Kansas Aviation Timeline

1899 – Gabbey Airship Company in Rossville (it is not known if anything was ever produced)

1900 – Carl Dryden Browne opened a airplane factory in Freedom, Kansas.  A model was built and he applied for patents but never produced a working plane.  In 1902 the factory closed.

1908 – Ray Knabensue’s airship flies a few hundred feet at Wichita’s Peerless Prophets street fair.

1908— H. C. Call’s Aerial Navigation Company of Girard, produced 14 aircraft but none of them ever flew due to unscientific design

1909 --  William Purvis and Charles Wilson in Goodland formed the Goodland Aviation Company to design and build helicopters.  Was said to have achieved “tethered bounce” (p.3  Bourne on the Southwind) but never flew.  The company folded in 1911.  This is thought to be the first rotary-winged aircraft ever patented, and is a predecessor to the helicopter.

1910 – Multiplane limited of Atchison, produced model  but never a working aircraft

1910—JC Mars flies from Topeka to Kansas City in a Curtiss aircraft.

Sept. 2, 1911—A.K .Longren’s pusher biplane “The Topeka’ flies 6 miles—the first flight in Kansas by a Kansas made plane. 

Nov. 17, 1912 –Phillip Billard  (“Birdman”) flies over the city of Topeka in a Longren built and designed plane at 75 mph and at a height of  625 ft.  (the plane is at KSHS)

1911—Clyde Cessna flies a modified kit plane

1919 –E. M. Laird Company of Wichita produces 43 airplanes, “The Laird Limousine” and “The Swallow” 

1919—Longren Aircraft produces 6 aircraft ‘’The Topeka” and “The Kansas” among them.

1924—Clyde Cessna, Lloyd Stearman and Walter Beech form Travel Air Manufacturing.  

1927 – Cessna leaves Travel Air to form Cessna Aircraft Co.  First monoplane was the “Phantom” and it flew on August 13^th

1932 – Beech Aircraft Company is founded by Walter and Olive Beech.  Model 17 the “Staggerwing” is produced.

1934 –Boeing is founded (Wichita)

1937—Beech Aircraft introduces the Model 18 “Twin Beech” which is produced for 33 years.

1940s—Beechcraft produces 7,400 airplanes for the U. S. armed forces. 

1947—Model 35 the Beech Bonzana a high performance, single engine, business airplane is introduced.  Holds record for continuous production.

1952—Javelin Aircraft Wichita

1956 – Helio Aircraft Company of Pittsburg

1955—First Cessna 170, a four-place tailwheel plane with a 145 horsepower Continental engine, which becomes known as the Skyhawk flies.  The Skyhawk becomes the most widely produced light aircraft in history.

1963 –Learjet, Wichita