircraft and Nieuports. He worked for a brief time as a partner in the National Aeroplane Company before leaving to Iowa in 1913. His custom built parasol was the first to fly airmail from Iowa, setting a non-stop distance record of 390 miles. In 1914,
361-428: Was suspected among other reasons for the crash, but the fire made it impossible to verify the exact cause. After the crash Grinnell hired aerobatic pilot A.C. Beech. Beech was to train students using ground trainers to simulate control movements. Business did not pick up after the loss of Robinson. The Robinson engine was tested by the Army in late 1918, but the armistice signing precluded further development. The company
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