| Founded | 1929 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Orland Corben |
| Headquarters | Toccoa, Georgia , United States |
| Products | Homebuilt aircraft |
| Owner | Bill Wood |
| Website | www |
The Ace Aircraft Manufacturing Company was established in Wichita, Kansas in 1929 by Orland Corben to market the world's first homebuilt aircraft, a machine of his own design called the Baby Ace. The enterprise did not last long before US regulations changed to restrict homebuilt aircraft, and Corben was forced to stop marketing his design.
Wichita is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County. As of 2017, the estimated population of the city was 390,591. Wichita is the principal city of the Wichita metropolitan area which had an estimated population of 644,610 in 2015.
Homebuilt aircraft, also known as amateur-built aircraft or kit planes, are constructed by persons for whom this is not a professional activity. These aircraft may be constructed from "scratch," from plans, or from assembly kits.
The Ace Baby Ace was the world's first aircraft to be marketed as a homebuilt aircraft when its plans were offered for sale in 1929. Plans are still available and Baby Aces are still being built today. Orland Corben designed a series of aircraft for the Ace Aircraft Manufacturing Company, the Baby Ace, Junior Ace, and Super Ace. Corben's name was associated with the aircraft, and it is commonly known as the Corben Baby Ace.
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He next commenced operations in Madison, Wisconsin in 1931 under the name Corben Sport Plane and Supply Company and produced a prototype sports plane known as the Super Ace. This endeavor soon languished, and the company remained dormant until Paul Poberezny purchased its assets for $US 200 in 1952. This included plans to three aircraft designs and a variety of components.
Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the seat of Dane County. As of July 1, 2017, Madison's estimated population of 255,214 made it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 82nd-largest in the United States. The city forms the core of the Madison Metropolitan Area which includes Dane County and neighboring Iowa, Green, and Columbia counties for a population of 654,230.
Paul Howard Poberezny was an American aviator, entrepreneur, and aircraft designer. He founded the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) in 1953, and spent the greater part of his life promoting homebuilt aircraft.
Poberezny was one of the founders of the Experimental Aircraft Association in 1953 and was approached by Mechanix Illustrated magazine the following year to write a series of articles on building an aircraft at home. Their publication caused considerable demand for plans, but Poberezny felt compelled to divest himself of marketing them in order to avoid any potential conflict of interest with his position within the EAA.
The Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) is an international organization of aviation enthusiasts based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Since its inception it has grown internationally with over 200,000 members and nearly 1,000 chapters worldwide.
Mechanix Illustrated was an American printed magazine that was originally published by Fawcett Publications and its title was founded in 1928 to compete against the older Popular Science and Popular Mechanics. Billed as "The How-To-Do Magazine," Mechanix Illustrated (MI) aimed to guide readers through various projects from home improvements and advice on repairs to "build-your-own ." It was headquartered in New York City.
A conflict of interest (COI) is a situation in which a person or organization is involved in multiple interests, financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another. Typically, this relates to situations in which the personal interest of an individual or organization might adversely affect a duty owed to make decisions for the benefit of a third party.
Since then, the rights have changed hands several times. They were purchased from Poberezny by Cliff Du Charme of West Bend, Wisconsin, who sold them to Edwin T. Jacob of McFarland, Wisconsin in 1961. Mr. Jacob sold them in 1965 to Thurman Baird of Asheville, North Carolina, who also owned the rights to the American Flea and the Heath Parasol aircraft. The rights were purchased from Baird's estate in 1986 by Denny Meadows of Chesapeake, West Virginia, who sold them to the current owner, Bill Wood of Toccoa, Georgia in 1998.
McFarland is a village in Dane County, Wisconsin, United States, on the eastern shore of Lake Waubesa. The population was 7,808 at the 2010 census. Its ZIP code is 53558. McFarland is part of the Madison Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Asheville is a city and the county seat of Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. It is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the 12th-most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The city's population was 89,121 according to 2016 estimates. It is the principal city in the four-county Asheville metropolitan area, with a population of 424,858 in 2010.
The Flying Flea is a large family of light homebuilt aircraft first flown in 1933.
