Bellanca Airfield
Encyclopedia
The Bellanca Airfield was an airfield, aircraft plant, and service hangar built in 1928 by Giuseppe Bellanca and Henry B. DuPont in New Castle, Delaware
. Located off Route 273 near the Delaware River
, the plant produced approximately 3000 aircraft before closing in 1954.
in 1912 and continued his passion for aircraft design in the United States. His aircraft achieved numerous endurance and efficiency records. His $25,000 WB-2 monoplane, Columbia, was the first choice of Charles Lindbergh for his trans-Atlantic flight after, on April 25, 1927, Clarence Chamberlin
and Bert Acosta set the world endurance record for aircraft, staying aloft circling New York City for 51 hours, 11 minutes, and 25 seconds and covering 4,100 miles, more than the 3,600 mile from New York to Paris. Time
magazine reported on April 25, 1927:
Lindbergh was unable to get the plane, and two weeks after Lindbergh's flight, the "Columbia" flew non-stop from New York
to Berlin, Germany, a trip of 3,911 miles which was again longer than the 3,600 mile trip Lindbergh made from New York City to Berlin to capture the Orteig Prize
.
New Castle, Delaware
New Castle is a city in New Castle County, Delaware, six miles south of Wilmington, situated on the Delaware River. In 1900, 3,380 people lived here; in 1910, 3,351...
. Located off Route 273 near the Delaware River
Delaware River
The Delaware River is a major river on the Atlantic coast of the United States.A Dutch expedition led by Henry Hudson in 1609 first mapped the river. The river was christened the South River in the New Netherland colony that followed, in contrast to the North River, as the Hudson River was then...
, the plant produced approximately 3000 aircraft before closing in 1954.
History
Giuseppe Mario Bellanca immigrated from ItalyItaly
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
in 1912 and continued his passion for aircraft design in the United States. His aircraft achieved numerous endurance and efficiency records. His $25,000 WB-2 monoplane, Columbia, was the first choice of Charles Lindbergh for his trans-Atlantic flight after, on April 25, 1927, Clarence Chamberlin
Clarence Duncan Chamberlin
Clarence Duncan Chamberlin was the second man to pilot a fixed-wing aircraft across the Atlantic Ocean, from New York to the European mainland, while carrying the first transatlantic passenger.-Early life:...
and Bert Acosta set the world endurance record for aircraft, staying aloft circling New York City for 51 hours, 11 minutes, and 25 seconds and covering 4,100 miles, more than the 3,600 mile from New York to Paris. Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine reported on April 25, 1927:
Engineer Giuseppe M. Bellanca of the Columbia Aircraft Corporation had conditioned an elderly yellow-winged monoplane with one Wright motor, and scouted around for pilots. Lieut. Leigh Wade, round-the-world flyer, declined the invitation, saying Mr. Bellanca's plans were too stunt-like, not scientific. Shrugging, Mr. Bellanca engaged Pilots Clarence Duncan ChamberlinClarence Duncan ChamberlinClarence Duncan Chamberlin was the second man to pilot a fixed-wing aircraft across the Atlantic Ocean, from New York to the European mainland, while carrying the first transatlantic passenger.-Early life:...
and burly Bert Acosta, onetime auto speedster, to test his ship's endurance. Up they put from Mitchel Field, Long Island, with 385 gallons of ethylated (high power) gasoline. All day they droned back and forth over suburbia, circled the Woolworth BuildingWoolworth BuildingThe Woolworth Building is one of the oldest skyscrapers in New York City. More than a century after the start of its construction, it remains, at 57 stories, one of the fifty tallest buildings in the United States as well as one of the twenty tallest buildings in New York City...
, hovered over Hadley Field, New JerseyHadley Field, New JerseyHadley Field was an airport in South Plainfield, New Jersey and contained the Nike Missile Battery NY-65. It was the site of the nation's first air mail service. The two magazine Nike missile battery was first manned by Regular Army units and later by the New Jersey National Guard...
, swung back to drop notes on Mitchell Field. All that starry night they wandered slowly around the sky, and all the next day, and through the next night, a muggy, cloudy one. Newsgatherers flew up alongside to shout unintelligible things through megaphones. Messrs. Acosta and Chamberlain were looking tired and oil-blobbed. They swallowed soup and sandwiches, caught catnaps on the mattressed fuel tank, while on and on they droned, almost lazily (about 80 m.p.h.) for they were cruising against time. Not for 51 hours, 11 minutes, 25 seconds, did they coast to earth, having broken the U.S. and world's records for protracted flight. In the same time, conditions favoring, they could have flown from ManhattanManhattanManhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
to ViennaViennaVienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
. They had covered 4,100 miles. To Paris it is 3,600 miles from Manhattan. Jubilant, Engineer Bellanca's employers offered competitors a three-hour headstart in the race to Paris. The Bellanca monoplane's normal cruising speed is 110 m.p.h. She would require only some 35 hours to reach Paris—if she could stay up that long again.
Lindbergh was unable to get the plane, and two weeks after Lindbergh's flight, the "Columbia" flew non-stop from New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
to Berlin, Germany, a trip of 3,911 miles which was again longer than the 3,600 mile trip Lindbergh made from New York City to Berlin to capture the Orteig Prize
Orteig Prize
The Orteig Prize was a $25,000 reward offered on May 19, 1919, by New York hotel owner Raymond Orteig to the first allied aviator to fly non-stop from New York City to Paris or vice-versa. On offer for five years, it attracted no competitors...
.