HISTORY
Harold Frederick Pitcairn,
the youngest son of PPG
Industries founder, John
Pitcairn, Jr., founded
Pitcairn Aircraft Company.
The business started with
the formation of Pitcairn
Flying School and Passenger
Service on 2 November 1924
which later became Eastern
Airlines.
In 1926, Pitcairn started
Pitcairn Aircraft Company
initially to build aircraft
for his growing airmail
service. He purchased a
field in Horsham Township,
Montgomery County,
Pennsylvania and built
Pitcairn Field no. 2.
The first
aircraft, a Pitcairn PA-1 Fleetwing
was built at the Bryn Athyn field.
In 1927, Pitcairn brought aboard a
friend and designer from his
apprenticeship days at Curtiss
Aeroplane and Motor Company, Agnew
E. Larson. Larson left the
Thomas-Morse Aircraft company to
join Pitcairn.
In June 1927, the state of the art
Wright Whirlwind powered Pitcairn
PA-5 Mailwing was introduced for
airmail service. The plane proved
popular and was bought by thirteen
other companies.
In 1928, Pitcairn purchased a Cierva
C.8W and the American manufacturing
rights from Juan de la Cierva for
his autogiro designs for $300,000.
In 1929, Pitcairn formed a separate
patent holding company to build
autogiros, the Pitcairn-Cierva
Autogiro Company, which was later
renamed the Autogiro Company of
America. Kellett autogyros competed
with, and eventually licensed
production rights from
Pitcairn-Cierva Autogiro Company for
$300,000.
As a part of the licensing
agreement, Pitcairn used Cierva's
copyrighted variant of the name
autogiro (spelt with an i) as
opposed to the currently more common
spelling of autogyro which was
initially used to bypass his
copyright.
In 1929, three prototypes
were built with one being
demonstrated in the 1929
Cleveland Air Races.
Following a fire in November
1929, The first PCA-1 was
built and tested the same
month. In June 1929,Clement
Keys personally bought all
the shares of Pitcairn
Aviation (The airline and
flying school) for 2.5
million dollars, and resold
them two weeks later to
North American Aviation,
which renamed the company
Eastern Air Transport, and
finally Eastern Airlines.
From this point on, Pitcairn
focused on autogiros.
In 1931 the company was
renamed to the Autogiro
Company of America (ACA).
In 1931,
The Detroit News
made history when they
bought the first Pitcairn
PCA-2 for use as a news
aircraft due to it ability
to fly well at low altitude
and speed, land and take off
from restricted spaces and
semi-hover for better camera
shots. This PCA-2 was the
ancestor of today's news
helicopters.
Also in 1931, pilot James G.
Ray landed an autogiro on
the South lawn of the White
House. Harold F. Pitcairn,
the pilot and three other
company members of the
Pitcairn-Cierva Autogiro
Company were present to
receive the Collier Trophy
for their development of the
autogyro.
In 1932, autogyro inventor
Cierva was greeted by U.S.
President Herbert Hoover,
who predicted in the future
we would have large
transport autogyros. Amelia
Earhart borrowed a company
Pitcairn PCA-2 model. She
arranged for the National
Aeronautics Association to
monitor the flight. Members
of the New York press and
Movietone News were invited
to watch. On her second
flight, she remained
airborne for about three
hours and set a woman's
autogiro altitude record of
18,415 feet. Later she
toured the country for
Beech-Nut Packing Company in
a bright green autogiro. On
the return trip she crash
landed in Abilene, Texas
earning her a reprimand from
the United States Department
of Commerce. A second crash
at the Michigan state fair,
caused an unintended injury
of her husband's ankle as he
ran to the scene.
In
1933, the parent company and
conventional aircraft
manufacturing arm, Pitcairn
Aircraft Company merged with
the autogiro arm, following
the end of Mailwing
production, and contract
air-mail flights.
On December 9, 1936 Juan de
la Cierva died in a crash of
a KLM
DC-2.
As a member of the board of
directors of the Cierva
Autogiro Company, Pitcairn
was shocked to learn shortly
afterward that the company
had also licensed technology
in Europe to the German
Focke Achgelis Company
creating competition to the
autogiro with a practical
helicopter, the Focke-Wulf
Fw 61.
In 1938, the company was
renamed to the
Pitcairn-Larson Autogiro
company, and again in 1940
to the AGA Aviation
Corporation.
In 1942, Pitcairn sold his
airfield and facilities to
the United States military
for $480,000, forming the
Naval Air Station Joint
Reserve Base Willow Grove.
AGA Aviation was now renamed
to G and A Aviation, and
became part of Goodyear Tire
and Rubber. Pitcairn reduced
royalties for 19 in house
patents and 145 licensed
patents to subcontractors of
the government during
wartime. After 1946, other
manufacturers continued to
produce helicopters without
paying royalties. The
company was dissolved in
1948. Pitcairn continued to
pursue litigation for use of
the patents by other firms
in 1951 that stretched into
a 1977 Supreme Court Case
awarding Pitcairn's estate
32 million dollars.
Source:
Wikipedia
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