Page 29 - Volume 12 Number 8

payroll, including Clyde Cessna. Not surprisingly, Clyde vehemently objected but the die was cast. The board also agreed that all inventory on hand would be sold.
Mr. Cessna was saddened by the turn of events that had so swiftly overtaken him. He had worked diligently to keep the doors open, but he had no choice but to accept the board’s decisions. Plagued by a deepening Great Depression, attacked by grumbling stockholders and outgunned by the board of directors, Clyde Cessna fought the good fight but lost because of conditions beyond his control. He could only reflect on the brief period of success he had achieved. During the company’s time in business beginning in September 1927, records indicate that about 240 airplanes were sold with the majority bought by the Curtiss Flying Service.
Perhaps lesser men would have succumbed to defeat, but not Clyde Cessna. He chose to retreat and regroup. In 1932 he and Eldon would team up to form the C.V. Cessna Aircraft Company and wage their own war against the tough economic times in aviation by creating custom- built monoplanes for air racing. For Clyde Cessna it was not the end but a new beginning. 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.
In 1932-1933, while Walter Beech was building biplanes in Clyde’s factory, Clyde
and Eldon were building monoplane racers in Walter’s empty Travel Air factory. Their first creation, the CR-1 shown here, evolved into the CR-2 and CR-3 that were victorious in regional and national air races.
(ROBERT PICKETT COLLECTION/ KANSAS AVIATION MUSEUM)
AUGUST 2018 KING AIR MAGAZINE • 27