AviaBellanca Aircraft Corporation was an American

aircraft An aircraft ( aircraft) is a vehicle that is able to flight, fly by gaining support from the Atmosphere of Earth, air. It counters the force of gravity by using either Buoyancy, static lift or the Lift (force), dynamic lift of an airfoil, or, i ...

design and manufacturing company. Prior to 1983, it was known as the Bellanca Aircraft Company. The company was founded in 1927 by

Giuseppe Mario Bellanca Giuseppe Mario Bellanca (March 19, 1886 – December 26, 1960) was an Italian-American aviation pioneer, airplane designer and builder, who is credited with many design firsts and whose aircraft broke many aviation records. He was inducted into t ...

, although it was preceded by previous businesses and partnerships in which aircraft with the Bellanca name were produced, including Wright-Bellanca, in which he was in partnership with

Wright Aeronautical Wright Aeronautical (1919–1929) was an American aircraft manufacturer headquartered in Paterson, New Jersey. It was the successor corporation to Wright-Martin. It built aircraft and was a supplier of aircraft engines to other builders in the g ...

. In 2021 the company was reformed as Bellanca Aircraft, Inc and located in San Luis Obispo, CA with a satellite maintenance facility in Oklahoma. The new company supplies maintenance and

aircraft parts An aircraft part is an article or component approved for installation on a type-certificated aircraft. Approval for these parts is derived from the jurisdictions of the countries that an aircraft is based. In the United States, the Federal Aviati ...

, for the legacy Cruisemaster and Viking aircraft. Bellanca wb 2

History

After

, the designer and builder of Italy's first aircraft, moved to the United States in 1911, he began to design aircraft for a number of firms, including the Maryland Pressed Steel Company,

Wright Aeronautical Corporation Wright Aeronautical (1919–1929) was an American aircraft manufacturer headquartered in Paterson, New Jersey. It was the successor corporation to Wright-Martin. It built aircraft and was a supplier of aircraft engines to other builders in the ...

and the

Columbia Aircraft Corporation The Columbia Aircraft Corporation was an American aircraft manufacturer, which was active between 1927 and 1947. History Columbia Aircraft was founded in December 1927 by Charles A. Levine as chairman and the aircraft designer Giuseppe Mario ...

. Bellanca founded his own company, Bellanca Aircraft Corporation of America, in 1927, sited first in Richmond Hill, New York and moving in 1928 to New Castle (Wilmington), Delaware. In the 1920s and 1930s, Bellanca's aircraft of his own design were known for their efficiency and low operating cost, gaining fame for world record endurance and distance flights.

Lindbergh Charles Lindbergh (1902–1974) was first pilot to fly solo non-stop across the Atlantic. Lindbergh, a Swedish surname, may also refer to: People *Anne Lindbergh (1940-1993), U.S. children's author, daughter of the famous pilot Charles Lindbergh ...

's first choice for his New York to Paris flight was a

Bellanca WB-2 The Wright-Bellanca WB-2, was a high wing monoplane aircraft designed by Giuseppe Mario Bellanca, initially for Wright Aeronautical then later Columbia Aircraft Corp. Based on its all-wood forerunner, the Wright-Bellanca WB-1, only one was p ...

. The company's insistence on selecting the crew drove Lindbergh to Ryan.Mondey 1978, p. 96. Bellanca remained 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. From that time on, the Bellanca line was part of a succession of companies that maintained the lineage of the original aircraft produced by Bellanca.Palmer 2001, p. 51. In 2022, the company moved from Alexandria, Minnesota to Sulphur, Oklahoma. While as of 2024 the company website states "Bellanca recently opened a new aircraft factory and maintenance facility in Sulphur, Oklahoma," no new aircraft have been recently produced.

Aircraft

Famous individual aircraft

* ''

Lituanica ''Lituanica'' was a Bellanca CH-300 Pacemaker airplane flown from the United States across the Atlantic Ocean by Lithuanian pilots Steponas Darius and Stasys Girėnas in 1933. After successfully flying 6,411 km (4,043 miles), it crashed, ...

'' * ''

Miss Veedol ''Miss Veedol'' was the first airplane to fly non-stop across the Pacific Ocean. On October 5, 1931, Clyde Pangborn and co-pilot Hugh Herndon landed in the hills of East Wenatchee, Washington, following a 41-hour flight from Sabishiro Beach, ...

'' * ''

The American Nurse ''Miss Veedol'' was the first airplane to fly non-stop across the Pacific Ocean. On October 5, 1931, Clyde Pangborn and co-pilot Hugh Herndon landed in the hills of East Wenatchee, Washington, following a 41-hour flight from Sabishiro Beach, M ...

References

Footnotes

Citations

Bibliography

* * * Mondey, David. ''The Complete Illustrated Encyclopedia of the World's Aircraft''. Secaucus, NJ: Chartwell Books Inc, 1978. . * * Palmer, Trisha, ed. "Bellanca Viking Series". ''Encyclopedia of the World's Commercial and Private Aircraft''. New York: Crescent Books, 2001. . *

External links

* * on

Archive.org The Internet Archive is an American non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including websites, software applic ...

Friends of Bellanca Field
* The main focus of th
George J. Frebert collection on Delaware aviation
and th
George J. Frebert photograph collection on Delaware aviation
— ''both about Giuseppe Bellanca & his Bellanca Aircraft Corporation; in the

Hagley Museum and Library The Hagley Museum and Library is a nonprofit educational institution in unincorporated New Castle County, Delaware, near Wilmington. Covering more than along the banks of the Brandywine Creek, the museum and grounds include the first du Po ...

.
The Story of Bellanca Planes – Popular Aviation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aviabellanca Aircraft Aircraft manufacturers of the United States Companies based in Minnesota Defunct manufacturing companies based in Delaware Douglas County, Minnesota History of Omaha, Nebraska 1927 establishments in New York (state)