E. M. Laird Airplane Company was an American aircraft manufacturer of commercial aircraft and custom race planes.

History

Wichita Airplane Company

Advertisement from The Aerial Age Weekly in 1921 - 001

Emil Matthew Laird Emil Matthew Laird (November 29, 1895 – December 18, 1982) was a pioneering American aircraft designer, builder, pilot, and businessman. He put the first commercial aircraft into production at his E. M. Laird Aviation Company. Biography C ...

partnered with the founders of the Wichita Airplane Company to build a new commercial biplane aircraft in 1920. The E.M Laird Company built 45 Swallow aircraft of this design. The company turned down an offer to move to

Monmouth, Illinois Monmouth is a city in and the county seat of Warren County, Illinois, United States. The population was 8,902 at the 2020 census, down from 9,444 in 2010. It is the home of Monmouth College and contains Monmouth Park, Harmon Park, North Park, Warf ...

in 1922. E.M Laird sold all rights on 27 September 1923 to J. M Mollendick, and formed a new company, the E. M. Laird Airplane Company based out of Chicago. The original E. M. Laird Company then became the Swallow Airplane Company, retaining brother Charles Laird. Charles Laird concurrently started a short lived aircraft company named Laird Aircraft Corporation, publicly known as Whipporwhill in order to differentiate himself from Emil.

E.M. Laird Aircraft

The E.M. Laird Aircraft company returned to Laird's hometown, building facilities at Ashburn Field, in Ashburn, Chicago. By 1928, Laird's aircraft had reached a level quality and competition, that the

Stout Metal Airplane Division of the Ford Motor Company Stout Metal Airplane Division of the Ford Motor Company was an American aircraft manufacturer founded by William Bushnell Stout as the Stout Metal Airplane Co. in 1922. The company was purchased by Ford Motor Company in 1924 and later produced th ...

offered to hire Laird, and purchase all the assets of his company.

Aircraft

References

External links

Laird, Laird-Swallow, Laird-Turner – Aerofiles
{{Authority control Defunct aircraft manufacturers of the United States