Alexander Aircraft Company
| Former type | Aircraft Manufacturer |
|---|---|
| Predecessor(s) | Alexander Film Company |
| Successor(s) | Aircraft Mechanics, Inc |
| Founded | 1925 |
| Defunct | August 1932 |
| Headquarters | Englewood |
| Key people | J. Don Alexander, S. Don Alexander |
| Parent | Alexander Industries |
The Alexander Aircraft Company was an aircraft manufacturer in Colorado in 1925.[1] The company began life as the Alexander Film Company, under the brothers J. Don and S. Don Alexander. The company specialized in film advertising, but when the younger J. Don Alexander wanted forty or fifty airplanes for his salesmen, he was forced to produce his own aircraft, as no company at the time was able to fill such an order. Originally headquartered in Englewood, the film-turned-aircraft company was forced to move to Colorado Springs in order to expand.[2]
The company built a number of successful versions of the Alexander Eaglerock biplane. These planes were especially popular with barnstormers. (Test pilot Tony LeVier took his first flying lesson from a barnstormer in an Eaglerock in 1928.) They were also used for carrying airmail, aerial photography, crop dusting, and air racing.
For a brief period from 1928 to 1929, Alexander was the largest aircraft manufacturer in the world, and more aircraft were built in Colorado than anywhere else in the world. However, financial woes forced the company to liquidate in the early 1930s. Alexander would also be known for starting the career of Al Mooney, the founder of Mooney Aircraft, a general aircraft manufacturer that continues in operation in Kerrville, Texas.[3]
Contents |
Aircraft
| Model name | First flight | Number built | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alexander Eaglerock | 1925 | 893 | Two seat biplane |
| Alexander Bullet | 1929 | 12 | Four seat low-wing monoplane |
| Alexander Flyabout D-1 | 1931 | 3 | Two seat monoplane |
| Alexander Flyabout D-2 | 1931 | 15 | Two seat monoplane |
Survivors
Several Eaglerock aircraft survive, of the 893 built from 1926 to 1932.
A 1926 OX-5-powered Model 24 Eaglerock Long Wing (NC2568) is on display at the Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum; on loan from the Colorado Aviation Historical Society.
A 1930 Model A-14 Eaglerock (NC205Y), hangs at the west end of Concourse B of Denver International Airport. It was restored over a 25-year period by the Antique Airplane Association of Colorado.
A 1929 Eaglerock is on display at the Science Spectrum in Lubbock, Texas.
A 1928 Eaglerock (NC4648) is on display at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport; on loan from the Museum of Flight collection.
None of the 12 Alexander Bullet monoplanes remains, but a Wyoming pilot named Mary Senft Hanson recreated an airframe, and flew it successfully in October 2006. [4]
Model A-14 Gallery
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The front of the Eaglerock at DIA.
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The logo of the Alexander Aircraft Company on the tail.
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A bucking bronco on the side of the fuselage.
References
- ^ Donald M. Pattillo. A History in the Making: 80 Turbulent Years in the American General Aviation Industry. p. 8.
- ^ Southwest Aviator Magazine: Alexander Eaglerock Biplane, April/May 2000, Newberg, Ronald E.
- ^ MooneyEvents Website
- ^ FAA registry
External links
- Eaglerock Long Wing on display at Wings Over the Rockies
- Colorado Aviation Historical Society
- Alexander Eaglerock in the collection of the Seattle Museum of Flight
- Listing of Alexander model types, from Aerofiles.com
- Biography of J. Don Alexander
- The Bullet Project
- Al Mooney designs for Alexander Aircraft