In 1911 Juan de la Cierva enrolled at the Civil Engineering College of Madrid (Caminos, Canales y Puertos) and in 1912 with his friends “Pepe” Barcala and Pablo Diaz constructed the first Spanish airplane, the BCD-I, known as “EI Cangrejo” – the “Red Crab”, becoming the “Father of Spanish Aviation.”
Pioneers
Cierva
Juan de la Cierva was born in Murcia, Spain on September 21, 1895, and by 1908-9, had decided to make aviation his career. In 1911 he enrolled at the Civil Engineering College of Madrid (Caminos, Canales y Puertos) and in 1912 with his friends “Pepe” Barcala and Pablo Diaz constructed the first Spanish airplane, the BCD-I, known as “EI Cangrejo” – the “Red Crab”, becoming the “Father of Spanish Aviation.”
By the mid 1920s Cierva’s success became known worldwide, and he was invited to Britain to demonstrate his machines to the Air Ministry.
Transferring operations to England in 1925 and forming Cierva Autogiro Ltd. on March 24,1926 with prominent Scottish industrialist James G. Weir, his brother Viscount William Weir of Eastwood and Sir Robert M. Kindersley, Cierva continued to improve the Autogiro and in early 1929 licensed the technology and rights to his patents to Harold Frederick Pitcairn of Bryn Athyn, P A. Early models of which were based on surplus Avro 504Ks. British, French, German, American, Japanese and Russian companies built Cierva type autogiros.
Two best known craft were C.8L, first rotorcraft to fly the English Channel, and C.30A, built by A. V. Roe as Rota for RAF. Production of other Autogiros licensed by Cierva to Airwork (C.30, C. 30P); Avro (C.6, C.8, C.9, C.12, C.17, C.19, C.30A, C.30P); British Aircraft Manufacturing Co (C.40); Comper (C.25); de Havilland (C.24, C.26); George Parnall & Co. (C.10, C.11); and Westland (CL.20).
Weir formed a separate company (G. & J. Weir Ltd.) in 1933, and reestablished Cierva Company in 1944.
In 1936, Cierva was killed in the Croydon KLM airliner accident when the aircraft in which he was a passenger crashed after taking off in fog. From 1936 to 1939 James Allan Jamieson Bennett was Chief Technical Officer of the company. Dr. Bennett carried through with Cierva’s intention to offer the Royal Navy a gyrodyne, which Cierva had argued would be simpler, more reliable and efficient than the proposed helicopter. Bennett’s design, the C.41, was tendered to the Air Ministry (Specification S.22/38) but preliminary work was abandoned with the outbreak of World War II. Bennett joined Fairey Aviation in 1945, where he led the development of the Fairey FB-1 Gyrodyne.
After Second World War evolved (jointly with above company), the W.9, a two-seat helicopter using jet thrust to counteract torque. The W.11 Air Horse three-rotor design was built for Cierva by Cunliffe-Owen; designed specifically for crop-spraying, it was first flown December 8,1948. The first prototype of the Air Horse crashed killing Alan Marsh, Cierva’s manager and Chief Test Pilot John “Jeep” Cable, Ministry of Supply Chief Helicopter Test Pilot, and J. K. Unsworth the Flight Engineer. This led Weir to cease further investment in the company and its development contracts were transferred to Saunders-Roe.
The W.14 Skeeter, small two-seat helicopter, first flown October 8,1948. Both designs taken over in 1951 by Saunders-Roe, together with other Cierva projects. Company then concentrated on research; eventually reemerged as Cierva Rotorcraft Ltd, and bought up Rotorcraft Ltd. in April 1966 and Servotec Ltd. in 1968.The prototype CR.LTH-1 flew October 18,1969, but was not produced due to lack of funds.
J.Weir maintained a working association with J.S.Shapiro, and in 1961 63 Servotec built a man carrying helicopter model to embody Weir’s ideas of a non stalling rotor, which emerged from many years of model tests. In the course of this collaboration, Weir became aware of the CR Twin development and in 1965 decided to give this development financial support. This combination of interests was cemented in a take over of Rotorcraft Ltd by the Cierva Autogiro Co, which was thereupon renamed the Cierva Rotorcraft Co. The largest shareholders were Weir and Shapiro.
Church Aeroplane Co 1910 glider
Daniel A. Kreamer was a railroad engineer from Freeport, Illinois. In 1910 he bought a glider from the Church Aeroplane Co. of Brooklyn, NY, in which he made some very successful flights, towed by an automobile and cutting loose when 75 or 80 feet high and gliding several hundred feet to the ground. He apparently considered installing an engine in the glider, but instead bought a Curtiss-type biplane built by Everette K. Barnes and Harold H. Havens of Rockford, IL. Kreamer lost his life at the Chicago Aero Club’s field on July 13th, 1911, when he lost control during a turn while trying for his pilot’s license.
Church Aeroplane Co
Brooklyn, NY
USA
Built gliders circa 1910.
Christmas Pusher Biplane 1912
Patented biplane configuration as invented by William Whitney Christmas (U.S. Patent 957,744 Flying machine, patented May 10, 1910), constructed by the Christmas Aeroplane Co. of Washington, DC. This version was fitted with a 6-cylinder 75 hp Roberts motor, photographed after making practice flights in the hands of Clinton O. Hadley at a height of 500 feet.
Christmas Red Bird
Christmas did patent, build, and fly a biplane of his own design in 1909. This aircraft, known as the Red Bird, was representative of many of his later designs and can be distinguished by its anhedral (down-sloping) upper wings and dihedral (up-sloping) lower wings. Another noteworthy tidbit about this design is that it appears to be a virtual copy of a plane built by a company named AEA that was, interestingly enough, also known as the Red Bird. In the words of one historian, “the eccentric Dr. Christmas was not above employing the ideas of others” and may well have patented another company’s design!
Nonetheless, the success of the first of three iterations of Red Bird and a modified Red Bird II led to the founding of the Christmas Aeroplane Company based in Washington, DC, in 1910. The company became the Durham Christmas Aeroplane Sales & Exhibition Company around 1912 and later the Cantilever Aero Company after moving to Copiague, NY, in 1918.
The Red Bird II was flown at College Park, Maryland, in 1910.
It could carry three people with a 50 hp engine.
Christmas, Dr William Whitney
William Whitney Christmas was born in 1865. Christmas attended St. John’s Military Academy, the University of Virginia, and George Washington University obtaining Bachelor and Master of Arts degrees and becoming a medical doctor. However, he left his medical practice shortly after the Wright Brother’s first flights to pursue his own interest in the new field of aviation.
Dr. Christmas claimed to make his first flight in March of 1908 in a plane of his own design. Furthermore, he claimed that after the vehicle crashed into a tree, he burned it to prevent his design secrets from being stolen. While there is no solid evidence to support this story, Christmas did patent, build, and fly a biplane of his own design in 1909. This aircraft, known as the Red Bird, was representative of many of his later designs and can be distinguished by its anhedral (down-sloping) upper wings and dihedral (up-sloping) lower wings. Another noteworthy tidbit about this design is that it appears to be a virtual copy of a plane built by a company named AEA that was, interestingly enough, also known as the Red Bird. In the words of one historian, “the eccentric Dr. Christmas was not above employing the ideas of others” and may well have patented another company’s design!
Nonetheless, the success of the Red Bird and a modified Red Bird II led to the founding of the Christmas Aeroplane Company based in Washington, DC, in 1910. The company became the Durham Christmas Aeroplane Sales & Exhibition Company around 1912 and later the Cantilever Aero Company after moving to Copiague, NY, in 1918.
In 1912 he set an endurance and a ceiling record, and in 1918 he designed a plane with flexible wings.
While few of Christmas’ aircraft ever saw production, his most famous and controversial design was the Christmas Bullet. Christmas received a patent for the Bullet design in 1914, a fact which he used to make the claim that he had invented the aileron. Dr. Christmas even claimed that the US government bought the rights to his movable ailerons in 1923 for $100,000 to avoid a copyright infringement suit, but there appears to be no evidence to support this claim. In fact, Christmas is only one of many early pioneers who claim to have invented the aileron, including the Wrights and Glenn Curtis.
Dr. Christmas continued designing aircraft into the 1910s and 1920s, but none appear to have made it into production. Probably one of the most interesting concepts was the Aerial Express of 1928, a giant 100-passenger flying wing with intercontinental range that appears to have been inspired by Burnelli’s lifting fuselage aircraft. The Aerial Express, being of huge dimensions, was to have been powered by no less than eight powerful engines driving two enormous propellers. William Whitney Christmas always had a flair for self-promotion, having claimed not only the aileron but over 100 other aeronautical patents and some 200 additional inventions. While most of these claims have never been substantiated (10 to 15 aeronautical patents is probably more accurate), Christmas was a showman not only as an airplane designer and builder but also as a pilot. Having set endurance and ceiling records in 1912 and making appearances at numerous air shows, Christmas probably did much to excite the public about flight and to push the bounds of aviation technology.
Dr. William Whitney Christmas, credited with designing the first plane equipped with ailerons, passed away at Bellevue Hospital, New York of pneumonia, April 14, 1960 at the age of 94. He lived at 600 West 144th Street, New York.Dr. Funeral services were held at Croom, Maryland where he was buried.
Christie
Circa 1912, Christie built a radial engine. Details are unknown.
Chlebowski 1910 biplane
Chedeville 1911 No.2 monoplane
The 1911 Chedeville No. 2 was designed and built by George Chedeville in France.
All Aero 