American aircraft designer (1879?1954)
Clyde Cessna
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![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/10/Clyde_Vernon_Cessna.jpg/220px-Clyde_Vernon_Cessna.jpg) Cessna circa 1920
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Born
| (
1879-12-05
)
December 5, 1879
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Died
| November 20, 1954
(1954-11-20)
(aged 74)
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Occupation(s)
| Aircraft designer, aviator, aviation entrepreneur
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Known for
| Cessna Aircraft
founder
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Children
| Eldon Cessna
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Clyde Vernon Cessna
(
;
[1]
December 5, 1879 ? November 20, 1954) was an American
aircraft designer
,
aviator
, and early
aviation
entrepreneur
. He is best known as the principal founder of the
Cessna Aircraft Corporation
, which he started in 1927 in
Wichita, Kansas
.
Biography
[
edit
]
Early years
[
edit
]
Cessna was born on December 5, 1879, in
Hawthorne
, in
Montgomery County, Iowa
, the son of Mary Vandora (Skates) and James William Cessna.
[2]
Cessna's family was of French and German ancestry.
[3]
When he was two years old, his family moved to rural
Rago
in
Kingman County, Kansas
, along the
Chikaskia River
. During his boyhood he used his self-taught innovation and mechanical skills to improve farm machinery and to develop new farming methods.
[4]
He later became a successful car dealer in
Enid, Oklahoma
.
[5]
Cessna's interest in aviation began in 1910 after witnessing an aerial exhibition in his home state of
Kansas
.
[6]
It was this exhibition that led him in future years to pursue his career in aviation.
[7]
After realizing his interest in aviation, Cessna left Oklahoma and moved to
New York State
where he worked for a short period at the Queen Aeroplane Company where he first learned about the construction of aircraft.
[5]
First flight
[
edit
]
Cessna Silverwing test flight in 1911
Cessna with his second design, "
The Comet
", an improved version of the Silverwing, circa 1916
In 1911, he set out to build his first airplane, an airplane he named "Silverwing".
[5]
His first design was a
monoplane
, constructed of spruce and linen and which took the form of an American version of the
Bleriot XI
. The engine was a modified Elbridge motorboat motor, dubbed the "aero special", which was a 2-stroke, 4-cylinder engine with a maximum of 40 hp (30 kW) and 1,050 rpm.
[5]
Upon completion, he sought to test the aircraft at the Great Salt Plains (adjacent to the
Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge
) in
Alfalfa County, Oklahoma
. His first attempt at flight ended in a
ground loop
, which required $100 to repair. After repairs, Cessna attempted flight 13 more times, each time ending in some sort of failure. Finally on his 13th attempt, Cessna got a glimpse of hope as his aircraft bounced up into the air for a short time before crashing into the trees as he attempted to turn it. After his crash, Cessna exclaimed 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 aeroplanes!". Finally, in June 1911 Cessna had his first successful flight. The crowds that had scoffed at his failures changed their tone and began calling him a "daring hero" and nicknamed him the "Birdman of Enid".
[8]
Cessna continued to teach himself how to fly over the next several months until December 1911, when he made a successful 5-mile (8.0 km) flight and a successful landing at the point of departure.
[5]
He was the first person to build and fly an airplane in the
Heartland
of the United States?between the
Mississippi River
and the
Rocky Mountains
.
[9]
The middle years
[
edit
]
The factory from 1917
After the success of the Silverwing, Cessna permanently quit his work with the automobile industry to pursue his interests in aviation. Between 1912 and 1915, Cessna developed several new monoplanes, all powered by an
Anzani 6-cylinder
with 40?60 hp. During this time, Clyde often flew his aircraft at holiday events and county fairs, an endeavour that at the time proved to be lucrative.
[5]
Cessna circa 1917
It was in 1916 that Clyde acquired a vacant building to begin building a new aircraft for the 1917 aviation exhibition season. His factory served a dual purpose, as he also opened a flight school in which he enrolled five student pilots. However, in April 1917 when the United States declared war, the exhibition flying market ground to a halt. With his primary source of income grounded, Clyde returned to his old home near
Rago, Kansas
, where he resumed his duties on the family farm.
[5]
Travel Air Manufacturing Company
[
edit
]
In the years following
World War I
public interest in private flying increased, leading Cessna in 1925, along with
Walter Beech
and
Lloyd Stearman
, to found the
Travel Air Manufacturing Company
in
Wichita, Kansas
. While Cessna was president, the company soon became one of the leading US aircraft manufacturers. This success can be attributed to Cessna's advanced design concepts, creating aircraft that attained international recognition, while establishing numerous speed and distance records.
[6]
[10]
After two years, Cessna left the company with plans to start his own firm,
[10]
due to disputes with his partners over the
monoplane
design or the
biplane
design.
Cessna Aircraft Corporation
[
edit
]
A 1929
Cessna DC-6
On September 7, 1927, Cessna and aviation entrepreneur
Victor Roos
paired to form Cessna-Roos Aircraft. Roos resigned just one month into the partnership, selling back his interest to Cessna, and the company changed its name to
Cessna Aircraft Corporation
in December.
[7]
[11]
In the later part of 1927, Cessna struggled to design and build an efficient
monoplane
. The
AW
was completed near the end of 1927.
[6]
Cessna followed the AW with the
CW-6
, which flew in 1928, and the
DC-6
, which flew in 1929. He then collaborated with his son, Eldon, in designing and flying the
CR-series
racing aircraft
.
[6]
Despite the success of new models, the
Great Depression
led to a catastrophic decline in aircraft sales, a bankruptcy filing for the corporation, and the complete closure of the company in 1931. In 1934, Cessna reopened his Wichita plant, which he soon sold to his nephews?aeronautical engineer
Dwane Wallace
and his brother, attorney Dwight Wallace?in 1936.
[10]
[12]
After turning over the Cessna Aircraft Corporation to his nephews, Dwane and Dwight Wallace, Cessna returned to a life of farming.
[10]
Clyde operated an early diesel three-track tractor building ponds for local farmers.
[13]
Upon Dwane's request, he agreed to participate in the company but served mostly in a ceremonial capacity and stayed out of the company's day-to-day business.
[5]
Death and legacy
[
edit
]
Cessna died on November 20, 1954, at the age of 74 in
Wichita, Kansas
.
[10]
[14]
The cause of his death is unknown so far.
[
verification needed
]
He was posthumously inducted into the
National Aviation Hall of Fame
in 1978 and the
International Air & Space Hall of Fame
in 1983.
[15]
He was ranked number 27 on
Flying
magazine's list of the 51 Heroes of Aviation in 2013.
[16]
The Kingman Airport ? Clyde Cessna Field in
Kingman, Kansas
is named in his honor.
[17]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Duden Ausspracheworterbuch
(in German) (6 ed.). Mannheim: Bibliographisches Institut & F.A. Brockhaus AG. 2006.
- ^
"Cessna, Clyde Vernon | the Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture"
.
- ^
Chance, Carl.
"CLYDE VERNON CESSNA"
.
- ^
"Aviation Pioneers - Clyde Vernon Cessna"
. Wings Over Kansas. Archived from
the original
on July 4, 2007
. Retrieved
April 28,
2007
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
Phillips, Edward H.
"Clyde Cessna - Pioneer Aviator"
. Wings Over Kansas
. Retrieved
May 1,
2007
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
"Capsule Biographies: Clyde Cessna"
. aerofiles.com
. Retrieved
April 28,
2007
.
- ^
a
b
"Cessna Story-Milestones"
. Cessna.com. Archived from
the original
on September 14, 2008
. Retrieved
April 28,
2007
.
- ^
"Clyde Cessna"
. National Aviation Hall of Fame
. Retrieved
April 28,
2007
.
- ^
"The Cessna Story"
. 172guide.com. Archived from
the original
on November 1, 2015
. Retrieved
September 29,
2015
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
"Clyde Cessna - A Kansas Portrait"
. Kansas State Historical Society
. Retrieved
April 28,
2007
.
- ^
Robert M. Kane (1975).
Air Transportation
. Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company.
ISBN
9780840301703
.
- ^
Edward Phillips (April 2007).
"DWANE L. WALLACE ? KANSAS VISIONARY"
. Retrieved
October 19,
2014
.
- ^
"Wichita recalls Clyde Cessna".
AOPA Pilot
: 32. May 2014.
- ^
"Clyde Cessna, Airplane Builder, Pioneer Manufacturer, and Aviator Dies. His Concern Made Many War Craft"
.
The New York Times
.
Associated Press
. November 22, 1954
. Retrieved
September 24,
2012
.
- ^
Sprekelmeyer, Linda, editor.
These We Honor: The International Aerospace Hall of Fame
. Donning Co. Publishers, 2006.
ISBN
978-1-57864-397-4
.
- ^
"51 Heroes of Aviation"
. Retrieved
April 9,
2017
.
- ^
"Clyde Cessna Field"
. City of Kingman, Kansas
. Retrieved
December 2,
2019
.
Further reading
[
edit
]
- Bissionette, Bruce,
The Wichita 4: Cessna, Moellendick, Beech & Stearman,
(from interviews with
Matty Laird
,
Lloyd Stearman
,
Olive Ann Beech
,
Dwane Wallace
,
Herb Rawdon
,
Walter Burnham
, and other principals).
- Deneau, Gerald
An Eye to the Sky
. 1962, Cessna Aircraft Co., Wichita, KS (semi-official company history, with exceptional detail and unusual candor about some products)
- Phillips, Edward H.
,
Cessna: A Master's Expression
. Eagan, MN: Flying Books, 1985.
OCLC
13522983
(the principal biography of Clyde Cessna)
- Phillips, Edward H.
,
Cessna: Model 120 to Citation III
. Eagan, MN: Flying Books, 1986.
ISBN
0911139052
- Phillips, Edward H.
,
Wings of Cessna: Model 120 to Citation X
. Eagan, MN : Flying Books International, ⓒ1994.
OCLC
32516985
- Rodengen, Jeffrey L.,
The Legend of Cessna
. (Cessna-sponsored history, mostly derivative of others' writings, including those listed above), 2007, Ft. Lauderdale, FL:Write Stuff, Inc.,
ISBN
978-1932022261
- Christy, Joe; revised by Brian J. Dooley,
A Complete Guide to Single-Engine Cessnas
, 4th.ed., 1993, TAB/McGraw-Hill, New York
External links
[
edit
]
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Single-engine
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Twin-engine
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Four engines
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Cessna Citation
family
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Helicopters
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Gliders
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Military
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Aircraft names
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Licensees
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People
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Other
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a
Redesignated during development •
b
Not built •
c
Produced only by Reims •
d
Transferred to
Beechcraft
during development •
e
Early models had no "I" suffix; some sources call these aircraft the
Citation 500
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