Fowler Airplane Corporation: Difference between revisions
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==Post-war== |
==Post-war== |
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The ''Aircraft Journal'' announced in its Trade News section on 17 May 1920 that the "Fowler Airplane Company announces the receipt of its first shipment of Avro airplanes to the Pacific Coast from the Interallied Aircraft Corporation, Eastern distributors. The shipment is the first arrival of any |
The ''Aircraft Journal'' announced in its Trade News section on 17 May 1920 that the "Fowler Airplane Company announces the receipt of its first shipment of Avro airplanes to the Pacific Coast from the Interallied Aircraft Corporation, Eastern distributors. The shipment is the first arrival of any British planes on the Western Coast, and the interested are eagerly awaiting the first take off, as San Francisco being in the belt of all year round flying, the demand for airplanes for personal use is beginning to be felt. The Avros will fly from the Marina at the water-front, and plans are being made for installing a complete service organization and sales force throughout every city of any size or importance in the state of California. The Fowler Airplane Company predicts a tremendous advance in the use of airplanes for commercial purposes within the coming year."<ref>Editors, ''Aircraft Journal'', The Gardner, Moffat Company, Inc., Highland, New York, 17 May 1920, Volume VI, Number 20, page 13.</ref> ''Aerial Age Weekly'' reported in its "The Aircraft Trade Review" section, on 26 April 1920, that "R. G. 'Bob' Fowler and W. H. Jones of the Fowler Airplane Company are placing the machines on exhibition at the [[Palace Hotel, San Francisco|Palace Hotel]] as well as at the Aeronautical Show at the [[Bill Graham Civic Auditorium|Civic Auditorium]]."<ref>Editors, "Avro Planes Arrive in San Francisco for Show", ''Aerial Age Weekly'', The Aerial Age Company, Inc., New York, New York, 26 April 1920, Volume XI, Number 7, page 217.</ref> |
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==References== |
==References== |
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Revision as of 01:05, 10 October 2016
The Fowler Airplane Corporation was an aircraft manufacturing company that operated in San Francisco, California, from 1916 into the 1920s. It was founded by Robert G. Fowler, the first person to make a west-to-east transcontinental flight in stages.
World War I
During World War I, the Fowler Aircraft Corporation, located on Howard Street in San Francisco, built over 275 Curtiss JN-4Ds for the U.S. Army Signal Corps.[1][2] It was one of six companies that built the design under contract.[3]
Fire
On Tuesday 18 May 1918, a fire gutted the Fowler plant, as well as several frame, flat and apartment houses, as the blaze swept over a block, making 100 families homeless. Fifteen aircraft in various stages of construction, including two completed ones that were to have been delivered that day, were destroyed as were equipment and parts enough to construct 50 airplanes. A considerable quantity of dried spruce and Irish linen were consumed by the fire. Machinery used in construction was considerably damaged. Employees estimated the value of the lost materials at between $250,000 and $1,000,000. "The total damage to the airplane factory and surrounding buildings was estimated at $750,000 by S. S. Dibbero, a director of the Fowler concern. The factory, it was said, will be rebuilt."[4]
Post-war
The Aircraft Journal announced in its Trade News section on 17 May 1920 that the "Fowler Airplane Company announces the receipt of its first shipment of Avro airplanes to the Pacific Coast from the Interallied Aircraft Corporation, Eastern distributors. The shipment is the first arrival of any British planes on the Western Coast, and the interested are eagerly awaiting the first take off, as San Francisco being in the belt of all year round flying, the demand for airplanes for personal use is beginning to be felt. The Avros will fly from the Marina at the water-front, and plans are being made for installing a complete service organization and sales force throughout every city of any size or importance in the state of California. The Fowler Airplane Company predicts a tremendous advance in the use of airplanes for commercial purposes within the coming year."[5] Aerial Age Weekly reported in its "The Aircraft Trade Review" section, on 26 April 1920, that "R. G. 'Bob' Fowler and W. H. Jones of the Fowler Airplane Company are placing the machines on exhibition at the Palace Hotel as well as at the Aeronautical Show at the Civic Auditorium."[6]
References
- ^ Burden, M. S., "The Life and Times of Robert G. Fowler", Borden Publishing Company, Los Angeles, California, 1999.
- ^ Marshall, David A., "Living on the Cusp - A Memoire", FriesenPress, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, October 2013, ISBN 978-1-4602-1694-1, pages 91, 93.
- ^ Johnson, E. R., "American Military Training Aircraft: Fixed and Rotary-Wing Trainers Since 1916", McFarland and Company, Inc., Jefferson, North Carolina, 2015, Library of Congress card number 2014046889, ISBN 978-0-7864-7094-5, page 25.
- ^ Associated Press, "Airplanes Lost in Costly Fire", The Idaho Daily Statesman, Boise, Idaho, Saturday 22 May 1918.
- ^ Editors, Aircraft Journal, The Gardner, Moffat Company, Inc., Highland, New York, 17 May 1920, Volume VI, Number 20, page 13.
- ^ Editors, "Avro Planes Arrive in San Francisco for Show", Aerial Age Weekly, The Aerial Age Company, Inc., New York, New York, 26 April 1920, Volume XI, Number 7, page 217.