HISTORY
Engineering and Research
Corporation (ERCO) was
started by Henry
Berliner in
1930. Berliner was the son
of Emile
Berliner, who had patented
numerous inventions relating
to sound and acoustics,
and pioneer of helicopter
development with the
experimental Berliner
Helicopter.
The younger Berliner founded
ERCO to produce tools for
the manufacture of metal
aircraft and propellers. He
founded the company in a
shed at 2014 5th Street NW
Washington D.C. Berliner met Fred
Weick, an aeronautical
engineer, who worked with National
Advisory Committee for
Aeronautics in cowlings and
propellers on a 1926 while
developing the propellers
for the USS
Akron. Weick
also worked on an experimental
aircraft that
incorporated the up-to-date
safety features.
In 1935, the company moved
to 6100 Sligo Blvd.
In 1936, Weick left NACA to
work for ERCO on his "safety
airplane". In 1937, Berliner
purchased 50 acres of
land in Riverdale,
Maryland near
the College
Park Airport and
built the large ERCO factory
and airstrip. One of ERCO's
most significant
achievements was the
development of the Ercoupe aircraft.
The first experimental model
of the Ercoupe was
test-flown at College Park
airport in 1937. It had a
single tail (unlike the
eventual production
Ercoupes, with their
characteristic twin tails)
and was known as the "Jeep".
In late 1938, ERCO searched
unsuccessfully for a
suitable engine for its new
airplane. ERCO hired Harold
Morehouse, former engineer
in charge of small engine
design at Continental
Motors, to design a new
engine. He came up with the
inverted, in-line I-L
116, which provided good
pilot visibility and
enhanced aircraft
streamlining. ERCO installed
the I-L 116 in the prototype
Ercoupe Model 310 in 1939.
The engine performed well,
but ERCO discontinued it
when Continental introduced
the A-65 engine
in 1940, which generated
comparable horsepower at
half the cost. Construction
of the production prototype
was completed in 1939, and
certification by the CAA was
completed in 1940. The first
Ercoupe, serial No. 1, was
owned by George
Brinckerhoff, the operator
of the College Park Airport,
and flown there. It now is
at the National
Air and Space Museum.
During World War II, the
ERCO factory made several
products under contract with
the U.S. government,
including gun
turrets. ERCO earned an "E"
award for excellence in
meeting manufacturing goals
in its war contracts.
In 1947, Berliner decided to
leave the aviation industry
and sold the drawings,
tools, parts, materials and
distribution rights for the
Ercoupe to Sanders
Aviation, although the small
aircraft market had fallen
into decline.
In all, ERCO and Sanders
Aviation sold just over
5,000 Ercoupes.
In 1948, ERCO started
producing aircraft
simulators, becoming its
main line of business. In
November 1954, ERCO became
part of ACF.
Source:
Wikipedia