Victor H. Roos (April 26, 1888 – October 6, 1964) was an American

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value in ways that generally entail beyond the minimal amount of risk (assumed by a traditional business), and potentially involving values besides simply economic ones. An entreprene ...

and the founder or co-founder of several early aircraft companies.

Biography

The only Bellanca CF built, at the National Air and Space Museum An American Eaglet B-31 In 1917 Roos was a distributor of

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pedal cycles in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

, becoming one of the largest distributors in the Midwest. In 1922, Roos and partner A.H. Fetters bought the aviation assets of the Maryland Pressed Steel Company and formed the Roos-Bellanca company (also known as the Omaha Aircraft Company) to build rising designer Giuseppe Bellanca's monoplane design, the CF. Only one example was built, but it became famous from its modern design, and publicity stunts such as holding in-flight weddings. The company dissolved in 1924. In September 1927,

Travel Air The Travel Air Manufacturing Company was an aircraft manufacturer established in Wichita, Kansas, United States in January 1925 by Clyde Cessna, Walter Beech, and Lloyd Stearman. An early leader in single-engine, light-aircraft manufacturing, ...

founder

Clyde Cessna Clyde Vernon Cessna (; December 5, 1879 – November 20, 1954) was an American aircraft designer, aviator, and early aviation entrepreneur. He is best known as the principal founder of the Cessna, Cessna Aircraft Corporation, which he started in ...

split from

Walter Beech Walter Herschel Beech (January 30, 1891 – November 29, 1950) was an American aviator and early aviation entrepreneur who co-founded the Beech Aircraft Company (now called Beechcraft) in 1932 with his wife, Olive Ann Beech, and a team of three ...

forming Cessna-Roos aircraft. Roos became the second largest shareholder in the start-up venture that went on to produce the most popular general aviation aircraft in the world. Roos resigned just one month into the partnership, selling back his interest to Cessna, and the company changed its name to Cessna Aircraft in December 1927. In November 1927, the owner of the Swallow Airplane Company, Jacob Moellendick, became insolvent after sidelining Swallow production to make the '' Dallas Spirit'' on credit to enter the Dole Air Derby. Roos took control of the company, becoming the general manager, then left in 1928. In 1928 Roos joined the American Eagle aircraft company, which produced more Bellanca designed aircraft. Roos and partners agreed to merge with Lincoln-Page Aircraft Company, becoming the American Eagle-Lincoln Aircraft based at

Fairfax Airport Fairfax Municipal Airport (known as Fairfax Field during World War II) was a Kansas City, Kansas airfield from 1921 that was used during 1935–1949 by the military. Federal land adjacent to the airfield included a WWII B-25 Mitchell plant and ...

in Kansas City, Missouri, where he became president. When the company dissolved during the depression, Roos founded the short lived Victor H. Roos Aircraft Company to continue to sell the American Eaglet design. With Roos's permission,

Ben Howard Benjamin John Howard (born 24 April 1987) is an English singer-songwriter, musician and composer. His self-released debut extended play (EP) ''Games in the Dark'' (2008) was followed by two more EPs, '' These Waters'' (2009) and '' Old Pine'' ...

built his famous air racer " Mr. Mulligan" at the factory site after production of the Eaglet had ceased. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Roos founded the Automatic Coin Machine Company in Kansas City to distribute

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machines.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roos, Victor 1888 births 1964 deaths American aviation businesspeople Cessna Businesspeople from Omaha, Nebraska 20th-century American businesspeople