Page 24 - Volume 11 Number 7

In 1916, Cessna was invited
to build airplanes in Wichita, thereby setting the city on its pathway to fame as a hub of aircraft manufacturing. The workshop was part of the Jones automobile factory located
north of the city, and a large
field served as the city’s first “aerodrome.” The photograph is historically important because the first airplane built in Wichita (left foreground) and the fuselage of the new Comet are visible. (COURTESY ROBERT PICKETT COLLECTION/ TEXTRON AVIATION)
extolled its 60-horsepower rating as one of the highest in the United States.3
In the wake of Clyde’s flights at the exposition, another pilot flew into town to put on her own show – Ruth Law. She had come to Wichita to demonstrate how helpless large cities were to aerial bombardment. Every morning newspapers across America carried stories of the war in Europe. Although airplanes were considered a novelty in the early years of the war, by 1916 field commanders viewed flying machines, and particularly large bombers, as airborne weapons platforms capable of leveling entire metropolitan areas. On October 10, Law took off in
her Curtiss biplane and “bombed” Wichita’s city hall, the Forum building and the court house. She was paid $750 per day for her efforts that included “stunt flying,” which Cessna considered foolishness and detrimental to the future of aviation. In contrast to Law, who used the airplane to sensationalize flying, Clyde was trying to commercialize the airplane.4
By November 1916, the Cessna Aeroplane Exhibition Company shut down operations as winter approached. The 1916 season had been highly profitable, and Clyde planned to build two more airplanes during the cold months to handle the busy schedule in 1917. In a
bold effort to promote his aircraft, Cessna planned to fly from Wichita to New York City in the summer of 1917. If all went well, he expected to land on Manhattan Island after flying for 18 hours and making three stops for fuel.
To attempt such a feat, however, would require a new aircraft and a more powerful engine. He estimated that if $2,000 could be obtained to acquire an engine of 100 horsepower, it would take only two months to construct the airframe. “From Wichita to New York” soon became the battle cry of the Cessna Aeroplane Exhibition Company as the brothers began to design the airplane. By December preliminary construction had begun. Unfortunately, funding was not forthcoming and Clyde eventually shelved his plans for the long-distance flight.
Construction of a new monoplane, however, continued unabated. Among the workers hired by Cessna to assist in building the ship was Miss Avis Van Hee, a jaunty young
JULY 2017
22 • KING AIR MAGAZINE