Page 24 - June Volume 10 Volume 6

In 1934, Wichita witnessed the resurrection of Clyde Cessna’s original company, thanks entirely to the efforts of Dwane Wallace and his brother, Dwight. The reborn Cessna Aircraft Company’s first product was the C-34 (later known as the Airmaster), powered by a Warner Scarab radial engine rated at 145 horsepower. The airplane shown is a C-165 owned and flown by Dwane Wallace.
(EDWARD H. PHILLIPS COLLECTION)
the T-50 was aimed at the business/air taxi and charter segment of the market, but was also capable of serving as a short-haul, regional airline transport.5
The Cessna Aircraft Company had an excellent twin- engine airplane that would sell in a depressed market, but the aviation business was still a constant struggle as Wallace fought to keep the books in the black. In the years 1935-1940, profits were razor thin and it was a never-ending battle to meet the payroll. For example, in the four months ending March 31, 1939, the books revealed a net loss of $1,123 – not bad considering the still slow heartbeat of America’s economy.
Walter Beech, Julius Schaefer and Dwane Wallace realized that war clouds were gathering over Europe, a mere 19 years after the Treaty of Versailles was signed. In 1918, one French general called the treaty nothing more than a 20-year cease-fire, and his prediction was uncannily accurate. Only a few thousand miles away, Europe was on the brink of another war. Germany’s Chancellor Adolph Hitler increased his saber-rattling rhetoric aimed at creating a 1,000-year Reich. On the other side of the world, Japan’s militarists were boasting
Walter and Olive Ann Beech posed with a Model C17 demonstrator at the Denver air races, held in July 1936. The Model 17 series continued to sell throughout the mid-to-late 1930s, but profits remained razor thin. Olive Ann Beech always maintained that the company was never in danger of bankruptcy during those uncertain times. (MARY LYNN OLIVER)