Robert Bernard Cornelis Noorduyn (April 6, 1893 – February 22, 1959) was a Dutch-born
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
aircraft designer and manufacturer. He is best known for the
Noorduyn Norseman
The Noorduyn Norseman, also known as the C-64 Norseman, is a Canadian single-engine bush plane designed to operate from unimproved surfaces. Distinctive stubby landing gear protrusions from the lower fuselage make it easily recognizable.
Intro ...
, a legendary
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
bush plane
A bush airplane is a general aviation aircraft used to provide both scheduled and unscheduled passenger and flight services to remote, undeveloped areas, such as the Canadian north or bush, Alaskan tundra, the African bush, or savanna, Amazon ra ...
produced in the 1930s to 1940s and again in the 1950s.
Early life
Noorduyn was born in
Nijmegen
Nijmegen (;; Spanish and it, Nimega. Nijmeegs: ''Nimwèège'' ) is the largest city in the Dutch province of Gelderland and tenth largest of the Netherlands as a whole, located on the Waal river close to the German border. It is about 6 ...
,
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
to a Dutch father, Bernardus Noorduijn (1860–1910), and an English mother, Harriet Ellen Churchill.
After Noorduyn had received a technical training in the Netherlands and Germany, in 1913, he moved to England. There he trained to fly in a Caudron G II and worked as a technical draughtsmen for the
Sopwith company.
In 1917, Noorduyn was recruited to become the chief draughtsman for the
British Aerial Transport
British Aerial Transport Company Limited (BAT) was a British aircraft manufacturer from its formation in 1917 to its closure in 1919. The company was based at Willesden, London.
History
The company was formed in 1917 by Samuel Waring around the ...
company. (Chief designer of the company was another Dutchman: along with
Frits Koolhoven) British Aerial Transport or BAT however was short-lived. A victim of the changing tides following the end of World War I, it folded in 1919. By that time however,
Anthony Fokker
Anton Herman Gerard "Anthony" Fokker (6 April 1890 – 23 December 1939) was a Dutch aviation pioneer, aviation entrepreneur, aircraft designer, and aircraft manufacturer. He produced fighter aircraft in Germany during the First World War such ...
had returned from Germany and established a new factory in the Netherlands. Noorduyn returned just as well and found work with Fokker. Since Fokker wanted to expand into the USA, the company sent Noorduyn in 1921 to
Teterboro
Teterboro ( ) is a borough in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 67,[Fokker Universal
The Fokker Universal was the first aircraft built in the United States that was based on the designs of Dutch-born Anthony Fokker, who had designed aircraft for the Germans during World War I. About half of the 44 Universals that were built betwe ...]
, a popular utility transport that was particularly suitable for northern conditions. Many examples were sold to Canadian air carriers. The Fokker Universal and its follow-up Super Universal helped open the frontiers, fostering settlement and development of the north. In addition, Noorduyn worked on the re-design of the single-engine
Fokker F.VIII
The Fokker F.VIII (or F.8) was a large twin-engined airliner designed and produced by the Netherlands, Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker in the 1920s.
It was similar overall to the Fokker F.VII which was trimotor, but the F.VIII was not a trimoto ...
into a twin-engined version.
Noorduyn moved at the beginning of 1929 to
Bellanca
AviaBellanca Aircraft Corporation was an American aircraft design and manufacturing company. Prior to 1983, it was known as the Bellanca Aircraft Company. The company was founded in 1927 by Giuseppe Mario Bellanca, although it was preceded by p ...
in
Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington ( Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...
, where he designed the
Bellanca Skyrocket. He was also heavily involved in the design of an improved version of the
Bellanca Pacemaker The Pacemaker name was applied to a number of related Bellanca aircraft in the 1920s and 1930s:
* Bellanca CH-200 Pacemaker
* Bellanca CH-300 Pacemaker
* Bellanca 31-40 __NOTOC__
The Bellanca 31-40 Senior Pacemaker and its derivatives were a fam ...
, another favourite of bush flyers in Canada.
In 1932, while at the
Pitcairn-Cierva Autogyro
An autogyro (from Greek and , "self-turning"), also known as a ''gyroplane'', is a type of rotorcraft that uses an unpowered rotor in free autorotation to develop lift. Forward thrust is provided independently, by an engine-driven propeller. Whi ...
Company of America, Noorduyn was responsible for the design of the first enclosed, four-seater autogiro, the
Pitcairn PA-19.
Noorduyn Norseman
Having worked on designs at Fokker, Bellanca and Pitcairn-Cierva, Noorduyn created his own design in 1934, the
Noorduyn Norseman
The Noorduyn Norseman, also known as the C-64 Norseman, is a Canadian single-engine bush plane designed to operate from unimproved surfaces. Distinctive stubby landing gear protrusions from the lower fuselage make it easily recognizable.
Intro ...
. Along with colleague Walter Clayton, Noorduyn created the company
Noorduyn
Noorduyn is a Canadian manufacturer of aircraft products and accessories, specializing in high performance composites. It is headquartered in Montreal, and has offices worldwide serving the commercial, business and military aviation markets.
Th ...
Aircraft Limited in early 1933 at Montreal. A successor company bearing the name Noorduyn Aviation, was later established in 1935.
[Milberry 1979, p. 110.]
![Norseman-museum](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/Norseman-museum.jpg)
Noorduyn's bush plane design revolved around a few basic criteria: it should be an aircraft with which a Canadian operator utilizing existing talents, equipment, and facilities could make money; it should be a high-wing monoplane to facilitate loading and unloading of passengers and cargo at seaplane docks and airports; and it should be an all-around superior aircraft to those currently in use in Canada. The final design layout looked much like one of the Fokker models with all-welded steel tubing fuselage structure and wood stringers were applied to it for attachment of a fabric skin. The wing was all-wood construction and fabric-covered except for the flaps and ailerons, which were made of welded steel tubing. The resulting utility bush plane, known as the Norseman, flew for the first time in 1936. Since then it has been used as both a military and civil cargo aircraft.
Final years
In 1953, Noorduyn headed a group of investors who bought back the jigs and equipment from Canadian Car & Foundry and started a new company called Noorduyn Norseman Aircraft Ltd. Bob Noorduyn became ill and died in his home in
South Burlington
South Burlington is a city in Chittenden County, Vermont, United States. Along with neighboring Burlington, it is a principal city of the Burlington metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 20,292. It is home to the head ...
,
Vermont
Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...
, on February 22, 1959, but the company he had created, provided support for operating Norseman aircraft and built three new Mk Vs before selling its assets in 1982 to Norco Associates. Norco provided service only, as the manufacture of a new Norseman aircraft, being very labor-intensive, made it very expensive.
References
;Notes
;Bibliography
*
Milberry, Larry. ''Aviation in Canada''. Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson, 1979. .
* Munson, Kenneth. ''Bombers, Patrol and Transport Aircraft 1939-1945''. London: Blandford Press, 1969. .
External links
NoorduynR.B.C.Noorduyn in 1912
{{DEFAULTSORT:Noorduyn, Robert B.C.
1893 births
1959 deaths
Canadian aerospace engineers
People from Nijmegen
Dutch emigrants to Canada
Dutch aerospace engineers
Canadian people of English descent
Dutch people of World War I