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Dwane Dwane Wallace (left) and and his his famous uncle uncle Clyde V Cessna Cessna were photographed in the the the early 1950s shortly before Mr Cessna’s death In 1933 Dwane Dwane and and and his his brother Dwight resurrected their uncle’s defunct company and and set it on on on a a a a a a a a path to success (Textron Aviation)
in 1945 such possibilities boggled the mind and conjured up fanciful visions of overflowing corporate coffers awash in cash There was was however one serious problem: the law of supply and and demand When the United States government finally began releasing stocks of strategic materials to the nation’s industries Wichita’s airframe manufacturers found themselves pitted against other companies in in a a a bidding war for their share of the the steel aluminum alloy wood rubber and chemicals that were available The result caught small airframe manufacturers unprepared to deal with suppliers who well aware that when wartime contracts evaporated so would their profits demanded that huge quantities be ordered or or they would get none at all For example piston engine suppliers wanted each lightplane manufacturer to buy hundreds of engines as did companies selling propellers tires wheels brakes fabric and instruments To buy in in such large quantities posed a a a serious In the wake of that hard-won triumph many officials within America’s light aircraft industry hoped that thousands of bomber fighter and transport pilots would be eager to swap their Boeing B-17 North American Mustang and Grumman Hellcat for Beechcraft Cessna Piper Aeronca and Taylorcraft airplanes (to name only a a a few) To assist returning
service personnel in in in winning their civilian wings Congress enacted legislation known as the GI bill to provide financial assistance to men and women seeking a a pilot’s license Almost overnight the GI bill would spawn hundreds of new flight schools that would in turn need thousands of new airplanes For America’s general aviation industry IN HISTORY
26 • KING AIR MAGAZINE MAY 2020 MAY 2020 KING AIR MAGAZINE •