Dwane Wallace

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Dwane Leon Wallace (born October 29, 1911 in Belmont , Kansas , † December 21, 1989 in Wichita , Kansas) was from 1935 to the 1970s managing director and chairman of the board of the Cessna Aircraft Company . He then worked as a consultant for the company until the 1980s. He built Cessna from a small aircraft manufacturer into the largest manufacturer of aircraft for general aviation . Wallace was named the Quiet Giant of Aviation and was posthumously inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 2012.

Early years

Dwane Wallace grew up with his siblings Deane, Dwight and Doreen in Belmont , Kansas . His parents were the doctor Dr. Eugene Wallace and Grace Opal Wallace, née Cessna. He was a nephew of aviation pioneer Clyde Cessna , founder of the Cessna Aircraft Company . Cessna was the Great Plains' first aircraft builder at the time of Wallace's birth . In 1924 he took his nephews for the first time on his plane, an OX-5 Swallow .

Flying Magazine wrote that Wallace knew at the age of ten that he wanted to work in the aviation industry. As a young adult, Wallace studied aeronautical engineering at Wichita State University and graduated with a bachelor's degree in May 1933 .

During his studies Wallace learned to fly from George Harte, his uncle's test pilot . He made his first solo flight in a Cessna CG-2 after just an hour and forty-five minutes of training and then proposed changes to the aircraft. In March 1932 he flew solo for the first time a Travel Air - biplane and in 1933 he received his private pilot license . He later acquired a commercial pilot license with ratings for multi-engine aircraft and for instrument flight .

Career start

Upon graduation, Wallace began life in the workplace amid the Great Depression . His uncle's company had been taken over by investors and eventually closed.

Wallace nonetheless found a job with the newly formed Beech Aircraft Corporation , the Wichita company of his uncle Walter Beech's former business partner , which was housed in the halls of the former Cessna factory. He was involved in the development of the Beech 17 there .

Acquisition of the Cessna Aircraft Company

After Beech left the former Cessna building in 1934, Wallace and his lawyer brother Dwight approached their uncle with the idea of ​​a suffrage battle to regain control of the Cessna Aircraft Company and to resume production of aircraft .

The Wallace brothers won the suffrage battle by visiting investors across the country and persuading them to argue that they would settle for very low or no wages. At a shareholders' meeting on January 10, 1934, they took control of the Cessna Aircraft Company. Clyde Cessna became managing director, but Dwane as factory director and Dwight as finance director practically ran the company.

Cessna's son Eldon stayed with the company until he left in the summer of 1935 following a disagreement between him and Wallace over his salary. In December 1935, Clyde Cessna sold his company shares to the Wallace brothers, but initially remained managing director. Less than a year later, on October 8, 1936, shortly after Wallace's twenty-fifth birthday, Cessna finally withdrew from the company.

Careers at Cessna

Dwance Wallace led the Cessna Aircraft Company for the next four decades. He built the company from a small aircraft manufacturer into a leading manufacturer of general aviation aircraft .

During his entire tenure at Cessna, Wallace was completely fixated on the company. According to his successor Russ Meyer , he did not play golf or tennis, nor did he have any other passions besides the company. Despite his accomplishments, wealth, power and influence, Wallace was known for his restraint and humility and was on an equal footing with his employees. In his early years as managing director, he served as a test pilot and salesman, painting airplanes himself, playing on the employees' softball team , bringing water to factory workers and sweeping the floors.

Despite his low profile, Wallace was a "hands-on manager," according to his longtime assistant, Del Roskam, walking around the factory, chatting with workers and shift supervisors, and discussing problems personally.

Great Depression

From 1934 Wallace supported his uncle and his son in the development of the C-3, an improved version of the Cessna Model A, and in the construction of the older Cessna DC-6 A.

In 1934, together with Eldon Cessna and others, it constructed the Cessna C-34 , an aircraft with very low aerodynamic drag that got a speed of 140 kn (259 km / h) from an engine with 145 hp (107 kW) and was first used in 1935 was delivered. It was the first Cessna model to feature landing flaps , which made landing in confined spaces easier. The aircraft won several races and competitions. After Wallace won the Detroit News Trophy, a major national efficiency and performance competition, for the third time with a C-34, the aircraft model was given permanent recognition and the C-34 was named "World's Most Efficient Airplane" . This increased sales and in 1936 alone Cessna sold 33 copies.

Note: There is some disagreement among historical accounts of the development of the C-34. Eldon Cessna himself and his trusted historians attribute the design of the C-34 to him, while the bulk of the historical records, mainly from employees of the Cessna Aircraft Company or from company sponsored writers from the days of Dwane Wallace management, are held by Wallace credit the construction. Some claim that Wallace had the idea for the design while he was in college. The latter sources name Eldon Cessna as a contributing engineer alongside Tom Salter and Gerry Gerteis.

In addition to further increasing its reputation and sales, flights to exhibitions and major events, as well as airplane races , brought in prize money that contributed to the company's profits. Therefore, show flights and airplane races were necessary duties in Wallace's early years at Cessna. The years of the Great Depression when Wallace did not take a salary were extremely difficult for him and the company. Photos of him from this period show a very thin man. Legend has it that there was a time when company accounts were just five dollars .

In February 1935, Wallace began offering aircraft maintenance . In 1937 he hired Velma Lunt as chief secretary and married her in 1941. She completed a pilot training course including the license for multi-engine aircraft and worked closely with her husband for many years. The couple were married until Wallace's death and had four daughters - Linda, Karen, Diana and Sarah.

In 1938 Wallace saw opportunities for a new, inexpensive, twin-engine light aircraft and began developing the Cessna T-50 Bobcat, which had two engines and a retractable landing gear . Both were new territory for Cessna. Although he had neither experience nor a license to fly twin-engine airplanes, Wallace taught himself to fly the Bobcat as a test pilot. He speculated both on sales opportunities for a civilian version and, due to the outbreak of World War II in Europe , on a military market and invested in a new factory in May 1940. The speculation worked.

Second World War

Under Wallace's leadership, the Cessna Aircraft Company survived the difficult years up to World War II . He then signed treaties with the US and Canadian governments. He then built a training aircraft variant of the Bobcat for the Royal Canadian Air Force , and the United States Army Air Corps bought thousands of Cessna AT-8s for training transport and bomber pilots and for use as a light transport aircraft. At the end of the war over five thousand copies had been delivered, which made Cessna one of the largest American manufacturers of small aircraft .

Contracts for the production of parts for military aircraft from other manufacturers and the construction of the cargo glider Waco CG-4A helped Cessna to grow further. The production of parts for all-metal aircraft such as engine covers for the Douglas A-26 and tail units for the Boeing B-29 gave the company a big lead over other manufacturers of light aircraft, who for the most part stuck to the production of their fabric - covered lattice structures , which were due to the enormous technological advances during World War II were quickly obsolete.

During the Second World War, Cessna was the first aircraft manufacturer from Wichita to win the Army-Navy "E" Award , which was given to only three percent of the contracting parties of the US military. The company has won this award a total of five times.

Post-war years

After World War II, Cessna began manufacturing civil aircraft with a distinct advantage over most of its competitors. The company had the know-how and the means to build all-metal aircraft. This advantage arose on the one hand from the rights and patents accrued to the Cessna for the production of all-metal aircraft of the former deputy managing director Albin Longren and on the other hand from the experience from the government- funded program for the production of parts of large all-metal aircraft during the Second World War.

Wallace constructed a successor to the C-34 out of metal in a short time. This successor was the Cessna 190 / Cessna 195 , a fast, single-engine, six-seat aircraft with a radial engine .

While the rest of the aircraft manufacturers went over to cantilever wings , Wallace then led Cessna away from the cantilever construction concepts of his uncle to more conventional, supported shoulder- wing planes and thus established the production of a series of single-engine light aircraft that was very successful worldwide, starting with the Cessna 120 and going through the Cessna 140 up to the Cessna 207 . The development of the 120 and 140 models also marked the beginning of Cessna's move towards aircraft with smaller cabins and in- line engines .

The models 120 and 140 differed from other two-seater aircraft of the time by their construction made exclusively of metal. Robust, modern and mass-produced at low cost, the 120 and 140 dominated the two-seat aircraft market. By December 1946, Cessna was producing almost as many aircraft as all of its competitors combined, and by the early 1950s the company had driven most of the other US light aircraft manufacturers out of the market with the 120 and 140 series in a post-war recession. Cessna, on the other hand, flourished and also conquered this market segment with the Cessna 170 , an extended, four-seat version of the 120/140.

After the post-war recession of the late 1940s and early 1950s wiped out most general aviation aircraft manufacturers, Wallace broadened the company's footing and survived by building a furniture and hydraulic systems division with a factory in Hutchinson . In addition, he expanded his dealer network and founded a finance department, which substantially increased sales.

Wallace was hesitant about the transition from tail-wheel to nose-wheel undercarriages. As a result, the competitor Piper was able to recapture large parts of the light aircraft market with its Tri-Pacer for several years. Finally, Wallace responded with a tricycle landing gear variant of the Cessna 170 and brought the Cessna 172 onto the market, which became the most popular light aircraft in the world and is still being built today (as of 2018). In 1958, Cessna produced more aircraft than its four largest competitors combined, maintaining a market share of over fifty percent. In the late 1950s, Wallace added twin-engine aircraft to the Cessna portfolio and began to penetrate every conceivable market segment.

He also tried to get orders from the military for the supply of parts, which resulted in Cessna producing large parts of various American training aircraft , fighter jets and bombers such as the Lockheed T-33 , the Lockheed F-94 , the Republic F-84 who built the Boeing B-47 and the Boeing B-52 . The efforts culminated in the design of the Cessna T-37 , which became the standard training jet for the United States Air Force for several decades . Many other air forces, including the German Air Force until 2009 , used this pattern.

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Wallace expanded Cessna by buying avionics manufacturer Aircraft Radio Corporation and propeller manufacturer McCauley Industrial Corporation . He expanded Cessna's Fluid Power Division in Hutchinson, which produced hydraulic cylinders for a wide range of industrial applications, and opened aircraft and aircraft parts factories first in Glenrothes in Scotland and Reims in France and later in Mendoza in Argentina, as well as sales and maintenance operations worldwide.

For Cessna's international trade, US President Lyndon Johnson presented Wallace with the President's "E" Award in 1964 at a ceremony in the White House .

During Wallace's leadership role, Cessna produced "aircraft for every occasion". The company had almost every conceivable type of aircraft from light to medium-sized, single-engine and multi-engine in its program. These included gliders , bush planes , small military transport, seaplanes , acrobatic planes , helicopters , business jets, agricultural aircraft , small airliners , military reconnaissance and liaison aircraft , military trainer aircraft, fighter jets and business jets - a total of over forty models.

However, not all of Wallace's projects were successful. In particular, the Cessna 620 , a small, four-engine line machine and the Cessna CH-1 Skyhook helicopter were both pulped again before any significant production began. The same applies to the four-seat civilian version of the militarily very successful Cessna T-37 .

Many Cessna models developed under Wallace's leadership became the most popular of their respective types. These include the world's most popular trainer aircraft ( Cessna 150 ), the world's most popular light aircraft ( Cessna 172 Skyhawk), the world's most popular high-performance light aircraft ( Cessna 182 Skylane), the world's most popular bush plane ( Cessna 185 Skywagon) and the world's most popular agricultural aircraft ( Cessna 188 AgWagon) .

Wallace was the managing director of Cessna from 1935 to 1964 before becoming chairman of the board. The company that he led from the brink of bankruptcy in 1935 was the first company in the world to build over 100,000 aircraft in 1972.

In 1972 he moved manufacturers to set up a general aviation trade organization separate from that of commercial and military aviation manufacturers. The newly formed General Aviation Manufacturers Association elected him its first chairman.

Wallace's most daring project was probably the first business jet, the Cessna FanJet 500, which was soon named Cessna Citation . Despite widespread criticism and derision of the unusually slow jet, Wallace firmly believed in its success. The first sales figures pale against those of the local rival Lear Jet , whose Model 23, like most other business jets of the time, was around 130 kn (241 km / h) faster and could transport more passengers over longer distances. However, these jets were more expensive and difficult to fly, and required longer runways . But Wallace prevailed. The Citation series quickly became the world's most popular business jet of its time and pushed its competitors completely into the background.

By the end of Wallace's tenure, Cessna had surpassed all other civil aircraft manufacturers in history with over 170,000 units built - from fabric-covered models to tail-wheel planes and two-seat training aircraft to combat aircraft and business jets.

retirement

In 1974 Wallace recruited aviation industry manager Russell W. Meyer Jr. from Grumman Aircraft Corporation and built him into his successor. In 1975 he retired as chairman of the board and left the company to Meyer, but remained part of the board.

Wallace quickly disappeared from the public eye and appeared only together with his wife Velma Wallace as a patron , mainly for Wichita State University , his alma mater . He stayed with Cessna in an advisory capacity until the 1980s. Among other things, he was involved in the development of the Cessna 208 Caravan. In his obituary in the New York Times , it was revealed that Wallace had left the company in 1983 after a dispute with his successor Meyer.

Dwance Wallace died on December 21, 1989 after a long illness at the age of 78.

He was a member of the Aviation Pioneers Hall of Fame , the Society of Experimental Test Pilots, and the Quiet Birdmen .

Awards and honors

Although Wallace was the driving force behind the transformation of the Cessna Aircraft Company from a small, struggling company to the world's largest manufacturer of aircraft in terms of production figures, he kept his uncle's name as the company name rather than naming the company after himself . However, his name was affixed to a new factory building at Wichita Mid-Continent Airport in the 1960s .

Furthermore, in 1979 the new main building of the College of Engineering at Wichita State University was named Wallace Hall after him.

literature

  • Edward H. Phillips: Cessna: A Master's Expression . Flying Books, Eagan, Minnesota 1985, ISBN 0-911139-05-2 (English).
  • Edward H. Phillips: Cessna: Model 120 to Citation III . Flying Books, Eagan, Minnesota 1986 (English).
  • Edward H. Phillips: Cessna: A Master's Expression . Flying Books, Eagan, Minnesota 1994 (English).
  • Joe Christy: A Complete Guide to Single-Engine Cessnas . 4th edition. TAB / McGraw-Hill, New York 1993 (English).

Web links


Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Wallace, Dwane Leon - Visionary / Pioneer. National Aviation Hall of Fame , accessed May 15, 2018 .
  2. ↑ a b c d e Kansas Aviation Hall Of Fame Awards. Wings Over Kansas, March 3, 2001, accessed May 15, 2018 .
  3. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l Edward H. Phillips: Dwane L. Wallace: Kansas Visionary. Wings Over Kansas, April 1, 2007, accessed May 15, 2018 .
  4. ↑ a b c d Edward H. Phillips: Clyde Cessna: Pioneer Aviator. Wings Over Kansas, August 29, 2007, accessed May 15, 2018 .
  5. ↑ a b c d e f g Edward H. Phillips: Cessna's Airmaster. Wings Over Kansas, August 24, 2008, accessed May 15, 2018 .
  6. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Frank J. Rowe and Craig Miner: Borne on the South Wind: A Century of Kansas Aviation . Wichita Eagle & Beacon Publishing Co., Wichita 1994 (English).
  7. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Wallace . In: Flying Magazine, special edition for the 50th anniversary . September 1977, p. 257 (English).
  8. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af Gerald Deneau: An Eye to the Sky . Cessna Aircraft Co., Kansas 1962 (English).
  9. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak Jeffrey L. Rodengen: The Legend of Cessna . 3. Edition. Write Stuff, Inc., Fort Lauderdale 2007, ISBN 978-1-932022-26-1 (English).
  10. ↑ a b c d e f g h Dwane L. Wallace. Kansas Historical Society, December 2014, accessed May 15, 2018 .
  11. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Glenn Fowler: Dwane L. Wallace, 78, Is Dead; Pioneer Leader at Cessna Aircraft. Article in the New York Times , December 23, 1989, accessed May 15, 2018 .
  12. ↑ a b c Bruce Bissionette: The Wichita 4: Cessna, Moellendick, Beech & Stearman . Aviation Heritage, Destin, Florida 1999 (English).
  13. ^ "Meyer" in "Men of the Future," Flying Magazine, 50th anniversary special edition, Sept. 1977, p.369
personal data
SURNAME Wallace, Dwane
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Wallace, Dwane Leon (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American businessman and aircraft designer
DATE OF BIRTH October 29, 1911
PLACE OF BIRTH Belmont , Kansas
DATE OF DEATH December 21, 1989
Place of death Wichita , Kansas