Aircraft

Laird Swallow / Swallow Aircraft Swallow

TerryLeave a comment

The Burke Moellendick Laird partnership of Wichita began work, and in April 1920 the first Laird Swal-low rolled out of the hangar. In April 1920, Matty Laird (builder of the Swallow) first tested his three place OX 5 biplane built in a shed in Wichita. The plane earned the nickname “Swallow” from one of the Wichita hotel men who witnessed the flight, commenting, “It flies like a swal¬low:’ The Laird Swallow became the first commercial, not military, plane offered for sale in the United States.
The company that became United Airlines began its early air operations fly¬ing a Laird Swallow.
Production went from two planes a month to four. After 43 Laird Swallows had been sold, Matty Laird quit and went back to Chi¬cago to resume business as the E.M. Laird Airplane Company.
Jake Moellendick re¬named his plant the Swallow Airplane Manufacturing Company.

First product of the Swallow Aircraft Co was Model 1924 Swallow Commercial three seater (a refined Laird Swallow). Type was successful, especially in Middle West, and improved progressively.

On April 6,1926 a Swallow biplane (modified New Swallow type, called Swallow Mail plane) made inaugural flight for Varney Air Lines (later part of United Air Lines) marking significant advance in U.S. air transport.

The 1927 Swallow featured a 90 hp Curtiss OX-5 engine, an adjustable stabiliser, 2.5in trim via a cockpit lever and carried ATC 21.

Swallow Commercial of 1928 offered with various engines; Swallow Special 3-seater had Axelson engine. In 1930s company developed Swallow Coupe light cabin monoplane.

Gallery

Engine: Curtiss OX-5, 90 hp
Prop: Brewster 8 ft 4 in
Wingspan: 32 ft 8 in
Length: 23 ft
Wing chord: 5 ft
Height: 8 ft 4 in
Empty weight: 1469 lb
Useful load: 731 lb
Top speed: 100 mph
Cruise speed: 60 mph
Landing speed: 35 mph
ROC: 600 fpm
Ceiling: 12,000 ft

Laird No.1

TerryLeave a comment
Engineless at the “rollout” in Chicago in early 1913.

At age 17, Matty Laird’s first design would be a monoplane powered with an engine designed by Harry Wells. The two worked on their separate projects month after month in high school night classes. Matty’s airframe progressed, but Harry Wells was never able to devise a reliable valve mechanism for his engine. Thus Matty was left with an engineless airplane.

A Chicago machinist named Hofer offered him a 12 horsepower engine for $150. After several months of revamping his plane to accept the Hofer engine, Laird took his little single seat monoplane out to Cicero Field. To his surprise, up it came about 15 feet.

He had a very light airplane and a little too much speed, and somewhere in the series of bounces that followed, he crossed the controls and wound up on his back.

Laird Airplane Co / E.M. Laird Co

TerryLeave a comment

Laird, who first learned to fly in 1913 from an empty field between Cicero Avenue and 52nd Street, north of 22nd Avenue, built a few promising airplanes at this location before going to Wichita.
Emil Matthew “Mattie” Laird built his first Model S aircraft in 1919.
The E.M. Laird Company of Wichita started operation as a partnership in 1920. Bill Burke, an Oklahoma Buick automobile dealer, asked Matty Laird to leave Chicago and come to Wichita to build airplanes. Bill Burke put up one half of the capital needed ($15,000) to start the company. The other partners were Jack Mollendeck, a Wichita oil man who contributed the remaining $15,000, Matty Laird, and his brother Charlie, who provid¬ed the design and technical know how to build the airplanes.

Commercial activity at Chicago began in 1920 with the Swallow, a redesigned Curtiss JN-4, claimed as first U.S. commercial aircraft. Design sold to Lloyd Stearman’s Swallow Aeroplane Manufacturing Company as the New Swallow.

In 1921, Walter Beech, who had barn¬stormed in a Jenny after WWI, joined the company to assist Laird in testing the air¬craft. Also in 1921, Lloyd Stearman joined the company to assist in the design, assem¬bly, and rigging work on the Swallow.

In 1921, Bill Burke left the company and returned to his Buick automobile dealership. In 1923, Matty Laird left the company, returning to his former Chicago location to build the Laird Speed Wing.

Built the first LC (Laird Commercial) 1924. Also designed Super Swallow, an improved New Swallow. Laird concentrated subsequently on custom-built sporting and racing aircraft, such as LC-DW Solution, the only biplane to win the Thomson Trophy.

The E.M. Laird Company did not survive and went into receivership on 13 August 1927.

In 1931 Super Solution Jimmy Doolittle set U.S. coast-to-coast records. With same aircraft set record of 293.193mph (471.8kmh) at 1932 National Air Races. Production continued of threeseat Speedwing biplane. Last project was in 1936, redesigning and completing ex-Lawrence Brown racer for Colonel Roscoe Turner, as LTR 14 Meteor.