New Standard Aircraft Company
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| Industry | Aerospace |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1927 |
| Headquarters | Paterson, New Jersey |
Key people | Ivan R. Gates, co-founder; Charles H. Day, co-founder, president |
| Products | General aviation aircraft |
| Subsidiaries | New Standard Flying Services |
The New Standard Aircraft Company was an airplane manufacturing company based in the United States. It operated from 1927 until 1931.
Corporate history
[edit]The company was originally formed as the Gates-Day Aircraft Company on October 17, 1927, in Paterson, New Jersey.[1] The founders were Ivan R. Gates (owner of the famous Gates Flying Circus) and Charles H. Day (an aviation engineer with the Standard Aircraft Corporation).[1][2] The company initially updated the Standard Aircraft Corporation's Standard J-1 United States Army aircraft trainer and then sold it on the civilian market.[1] The firm built a number of biplanes on the J-1 model, including the Gates-Day D-25, GD-23, and GD-24.[1]
Day left the company in April 1928, and Charles L. Augur became its new president.[1] With more stable finances, the company changed its name to the New Standard Aircraft Company on December 29, 1928.[1][3] The company at one time considered merging with six other, unnamed aviation firms to form a much larger manufacturing concern,[4] but this plan was never acted on. The company continued to develop a large line of aircraft, but the onset of the Great Depression left it significantly weakened.[1] Day returned to the firm as president in 1930, but sold his financial interest in the company in the spring of 1931.[1][2][5] The company went bankrupt later that year.[1]
Despondent over the collapse of his company, Gates committed suicide on November 24, 1932.[6]
Aircraft developed
[edit]- Gates-Day GD-24 – precursor to New Standard D series; three were built
- New Standard D-24 – production version of GD-24; four were built and two were converted from GD-24s
- New Standard D-25 – five-seat "joy-rider"
- New Standard D-25A – 225 hp Wright J-6
- New Standard D-25B – 300 hp Wright J-6 crop-duster produced by White Aircraft Co. in 1940
- New Standard D-25C – alternative designation of D-29S
- New Standard D-25X – modified D-25; construction number 203
- New Standard NT-2[7]
- New Standard D-26 – three-seat business/executive transport
- New Standard D-26A & D-26B – D-26 with 225 hp Wright J6
- New Standard D-27 – single seat mail/cargo carrier
- New Standard D-27A – D-27 with night flying equipment
- New Standard D-28 – floatplane conversion of D-26
- New Standard D-29 – initial version 85 hp Cirrus Mk3 engine, 1 built.
- New Standard D-29A – production aircraft with 100 hp Kinner K-5
- New Standard NT-1 – Six New Standard D-29As supplied to the United States Navy as the NT-1 trainer in 1930.[8]
- New Standard D-29 Special – D-29A with Menasco B-4.
- New Standard D-29 S – Sport version with coupe cockpit (also known as D-25C).
- New Standard D-29A – production aircraft with 100 hp Kinner K-5
- New Standard D-30 – floatplane modified D-25
- New Standard D-31 Special – D-29A with Kinner B-5.
- New Standard D-32 Special – 3 seater D-29A with Wright J-6.
- New Standard D-33 Special – 3 seater D-29A with Kinner B-5.
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h i Pattillo, Donald M. A History in the Making: 80 Turbulent Years in the American General Aviation Industry. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1998, pp. 12-13.
- ^ a b Xu, Guangqiu. War Wings: The United States and Chinese Military Aviation, 1929–1949. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2001, p. 75-76.
- ^ Mondey, David. The Complete Illustrated Encyclopedia of the World's Aircraft. New York: A & W Publishers, 1978, p. 237.
- ^ "6 Aircraft Companies Plan $5,000,000 Fusion." New York Times. December 21, 1929.
- ^ "Flying Couple Back From World Trip." New York Times. December 21, 1931.
- ^ "Gates, Stunt Flier, Ends Life By Leap." New York Times. November 25, 1932.
- ^ The designation NT-2 does not refer to the NT-1 version of the New Standard D-29 but to two New Standard D-25s captured from smugglers and used by the United States Coast Guard. See: Swanborough, Gordon and Bowers, Peter M. United States Navy Aircraft Since 1911. 2nd ed. London: Putnam, 1976, p. 456.
- ^ Swanborough, Gordon and Bowers, Peter M. United States Navy Aircraft Since 1911. 2nd ed. London: Putnam, 1976, p. 456.
External links
[edit]
Media related to New Standard Aircraft Company at Wikimedia Commons