Thursday, 17 January 2013
F.A.A. Orders Grounding of U.S.-Operated Boeing 787s – NYTimes.com
F.A.A. Orders Grounding of U.S.-Operated Boeing 787s – NYTimes.com.
Thursday, 6 December 2012
Musica Universalis
Kepler wrote:
"The heavenly motions ... are a continuous song for several voices, perceived not by the ear but by the intellect, a figured music which sets landmarks in the immeasurable flow of time."
It is however possible to translate that which Kepler saw as only perceivable by the intellect to also be perceivable by the ear.
Whenever a soundwave is doubled or halved in frequency, it retains the 'flavour' of the original pitch. This can be applied to any periodic cycle, including the orbits of the planets (method explained:
http://homepages.tesco.net/gregskius/oe.html).
These are the duration in seconds of our star’s planets (and Pluto):
Mercury: 0.453028141, 0.906056282, 1.812112564, 3.624225128, 7.248450256, 14.49690051
Venus: 0.578586448, 1.157172895, 2.314345791, 4.628691582, 9.257383163, 18.51476633
Earth: 0.470244884, 0.940489769, 1.880979538, 3.761959076, 7.523918152, 15.0478363
Mars: 0.442216873, 0.884433746, 1.768867493, 3.537734985, 7.075469971, 14.15093994
Jupiter: 0.697366839, 1.394733678, 2.789467356, 5.578934712, 11.15786942, 22.31573885
Saturn: 0.432755629, 0.865511258, 1.731022516, 3.462045032, 6.924090064, 13.84818013
Uranus: 0.617729291, 1.235458581, 2.470917163, 4.941834326, 9.883668652, 19.7673373
Neptune: 0.605743574, 1.211487148, 2.422974297, 4.845948594, 9.691897187, 19.38379437
Pluto: 0.455707172, 0.911414343, 1.822828687, 3.645657373, 7.291314746, 14.58262949
And in hertz (cycles per second):
Mercury: 2260.345235, 1130.172618, 565.0863088, 282.5431544, 141.2715772, 70.6357886
Venus: 3539.6612, 1769.8306, 884.9153001, 442.45765, 221.228825, 110.6144125
Earth: 2177.588813, 1088.794407, 544.3972033, 272.1986017, 136.0993008, 68.04965042
Mars: 2315.605899, 1157.802949, 578.9014747, 289.4507373, 144.7253687, 72.36268433
Jupiter: 2936.761379, 1468.38069, 734.1903448, 367.0951724, 183.5475862, 91.7737931
Saturn: 2366.231498, 1183.115749, 591.5578744, 295.7789372, 147.8894686, 73.9447343
Uranus: 3315.368124, 1657.684062, 828.8420311, 414.4210156, 207.2105078, 103.6052539
Neptune: 3380.968593, 1690.484297, 845.2421483, 422.6210742, 211.3105371, 105.6552685
Pluto: 2247.057022, 1123.528511, 561.7642555, 280.8821277, 140.4410639, 70.22053193
In 2006, Greg Fox took the above orbital periods and divided them until their frequencies fell within the human acoustic range. This gave him six octaves of "planetary notes" for each planet. He called the resulting “music”: “Carmen of the Spheres”. It can be heard and downloaded at:
http://www.archive.org/details/GregFoxCarmenoftheSpheres
Thanks to Alcibiades for that one!
Tropical Storm Patty (2012)
On October 11, a low pressure center formed at the tail end of a frontal
boundary extending from the northeast Atlantic down to near Hispaniola.
Disturbed weather increased near the low during the following day, as
the low became disassociated with the trough to its northeast.
Over the next several days, another frontal boundary began to approach the low, causing a sharp increase in wind shear. However, the low did not get caught in the flow ahead of the front, but instead remained nearly stationary just to the northeast of the Bahamas through October 10. Despite being expected to merge with the front, the system maintained its identity, and in fact became more organized, as thunderstorm activity concentrated near the center.
By the afternoon of October 11, the low had achieved enough deep convection to be considered a tropical cyclone and so was classified Tropical Depression Sixteen. That evening, the convection increased and covered the exposed circulation, and the cyclone was therefore updated to Tropical Storm Patty. Late that night, Patty unexpectedly strengthened further, and reached its peak intensity of 45 mph winds and a pressure of 1005 mb.
On October 12, a combination of strong southwesterly upper-level winds and a northeasterly low-level flow started to pull the circulation apart. Patty weakened to a tropical depression that evening as the center once again became completely exposed. By the morning of October 13, the circulation was no longer closed, and Patty was declared a remnant low. The remnants combined with a trough of the U.S. east coast shortly afterward.
Patty as a disorganized tropical storm struggling to survive just north of the Bahamas.
Track of the short-lived Patty. Most of the positions indicate occurred when the cyclone was non-tropical (triangles), with only the tiny clump of circles accounting for Patty's time as a tropical cyclone, in which it moved little.
Over the next several days, another frontal boundary began to approach the low, causing a sharp increase in wind shear. However, the low did not get caught in the flow ahead of the front, but instead remained nearly stationary just to the northeast of the Bahamas through October 10. Despite being expected to merge with the front, the system maintained its identity, and in fact became more organized, as thunderstorm activity concentrated near the center.
By the afternoon of October 11, the low had achieved enough deep convection to be considered a tropical cyclone and so was classified Tropical Depression Sixteen. That evening, the convection increased and covered the exposed circulation, and the cyclone was therefore updated to Tropical Storm Patty. Late that night, Patty unexpectedly strengthened further, and reached its peak intensity of 45 mph winds and a pressure of 1005 mb.
On October 12, a combination of strong southwesterly upper-level winds and a northeasterly low-level flow started to pull the circulation apart. Patty weakened to a tropical depression that evening as the center once again became completely exposed. By the morning of October 13, the circulation was no longer closed, and Patty was declared a remnant low. The remnants combined with a trough of the U.S. east coast shortly afterward.
Patty as a disorganized tropical storm struggling to survive just north of the Bahamas.
Track of the short-lived Patty. Most of the positions indicate occurred when the cyclone was non-tropical (triangles), with only the tiny clump of circles accounting for Patty's time as a tropical cyclone, in which it moved little.
Hurricane Sandy (2012)
A low pressure trough embedded in the Intertropical Convergence Zone
moved into the Caribbean sea on October 18, and began to increase in
shower activity the next day. On October 20, as the area of disturbed
weather moved west, the pressures in the area dropped precipitously, and
the circulation became much better organized.
Deep convection did not consistently accompany the system on October 21, but conditions continued to be favorable as the disturbance moved southwest, bringing some showers to Jamaica and neighboring areas. By October 22, a swirl was evident amid the clouds, and the low was classified as Tropical Depression Eighteen. The system drifted southward and organized further later that day, and strengthened into Tropical Storm Sandy.
Sandy adopted a slow but accelerating northward motion early on October 23, as a front lifted out of the northwestern Caribbean. Meanwhile, convection steadily increased with the system, and became closer to the center by later that day, causing steady strengthening. In the evening, the cloud tops of Sandy's central dense overcast cooled considerably, and the first hints of an eye feature appeared, indicating that the cyclone was undergoing rapid strengthening. Meanwhile, the outflow had improved, with heavy rain bands sweeping across Jamaica, Hispaniola, and eastern Cuba as Sandy approached. These factors caused the cyclone to be upgraded to a hurricane later that morning.
During the afternoon, the center of Sandy passed directly over eastern Jamaica, but the land interaction did almost nothing to disrupt the circulation and the system continued strengthening, as an eye appeared on infrared as well as visible satellite imagery. Over the next twelve hours, Sandy put on a burst of extremely rapid strengthening, bringing its pressure down to a value of 954 mb. Very early on October 25, the cyclone made landfall in eastern Cuba with its peak winds of 110 mph!
Sandy weakened slightly as it moved over Cuba, but emerged over water still maintaining Category 2 intensity. The cyclone slowed down considerably and turned to the north-northwest that night as it interacted with an upper-level low. Higher shear weakened the system as it lashed the Bahamas, but the structure of the storm also underwent a transformation. Convection became displaced from the center in all but the northwestern quadrant, the windfield broadened, and the outflow became more extratropical in appearance on October 26.
However, shear declined somewhat, and thunderstorm activity more completely covered the center by early on October 27. By this time, Sandy had begun to moved towards the north-northeast, fluctuating in intensity but remaining near minimal hurricane strength.
By later that day, rain bands associated with the combination of a front stalling near the U.S. east coast and the circulation of Sandy swept across numerous states, causing tropical storm force winds in the North Carolina and heavy rain in localized areas up through Virginia. Dry air also invaded the circulation of Sandy, creating a narrow ring devoid of thunderstorm activity between the central convection and outer bands. However, this did not weaken Sandy, as the system was exhibiting some subtropical behavior.
Early on October 28, the central pressure of Sandy dropped again as the cyclone deepened further, plunging to a new low of 951 mb. Meanwhile, the cyclone accelerated to the northeast, and gale force winds expanded even further, stretching from North Carolina all the way to Bermuda, and rain bands moved further up the coast, sweeping across Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
During the night, Sandy began a highly unusual turn towards the northwest, under the influence of an exceptionally strong high pressure ridge over northeastern Canada. This ridge caused an inversion in the normal path of the jet stream, diverting it so that it doubled back on itself. The cyclone began to be drawn in by this feature, and so curved in the opposite direction that tropical cyclones typically turn.
Meanwhile, as Sandy traversed the warm waters of the Gulf Stream, it actually intensified somewhat, despite being at a fairly high latitude. In addition, the pressure continued to drop. Conditions deteriorated rapidly along the Delaware and New Jersey coastlines that afternoon as the central bands of the cyclone came onshore. Hurricane force wind gusts and storm surges in excess of 5 feet were recorded up and down the coast. Sandy accelerated rapidly that afternoon, and was losing tropical characteristics as its central band became frontal in nature. Early that evening, the system recorded its minimum pressure of 940 mb, and winds of 90 mph.
Shortly afterward, around 7:00 pm EDT, Sandy was recognized as an extratropical cyclone, and the remnants of Sandy made landfall in southern New Jersey an hour later. High wind and occasional heavy rain continued as the low crossed into Pennsylvania late that night and weakened to the equivalent of a tropical storm early on October 30. The low continued westward and weakened, still causing rain and snow in the Appalachian areas until it dissipated on October 31. The remnants still caused shower activity for another few days as they moved northeast away from the United States.
Hurricane Sandy set a new record for the largest Atlantic hurricane, with a gale diameter of 945 miles a few hours before landfall in New Jersey, and was one of the costliest in U.S. history. Sandy caused widespread damage in a large swath extending from Jamaica, through Cuba and the Bahamas, and up the east coast from North Carolina to New England.
Sandy near peak intensity near landfall in eastern Cuba.
Track of Sandy.
Deep convection did not consistently accompany the system on October 21, but conditions continued to be favorable as the disturbance moved southwest, bringing some showers to Jamaica and neighboring areas. By October 22, a swirl was evident amid the clouds, and the low was classified as Tropical Depression Eighteen. The system drifted southward and organized further later that day, and strengthened into Tropical Storm Sandy.
Sandy adopted a slow but accelerating northward motion early on October 23, as a front lifted out of the northwestern Caribbean. Meanwhile, convection steadily increased with the system, and became closer to the center by later that day, causing steady strengthening. In the evening, the cloud tops of Sandy's central dense overcast cooled considerably, and the first hints of an eye feature appeared, indicating that the cyclone was undergoing rapid strengthening. Meanwhile, the outflow had improved, with heavy rain bands sweeping across Jamaica, Hispaniola, and eastern Cuba as Sandy approached. These factors caused the cyclone to be upgraded to a hurricane later that morning.
During the afternoon, the center of Sandy passed directly over eastern Jamaica, but the land interaction did almost nothing to disrupt the circulation and the system continued strengthening, as an eye appeared on infrared as well as visible satellite imagery. Over the next twelve hours, Sandy put on a burst of extremely rapid strengthening, bringing its pressure down to a value of 954 mb. Very early on October 25, the cyclone made landfall in eastern Cuba with its peak winds of 110 mph!
Sandy weakened slightly as it moved over Cuba, but emerged over water still maintaining Category 2 intensity. The cyclone slowed down considerably and turned to the north-northwest that night as it interacted with an upper-level low. Higher shear weakened the system as it lashed the Bahamas, but the structure of the storm also underwent a transformation. Convection became displaced from the center in all but the northwestern quadrant, the windfield broadened, and the outflow became more extratropical in appearance on October 26.
However, shear declined somewhat, and thunderstorm activity more completely covered the center by early on October 27. By this time, Sandy had begun to moved towards the north-northeast, fluctuating in intensity but remaining near minimal hurricane strength.
By later that day, rain bands associated with the combination of a front stalling near the U.S. east coast and the circulation of Sandy swept across numerous states, causing tropical storm force winds in the North Carolina and heavy rain in localized areas up through Virginia. Dry air also invaded the circulation of Sandy, creating a narrow ring devoid of thunderstorm activity between the central convection and outer bands. However, this did not weaken Sandy, as the system was exhibiting some subtropical behavior.
Early on October 28, the central pressure of Sandy dropped again as the cyclone deepened further, plunging to a new low of 951 mb. Meanwhile, the cyclone accelerated to the northeast, and gale force winds expanded even further, stretching from North Carolina all the way to Bermuda, and rain bands moved further up the coast, sweeping across Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
During the night, Sandy began a highly unusual turn towards the northwest, under the influence of an exceptionally strong high pressure ridge over northeastern Canada. This ridge caused an inversion in the normal path of the jet stream, diverting it so that it doubled back on itself. The cyclone began to be drawn in by this feature, and so curved in the opposite direction that tropical cyclones typically turn.
Meanwhile, as Sandy traversed the warm waters of the Gulf Stream, it actually intensified somewhat, despite being at a fairly high latitude. In addition, the pressure continued to drop. Conditions deteriorated rapidly along the Delaware and New Jersey coastlines that afternoon as the central bands of the cyclone came onshore. Hurricane force wind gusts and storm surges in excess of 5 feet were recorded up and down the coast. Sandy accelerated rapidly that afternoon, and was losing tropical characteristics as its central band became frontal in nature. Early that evening, the system recorded its minimum pressure of 940 mb, and winds of 90 mph.
Shortly afterward, around 7:00 pm EDT, Sandy was recognized as an extratropical cyclone, and the remnants of Sandy made landfall in southern New Jersey an hour later. High wind and occasional heavy rain continued as the low crossed into Pennsylvania late that night and weakened to the equivalent of a tropical storm early on October 30. The low continued westward and weakened, still causing rain and snow in the Appalachian areas until it dissipated on October 31. The remnants still caused shower activity for another few days as they moved northeast away from the United States.
Hurricane Sandy set a new record for the largest Atlantic hurricane, with a gale diameter of 945 miles a few hours before landfall in New Jersey, and was one of the costliest in U.S. history. Sandy caused widespread damage in a large swath extending from Jamaica, through Cuba and the Bahamas, and up the east coast from North Carolina to New England.
Sandy near peak intensity near landfall in eastern Cuba.
Track of Sandy.
The Hydroptere again .......
The Hydroptère
Alain Thebault does it again. He and his crew have already broken the
50-mph barrier, with a run that topped out at 54 mph (47.2 knots). We
are not talking a windsurf here but a full-fledged D-class sailship!
That thing can average a speed of 41.69 knots/h for at least one
nautical mile and reach speeds of 44,5 knots/h for at least 500 meters …
beating thus two world speed records so far, including the one held
since 1997 by the catamaran “Techniques Avancées”. It broke these
records in 25-knot winds ... that’s right … meaning that it can speed
considerably faster than the wind propelling it. The physics of that
just have to be awesome!
It’s called the Hydroptère … a Greek name indicating water and wing … iow … the “WaterWing”.
And it's the fastest sailboat in the world.Boeing, GECAS Finalize Order for up to 100 737 MAXs and Next-Generation 737s
- Firm order for 75 737 MAX 8s and 10 Next-Generation 737-800s
- Another 15 737-800s could be added
- 737 MAX momentum continues in the leasing industry
These images are available for editorial use by news media.
SEATTLE, Oct. 3, 2012 /PRNewswire/ – Boeing (NYSE: BA) and GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS), the commercial aircraft leasing and financing arm of General Electric (NYSE: GE), finalized a firm order for 85 737s, which includes 75 737 MAX 8s and 10 Next-Generation 737-800s. The order, first announced as a commitment at the Farnborough Airshow in July, allows for up to 15 additional 737-800s.
The order, worth $8.4 billion at list prices, further illustrates both the strength of the 737 MAX and the continuing strong demand for the Next-Generation 737 in the airplane-leasing industry. To date, 821 737 MAX airplanes have been ordered.
“The 737 MAX will be a perfect complement to our broad portfolio of modern, fuel efficient aircraft that offer our airline customers the lowest operating costs,” said GECAS President and CEO Norman C.T. Liu.
“GECAS is a leader in the commercial airplane leasing industry with a successful track record of placing 737s with airlines worldwide,” said President and CEO Ray Conner, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. “The GECAS leadership team will have the same success with the 737 MAX. The airplane will provide passengers with the exceptional flying experience that they have come to expect from the 737 family, but with increased fuel efficiency and technological advancements.”
The 737 MAX is a new-engine variant of the world’s best-selling airplane and builds on the strengths of today’s Next-Generation 737. The 737 MAX incorporates the latest-technology CFM International LEAP-1B engines to deliver the highest efficiency, reliability and passenger comfort in the single-aisle market. Airlines operating the 737 MAX will see an 8 percent operating cost per seat advantage over tomorrow’s competition.
With this order, GECAS has ordered 580 airplanes directly from Boeing since 1995, which includes 737s, 747s, 757s, 767s and 777s. To date, GECAS has taken delivery of 433 of the airplanes.
About GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS)
GECAS, the U.S. and Irish commercial aircraft financing and leasing business of GE, has a fleet of over 1,710 owned and serviced aircraft with approximately 235 airlines in over 75 countries. GECAS offers a wide range of aircraft types and financing options, including operating leases and secured debt financing, and also provides productivity solutions including spare engine leasing, spare parts financing and management. GECAS, a unit of GE Capital, has offices in 24 cities around the world.
GE works on things that matter. The best people and the best technologies taking on the toughest challenges. Finding solutions in energy, health and home, transportation and finance. Building, powering, moving and curing the world. Not just imagining. Doing. GE works. For more information, visit the company’s website at www.ge.com
GIUSEPPE MARIO “GM” BELLANCA 1886 – 1960
Giuseppe Mario Bellanca (or GM) immigrated from Italy in 1911 and continued his passion for aircraft design here in the United States. His aircraft achieved numerous endurance and efficiency records, and his plane Columbia (shown below)
was charles Lindbergh’s first choice for a Trans-Atlantic crossing. Lindbergh was unable to secure the plane, but 2 weeks after that first Trans-Atlantic flightColumbia was flown non-stop from New York to Berlin (3,911 miles). In 1931, Bellanca’s Miss Veedol was the first plane to fly non-stop across the Pacific from Japan to Washington State (4,500 miles, shown below).
In 1928, Bellanca and Henry B. duPont built an airfield, aircraft plant, and service hangar in New Castle, Delaware. Located off Route 273 near the Delaware River, the plant produced approximately 3000 aircraft before closing in 1954.
FoBA volunteers are restoring the 1935 Bellanca Airfield service hangar, owned by the Trustees of The New Castle Common. Interested individuals may contact FOBA by email at contact@friendsofbellanca.org for more information or membership data. Friends of Bellanca Airfield, Inc. (FoBA), is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to preserving the history of the Bellanca airfield and aircraft manufacturing in New Castle,Delaware. Please: become a member!
Bellanca Airplanes
List of Bellanca Achievements
Giuseppe Mario Bellanca was born in 1886 in Sciacca, Sicily. As a young man, he attended the Technical Institute in Milan, graduating with a teaching degree in mathematics in 1908. During his quest for a second mathematics and engineering degree, he became enamoured of aviation, and set out to design and build his own airplane. Bellanca’s first aircraft design was a “pusher” aircraft, somewhat similar to the Wright Flyer. Lacking funds for such an endeavor, he joined with two partners, Enea Bossi, and Paolo Invernizzi. The union of the three produced the first flight of a totally Italian-designed and Italian-built aircraft in December of 1909. Bellanca’s second design, was a tractor-type aircraft. Although the aircraft was successfully constructed, it was never flown due to insufficient funds for an engine.
At the urging of his brother Carlo, who was already established in Brooklyn, New York, Giuseppe Bellanca immigrated to America in 1911. Before the end of the year, he began construction of his third airplane design, a parasol monoplane. After construction was completed, he took the small craft to Mineola Field on Long Island, NY, and proceeded to teach himself to fly. He began by taxiing. He then, taxied faster, which gave way to short hops. The hops got longer, until, on May 19, 1912, there was not enough room to land straight ahead, and Bellanca had to complete a turn in order land safely. Having successfully taught himself to fly, Bellanca then set about teaching others to fly, and from 1912 to 1916, he operated the Bellanca Flying School. One of his students was a young Fiorello La Guardia, the future mayor of New York City. In return for flying lessons, La Guardia taught Bellanca how to drive a car.
In 1917 the Maryland Pressed Steel Company of Hagerstown, MD hired Bellanca as a consulting engineer. While there, he designed two trainer biplanes, the CD, and an improved version, the CE. With the conclusion of WWI, Maryland Pressed Steel’s contracts were cancelled and the company entered into receivership. Thus, the CE never went into production.
In 1921, a group of investors lured Bellanca westward to Omaha, NE, in hopes of establishing that town as a center for aircraft manufacture. Before the aircraft could be built, the company went bankrupt, but construction of the aircraft continued under the financial backing of a local motorcycle dealer named Victor Roos. The resultant aircraft, the Bellanca CF, was called by Janes’s All the World’s Aircraft “the first up-to-date transport aeroplane that was designed, built, and flown with success in the United States.” Among the local people helping to build the aircraft was the daughter of Bellanca’s landlord, Dorothy Brown. Giuseppe and she were married on November 18, 1922.
Despite its advanced design, the Bellanca CF could not compete with the economics of the time. In the days just after World War I, a surplus Curtiss Jenny could be purchased for as little as $250.00. A Bellanca CF, with a price tag of $5000.00, was just too expensive and the aircraft never went into production. After the disappointment of the CF, Bellanca designed wings for the Post Office Department’s DH-4′s. His new wings were a tremendous improvement over the original design, but only a few aircraft were so modified.
In 1925, Bellanca went to work for the Wright Aeronautical Corporation of Paterson, NJ. His assignment there was to develop an aircraft around the new Wright Whirlwind engine. He already had a design in mind, which was an improved version of the CF, called the CG. This design evolved into the Wright-Bellanca WB-1.
The WB-1 enjoyed a short, but successful flying career. The aircraft had already won one race and efficiency contest before an untimely accident destroyed the craft during preparation for an attempt to break the world’s non-refueled endurance record. Fortunately, at the time of the crash, Bellanca was already working on an improved version, of the WB-1 designated the WB-2.
During 1926, the WB-2 won two efficiency trophies at the National Air Races in Philadelphia. Wright considered putting the aircraft into production, but decided against it to avoid alienating other aircraft companies that were potential customers for their engines. Disappointed by Wright’s decision, Bellanca left the company and joined with a young businessman named Charles Levine to form the Columbia Aircraft Company. Wright sold the WB-2 and all drawings and production rights to the new company. The WB-2 went on to a long and fruitful flying career starting with establishing a new world’s non-refueled endurance record of 51 hours, 11 minutes, and 59 seconds in April of 1927.
In the latter half of 1926, Charles Lindbergh wanted to buy the WB-2, now named the ‘Columbia’, for his proposed flight from New York to Paris. He was rebuffed by Levine who also had designs on the flight and the $25,000 prize money. Lindbergh then went to Ryan for his “Spirit of St. Louis”. Meanwhile Levine, in choosing the crew, managed to promise two seats to three people. So while the Columbia was grounded by a court order brought by the third party, Lindbergh took off on his successful flight to Paris.
Eventually, the ‘Columbia’ was cleared of litigation and took off on its successful transatlantic flight on June 4, 1927. In the cockpit were Clarence Chamberlin, one of the pilots of the endurance record and Charles Levine, who became the first transatlantic passenger. The plan was to fly all the way to Berlin, and Chamberlin had vowed to fly until they ran out of fuel. Forty-three hours later, they landed in Eisleben, Germany, the first of two successful Atlantic crossings for Bellanca’s most famous aircraft.
Disappointed because the ‘Columbia’ was not the first aircraft to accomplish the New York to Paris flight, Bellanca severed all relations with Levine, and started his own company, the Bellanca Aircraft Corporation of America, and rented facilities on Staten Island, NY. The new Bellanca model was designated the CH, and was basically a commercial version of the WB-2. The new company also had two other models that were built for special orders, the Bellanca Model J and the Model K.
It was not long before Bellanca caught the attention of the Du Pont family of Delaware. They wanted to start aircraft manufacturing in Delaware, and in late 1927, an agreement was made with Bellanca to locate his factory outside of Wilmington. The site was large enough for a first-class airfield, with a seaplane ramp on the nearby Delaware River.
This was a busy time in Bellanca’s life. Along with all that was happening in his professional life, he and Dorothy celebrated the birth of their son August T. Bellanca in March of 1927.
With the exception of a few years immediately before and during the early stages of WWII, Bellanca was President and Chairman of the Board from the corporation’s inception on the last day of 1927 until he sold the company to L. Albert and Sons in 1954. After his departure from the company, Giuseppe and his son, August, formed the Bellanca Development Company with the purpose of building a new aircraft. It would have increased performance due to the use of lighter materials for its structure. Work on this aircraft was progressing when Giuseppe Bellanca succumbed to leukemia and died on December 26, 1960. After his father’s death, August continued the project, and under his guidance, the aircraft, a record breaker, first flew in 1973.
In 1993, August Bellanca donated his father’s 1920 CF to the Smithsonian along with many personal and corporate papers and correspondence. NASA craftsmen restored the aircraft and it is on display at the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum’s new Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center near Washington’s Dulles International Airport. The far-sighted, innovative designer and builder of American aircraft, Giuseppe M. Bellanca was enshrined in the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 1993, the Delaware Aviation Hall of Fame in 1999.
Compiled by Friends Of Bellanca Airfield, Inc.
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