The Walter Redfern Company, also called Redfern Plans, was an American aircraft manufacturer based in
Post Falls, Idaho
Post Falls is a city in Kootenai County, Idaho, between Coeur d'Alene and Spokane, Washington. It is a suburb of Coeur d'Alene, to the east, and a bedroom community to Spokane, to the west. The population was 38,485 at the time of the 2020 cens ...
and founded by Walter "Wimpy" Redfern. The company specialized in the design and provision of plans for
homebuilt aircraft
Homebuilt aircraft, also known as amateur-built aircraft or kit planes, are constructed by persons for whom this is not a professional activity. These aircraft may be constructed from "scratch", from plans, or from assembly kits.Armstrong, Kenn ...
, particularly replica aircraft of the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
.
[Purdy, Don: ''AeroCrafter - Homebuilt Aircraft Sourcebook, Fifth Edition'', page 242. BAI Communications, 15 July 1998. ][Downey, Julia: ''1999 Plans Aircraft Directory'', Kitplanes, Volume 16, Number 1, January 1999, pages 66-67. Primedia Publications. ][Downey, Julia: ''2001 Plans Aircraft Directory'', Kitplanes, Volume 18, Number 1, January 2001, page 26. Kitplanes Acquisition Company. ][Downey, Julia: ''2002 Plans Aircraft Directory'', Kitplanes, Volume 19, Number 1, January 2002, page 27. Kitplanes Acquisition Company. ][Downey, Julia: ''2003 Plans Aircraft Directory'', Kitplanes, Volume 20, Number 1, January 2003, page 26. Primedia Publications. ]
Redfern's plans were adapted from the original aircraft drawings with assistance from
Peter M. Bowers and
Reinhold Platz, one of the original design team for the
Fokker DR1. Platz continued to collaborate with Redfern until the former's death in 1966.
Redfern built his first aircraft, a
Knight Twister in 1949 and completed 15 aircraft before his death in 1996, including five
Redfern Fokker Dr.1 models. One of his DR.1s is in the
AirVenture Museum in
Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Another Redfern-constructed aircraft, a
Fokker D.VI, is in a
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...
museum.
After Redfern's death in 1996 his family continued to supply plans for sometime, although they appeared to be no longer available in 2014.
Aircraft
References
External links
Official website archiveson
Archive.org
The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...
{{Redfern aircraft
Defunct aircraft manufacturers of the United States
Homebuilt aircraft