The Porterfield Aircraft Corporation was an American aircraft design and manufacturing company founded in 1934 in

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

by Edward E. Porterfield.

History

Edward Porterfield was running a flying school at the Fairfax Airport outside Kansas City. He had been operating Jennies and Lincoln ''Standard''

biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...

trainers, and felt the need for a more suitable and better-performing

trainer aircraft A trainer is a class of aircraft designed specifically to facilitate flight training of pilots and aircrews. The use of a dedicated trainer aircraft with additional safety features—such as tandem flight controls, forgiving flight characteristi ...

. He consulted with several aeronautical engineers of the period, including

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 ...

, and soon launched the production of several light single-engine two-seat high-wing and biplane aircraft. Then, in 1925, he started the

American Eagle Aircraft Corporation The American Eagle Aircraft Corporation was an American aircraft design and manufacturing company which existed briefly in Kansas, but which was a victim of the Great Depression, after building some 500 light airplanes, many of which were ...

. Late in 1929, the worldwide stock market crash severely depressed the sale of non-essential items such as sport airplanes, although American Eagle continued producing airplanes until 1931. Early in that year, Porterfield's company declared

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...

and halted production. On 15 May 1931, the company's assets were purchased by the Lincoln-Page Aircraft Company of

Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln is the capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Lancaster County. The city covers with a population of 292,657 in 2021. It is the second-most populous city in Nebraska and the 73rd-largest in the United Sta ...

, and Porterfield assumed the title of aircraft sales representative of that company, which became known as the American Eagle-Lincoln Aircraft Corporation, with production headquarters in Lincoln. Porterfield left the company in 1932, forming then the Porterfield Aircraft Company in 1934. The new company was seen as a comeback for Porterfield and in 1937 it leased the former Federal Sash and Door Company factory. While it never achieved the numerical success of the larger light aircraft manufacturers such as

Piper Aircraft Piper Aircraft, Inc. is a manufacturer of general aviation aircraft, located at the Vero Beach Regional Airport in Vero Beach, Florida, United States and owned since 2009 by the Government of Brunei. Throughout much of the mid-to-late 20th centur ...

Aeronca Aeronca, contracted from Aeronautical Corporation of America, 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. Fr ...

and

Taylorcraft Taylorcraft Aviation is an airplane manufacturer that has been producing aircraft for more than 70 years in several locations. The company builds small single-engined airplanes. The Taylorcraft design is a conventional layout: high-wing, fab ...

, the planes were well made and popular with pilots. A focus on selling to Central and South American countries achieved some success. With the start of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, however, light aircraft production for civilian use came to a stop.

Harlow Aircraft Company Harlow Aircraft Company was an American aircraft manufacturer at Alhambra Airport, Alhambra, California. History The company was founded in 1936 by professor Max B. Harlow to build the Harlow PJC-2 a production version of the PJC-1. The aircraf ...

bought a one-third interest in the company in 1940. In an attempt to take advantage of the large growth in training due to the war, the company founded a technical school in December and purchased another in 1941. Bigger companies took great benefit from military contracts but Porterfield, with no large military orders forthcoming, eventually shut down. The final straw for the company came in 1942, when it failed to secure an contract to build liaison aircraft for the U.S. military. Portfield was succeeded by the Columbia Aircraft Company, which was created when the firm Auchincloss, Parker & Redpath took over the former. However, Columbia itself soon went into receivership. The Ward Furniture Company later took over Porterfield's inventory and glider production contracts. Edward Porterfield died from a heart attack in 1948.

Aircraft

References

External links

{{Commons category
Porterfield Turner Aircraft
Companies based in Kansas Defunct aircraft manufacturers of the United States

History

Aircraft

See also

References

External links