Command-Aire

Aircraft Manufacturer

Command-Aire

Formerly| Arkansas Aircraft Corporation
Industry| Aerospace
Predecessor| Arkansas Aircraft Company
Founded| 1926; 99 years ago (1926)
Founders|

* Major John Carroll Cone
* W. F. Moody

Defunct| 1931; 94 years ago (1931)
Fate| Bankrupt
Headquarters|

Little Rock, Arkansas

United States

Key people

* Albert Vollmecke
* Robert B. Snowden

Products| Aircraft
Command-Aire 5C3 N997E

The Command-Aire was an American aircraft manufacturer from the late 1920s and early 1930s based in Little Rock, Arkansas.

## History

[edit]

The company was founded on August 26, 1926 by Major J. Carroll Cone and W. F. Moody as the Arkansas Aircraft Corporation.[1][2] Aircraft were built in the former Climber Motor Company Factory at 1823 East 17th Street in Little Rock, Arkansas.[3] After a failed attempt by their first engineer to produce their design, they attempted to arrange the purchase of a production licence for the Heinkel HD 40, and when that fell through they hired a Heinkel engineer, Albert Vollmecke, who would be responsible for the rest of the company's designs.[2] In September 1928, the company was purchased by Robert B. Snowden and the name was changed to Command-Aire. With rapidly declining sales due to the Great Depression, and with no acceptable offers for a merger, the company declared bankruptcy in 1931 and its remaining assets were sold off.[1]

## Aircraft

[edit]

Model name  | 1st flight  | ATC #  | No. built  | Type

|
|
|
|

Glider[4] | 1928  | n/a  | 1  | glider (NX3895)
3C3[5] | 1928  | ATC 53, 2-201  | 178 or 179  | three seat biplane
4C3 | 1929  | n/a  | 1  | Prototype two-seat biplane
5C3[6] | 1929  | ATC 184, 2-251  | 63 or 64  | three seat biplane
BS-14 | 1930  | ATC 2-204  | 1  | Prototype two-seat training biplane
BS-16 | 1930  | n/a  | 2  | Prototype three-seat training biplane
MR-1 Little Rocket | 1930  | n/a  | 1  | Single-seat racing monoplane

## References

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Command-Aire.

### Citations

[edit]

1. ^ a b Lock, Robert G. "Development of Arkansas Aircraft Corporation Model 3C3" (PDF). OX5 Aviation Pioneers. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
2. ^ a b Smith, 1992, p.224-246
3. ^ "Command-Aire". Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Central Arkansas Library System. 12 December 2016. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
4. ^ Lock, Robert G. (February 2010). "My Friend Albert Vollmecke Part II". Vintage Airplane. Vol. 38, no. 2\. EAA Vintage Aircraft Association. pp. 19–24.
5. ^ Juptner, 1962, p.139-140
6. ^ Juptner, 1964, p.242-244

### Bibliography

[edit]

* Juptner, Joseph P. (1962). U.S. Civil Aircraft Vol. 1 (ATC 1 - 100). Los Angeles, CA: Aero Publishers. pp. 139–140\. LCCN 62-15967.
* Juptner, Joseph P. (1964). U.S. Civil Aircraft Vol. 2 (ATC 101 - 200). Los Angeles, CA: Aero Publishers. pp. 242–244\. LCCN 62-15967.
* Smith, William M. (1992). "The Right Plane at the Wrong Time: A Brief History of the Command-Aire Aircraft Company". The Arkansas Historical Quarterly. 51 (3): 224–246\. doi:10.2307/40023098. JSTOR 40023098.

* v
* t
* e

Arkansas Aircraft Corp. and Command-Aire aircraft

* CX-3
* 3C3
* 4C3
* 5C3
* BS-14
* BS-16
* MR-1 Little Rocket

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template