Clyde Cessna

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Clyde Cessna, ca.1920

Clyde Vernon Cessna [ ˈsɛsnə ] (born December 5, 1879 in Hawthorne , Iowa , † November 20, 1954 in Wichita , Kansas ) was an American aircraft designer, pilot and founder of the Cessna Aircraft Corporation .

Life

Early years

Clyde Cessna was born on December 5, 1879 in Hawthorne, Iowa. His family came from France and Germany . When he was two years old, his family moved to Rago , Kingman County , Kansas . As an adolescent, he used his self-taught knowledge of mechanics to improve agricultural machines and develop new farming methods. He later worked successfully as a car salesman in Enid , Oklahoma .

Cessna became interested in aviation in 1910 after attending an aviation exhibition in Kansas. This exhibition motivated him to pursue a career in the aviation field. Cessna left Oklahoma and moved to New York , where he worked briefly for the Queen Airplane Company and gained his first experience with the construction of aircraft.

First flight

Cessna with its second construction, the Comet , circa 1916

In 1911, Cessna began designing its first aircraft, the Silverwing . The Silverwing was a monoplane made of spruce wood and linen fabric , the shape of which was based on the Bleriot XI . The engine - a modified boat motor of Elbridge, he aero special called - was a four-cylinder - two-stroke engine with a power of 40 hp (29 kW) at 1050 rpm. After the aircraft was completed, Cessna wanted to test the machine in the Great Salt Plains in Alfalfa County . However, the first attempt at flight resulted in a ringelpiez with damage of about one hundred US dollars . After the repair, he made thirteen more attempts to fly, each of which failed in some way. The last attempt brought a little glimmer of hope as the plane stayed in the air for a short time before colliding with trees while attempting to turn. After this accident, Cessna is said to have shouted in frustration: “I'm going to fly this thing, then I'm going to set it afire and never have another thing to do with airplanes!” (German: “I'll fly this thing, then I'll set it on fire and never have anything to do with airplanes again! ”). Finally, in June 1911, he made his first successful flight. The public, which initially ridiculed him for his failures, began to change their minds, calling Cessna a daring hero. They gave him the nickname "Birdman of Enid" (German: Vogelmann von Enid). He continued his efforts to learn to fly for several months and in December 1911 completed a successful flight of around eight kilometers including a successful landing at his starting point.

Further development

Cessna's workshop in 1917

After the success of the Silverwing, Cessna quit his job in the automotive industry to pursue his passion for flying. Between 1912 and 1915 he designed several monoplane, all of which were powered by Anzani six-cylinder engines with outputs between 40 hp (29 kW) and 60 hp (44 kW). During this time he flew his planes at agricultural fairs and other events, which soon turned out to be very lucrative.

In 1916, Cessna bought an empty building to build a new aircraft there for the 1917 exhibition season. In addition to the workshop, he also ran a flight school there with five flight students . When the United States entered World War I in April 1917 , the business of flying at exhibitions came to a standstill. Deprived of its main source of income, Cessna returned to Rago and worked on his family's farm.

Travel Air Manufacturing Company

When interest in general aviation rose again after World War I, Cessna founded the Travel Air Manufacturing Company in Wichita , Kansas, together with Walter Beech and Lloyd Stearman in 1925 . With Cessna as managing director, the company soon became the leading aircraft manufacturer in the United States. This success can be attributed to Cessna's progressive designs, which attracted international attention with numerous speed and distance records. After disagreements between the company's founders about the advantages and disadvantages of single-deckers compared to double-deckers , Cessna left the company two years later to start its own.

Cessna Aircraft Corporation

Cessna DC-6 B

On September 27, 1927, Cessna founded the company Cessna-Roos Aircraft together with the aviation entrepreneur Victor Roos . After just a month, Roos sold his stake in Cessna and in December of that year the company changed its name to Cessna Aircraft Corporation . In the second half of 1927, Cessna tried to build a high-performance monoplane. The four-seater Model A was completed in late 1927. After the AW, Cessna developed the CW-6 , which made its maiden flight in 1928, and the DC-6 , which first flew in 1929. He then worked with his son Eldon on the CR-3 racing aircraft .

Despite the success of the new models, the global economic crisis led to a catastrophic slump in the aircraft market. The company had to file for bankruptcy and was dissolved in 1931. In 1934, Cessna reopened its manufacturing facility in Wichita, which he sold to his nephew Dwane Wallace and his brother Dwight in 1936 .

Late years

After selling the Cessna Aircraft Corporation to his nephews, he returned to his farm and used a three-lane tractor to build pools of water for local farmers. At Dwane's request, he agreed to rejoin the company in a representative capacity. However, he stayed out of day-to-day business. Clyde Cessna died on November 20, 1954 at the age of 74 in Wichita, Kansas.

Awards

  • Cessna was inducted posthumously into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 1978 .
  • In 2013 he was ranked 27th on a list of 51 Aviation Heroes by Flying Magazine.

literature

  • Bruce Bissionette: The Wichita 4: Cessna, Moellendick, Beech & Stearman . 1st edition. Aviation Heritage, 1999, ISBN 978-0-943691-50-3 (English).
  • Gerald Deneau: An Eye to the Sky . Cessna Aircraft Co., Wichita 1962 (English).
  • Edward H. Phillips: Cessna: A Master's Expression . Flying Books, Eagan, Minnesota 1985 (English).
  • Edward H. Phillips: Cessna: Model 120 to Citation III . Flying Books, Eagan, Minnesota 1986, ISBN 0-911139-05-2 (English).
  • Edward H. Phillips: Wings of Cessna: Model 120 Citation X to . Flying Books, Eagan, Minnesota 1994 (English).
  • Jeffrey L. Rodengen: The Legend of Cessna . Write Stuff, Fort Lauderdale 2007, ISBN 978-1-932022-26-1 (English).
  • Joe Christy: A Complete Guide to Single-Engine Cessnas . 4th edition. TAB / McGraw-Hill, New York 1993 (English).

Web links

Commons : Clyde Cessna  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Duden pronunciation dictionary . 6th edition. Bibliographisches Institut & FA Brockhaus AG, Mannheim 2006.
  2. ↑ a b c d e f Carl Chance: Clyde Vernon Cessna. Wings Over Kansas, January 5, 2002, accessed May 14, 2018 .
  3. ↑ a b c Capsule Biographies: Clyde Cessna. aerofiles, accessed on May 14, 2018 .
  4. ↑ Cessna, Clyde Vernon. The National Aviation Hall of Fame, accessed May 14, 2018 .
  5. ↑ a b c d Clyde Cessna. Kansas Historical Society, December 2017, accessed May 14, 2018 .
  6. ^ Robert M. Kane: Air Transportation . Kendall / Hunt Pub., 2003, ISBN 978-0-7872-8881-5 (English).
  7. ^ Edward H. Phillips: Dwane L. Wallace - Kansas Visionary. Wings Over Kansas, April 1, 2007, accessed April 14, 2018 .
  8. ↑ Wichita recalls Clyde Cessna . In: AOPA Pilot . May 2014, p. 32 (English).
  9. ↑ Associated Press : Clyde Cessna, Airplane Builder, Pioneer Manufacturer, and Aviator Dies. His Concern Made Many War Craft. Article in the New York Times , November 22, 1954, accessed May 14, 2018 .
  10. ^ Robert Goyer: 51 Heroes of Aviation. Article in Flying Magazine, July 24, 2013, accessed May 14, 2018 .
personal data
SURNAME Cessna, Clyde
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Cessna, Clyde Vernon (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American businessman and aircraft designer
DATE OF BIRTH December 5, 1879
PLACE OF BIRTH Hawthorne , Iowa
DATE OF DEATH November 20, 1954
Place of death Wichita , Kansas