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The Columbia Aircraft Corporation was an American aircraft manufacturer, which was active between 1927 and 1947.
From 1941, Columbia worked closely with
American Airplanes: Cl - Cr – Aerofiles
Defunct aircraft manufacturers of the United States Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1927
History
Columbia Aircraft was founded in December 1927 byCharles A. Levine
Charles Albert Levine (March 17, 1897 – December 6, 1991) was the first passenger aboard a transatlantic flight. He was ready to cross the Atlantic to claim the Orteig prize but a court battle over who was going to be in the airplane allowed C ...
as chairman and the aircraft designer Giuseppe Mario Bellanca
Giuseppe Mario Bellanca (March 19, 1886 – December 26, 1960) was an Italian-American aviation pioneer, airplane designer and builder, who is credited with many design firsts and whose aircraft broke many aviation records. He was inducted into t ...
as president. The initial name used was Columbia Air Liners, Inc. The aircraft factory was established at Hempstead, New York
The Town of Hempstead (also known historically as South Hempstead) is the largest of the three Administrative divisions of New York#Town, towns in Nassau County, New York, Nassau County (alongside North Hempstead, New York, North Hempstead and Oys ...
. Levine hired pilots Bert Acosta
Bertrand Blanchard Acosta (January 1, 1895 – September 1, 1954) was a record-setting aviator and test pilot. He and Clarence D. Chamberlin set an endurance record of 51 hours, 11 minutes, and 25 seconds in the air. He later flew in the Spa ...
, Eroll Boyd, John Wycliff Isemann, Burr Leyson, and Roger Q. Williams at $200 a week to perform a series of publicity record attempts for the company.
The most ambitious project for the company was the "Uncle Sam". Main participant were John Carisi as motor expert, Edmond Chagniard, French designer and airplane constructor, and Alexander Kartveli
Alexander Kartveli, born Aleksandre Kartvelishvili, ( ka, ალექსანდრე ქართველიშვილი) (September 9, 1896 – July 20, 1974) was a Georgian aeronautical engineer and an aviation pioneer in the United ...
as technical engineer from Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
. The $250,000 prototype was brought to market at the height of the depression. It was sold at auction for $3,000 to pay back hangar rent. The "Uncle Sam" and two other Triads were destroyed shortly afterward in a Roosevelt Field
Roosevelt Field is a former airport, located east-southeast of Mineola, Long Island, New York. Originally called the Hempstead Plains Aerodrome, or sometimes Hempstead Plains field or the Garden City Aerodrome, it was a training field (Hazel ...
hangar fire where 20 other aircraft were spared.
By 1941, the firm's title was Columbia Aircraft Corporation and the factory was located at Columbia Field
Columbia Field, originally Curtiss Field, is a former airfield near Valley Stream within the Town of Hempstead on Long Island, New York. Between 1929 and 1933 it was a public airfield named Curtiss Field after the Curtiss-Wright aircraft cor ...
near Valley Stream
Valley Stream is a village in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population in the Village of Valley Stream was 37,511 at the 2010 census.
The incorporated Village of Valley Stream is within the Town of Hempstead, a ...
, Long Island
Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...
.Swanborough, 1990, p. 221
From 1941, Columbia worked closely with Grumman Aircraft
The Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation, later Grumman Aerospace Corporation, was a 20th century American producer of military and civilian aircraft. Founded on December 6, 1929, by Leroy Grumman and his business partners, it merged in 1994 ...
, undertaking the development and production of that company's military amphibian aircraft designs including the J2F Duck
The Grumman J2F Duck (company designation G-15) is an American single-engine amphibious biplane. It was used by each major branch of the U.S. armed forces from the mid-1930s until just after World War II, primarily for utility and air-sea resc ...
and the Columbia JL
The Columbia XJL is a large single-engined amphibious aircraft designed by Grumman Aircraft but built by the Columbia Aircraft Corp. It was intended to replace the Grumman J2F Duck but the type did not reach production status.
Design and develo ...
. The chief test pilot for the amphibians was noted aviator Lieutenant Johnny Miller
John Laurence Miller (born April 29, 1947) is an American former professional golfer. He was one of the top players in the world during the mid-1970s. He was the first to shoot 63 in a major championship to win the 1973 U.S. Open, and he ra ...
.
After the completion of wartime contracts for the United States Navy, the firm's operations reduced in scale and Columbia was acquired by Commonwealth Aircraft in 1946. In 1956, the Green Acres Mall
Green Acres Mall is an indoor shopping mall located in South Valley Stream, New York, off Sunrise Highway in Nassau County near the border of New York City and the Incorporated Village of Valley Stream.
As of 2022, the mall currently features tw ...
was built at the location of Columbia Field.
Aircraft
References
Notes
Bibliography
*External links
{{Commons categoryAmerican Airplanes: Cl - Cr – Aerofiles
Defunct aircraft manufacturers of the United States Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1927