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early as 1919. These included the Ordnance Engineering Company (ORENCO) Type F Tourister that accommodated three passengers and the pilot; the Dayton-Wright O.W. 1 Aerial Sedan and the K.T. 1 Cabin Cruiser that had seating for up to four occupants; the two-place Vought VE-7, Thomas-Morse Type S6 and the Boeing and Aeromarine seaplanes, to name only a few. In response to the loss of military contracts after 1918, airframe manufacturers attempted to win new business by developing commercial aircraft. These companies’ aircraft, along with the E.M. Laird Company Partnership, were the first attempts to serve what they hoped was an emerging marketplace.
The 1921 Biennial Census of Manufacturers compiled by the Department of Commerce reported that there were 21 companies building commercial and military aircraft in the United States. Of these, only the E.M. Laird Company Partnership was listed as active in Sedgwick County, Kansas, where Wichita was located. Laird was correct to state that the Swallow was not a rebuilt, ex-military machine, but he was quick to point out that what set his design apart from other would-be competitors was that it was built specifically to address the “exacting requirements of commercial aviation,” according to Matty. By “exacting requirements,” Laird meant that the Swallow would make money for its owners.
A letter from Reed E. Davis, sales manager for the North Platte Aircraft Company in Nebraska, reflects the Swallow’s success:
“Arrived OK with the Swallow and made the trip from Wichita here in three hours 30 minutes using 26 gallons of gas. The first Swallow we got grossed us about $3,000 in the two weeks we have had it and I believe business will
Four factory-fresh Swallows awaited flight tests before delivery to customers. The Laird company flying field was flat and expansive and hailed by local and transiting pilots as one of the best facilities in the Midwestern United States. (Joan Laird Post Collection)
be equally as good for the next few months. The planes are certainly giving satisfaction to us and the performance is surprising everyone who has used the OX-5 motor in Canucks and JN-4Ds. We have no difficulty getting in and out of small fields carrying two passengers and full tanks of gas, and we have flown the Swallow at altitudes as high as 4,500 feet.”
During his first two years in Wichita, Matty Laird had achieved a number of important goals. The Swallow was in limited production and selling well, the factory had sufficient orders to remain busy into the early months of 1921, and most important, the company had sold every airplane built and the business was on a firm financial footing. According to the 1920 annual report of the E.M. Laird Company Partnership and its manufacturing subsidiary, the Wichita Laird Airplane Corporation, Laird and Moellendick each held 122
shares of stock and the company was capitalized at $25,000.
The Laird Swallow was the genesis of Wichita’s phenomenal growth into America’s centerpiece of the early commercial airplane industry. Looking back 100 years later, it should never be forgotten that the city owes an incalculable debt of gratitude to E.M. Laird, Jacob Melvin Moellendick and William “Billy” Burke for recognizing the town’s potential to become a major hub of aircraft manufacturing that continues unabated. KA
Ed Phillips, now retired and living in the South, has researched and written eight books on the unique and rich aviation history that belongs to Wichita, Kan. His writings have focused on the evolution of the airplanes, companies and people that have made Wichita the “Air Capital of the World” for more than 80 years.
APRIL 2020
KING AIR MAGAZINE • 33