Big Airplane Plant for Rochester
Rochester today entered the big scale aircraft manufactureing field with a flourish.
Francis E. Cunningham, Secretary of the James M. Cunningham & Sons Co.o, builders of one of the worlds most luxurious automobiles, announced formation of a $850,000 corporation for the exclusive manufacture of high grade passenger planes.
Complete planes, with the exception of motors, will be made here. The planes, it was announced, will be equipped with Wright Whirlwind engines.
The corporation bears the name of the Cunningham-Hall Aircratft Corporation of Rochester, and has a capital stock of $350,000 in 3,500 shares of preference stock at $100 each, and 10,000 shares of common stock of no par value.
It will be independent of the james Cunningham Sons & Co., but will be located in one of the company's buildings at No. 13 Canal Street, and will have the services of all the company's expert body builders, Mr. Cunningham said.
DIRECTORS ANNOUNCED
The plan is manufacture planes for four and six passengers. It is expected 100 men will be employed making the planes before January 1.
The directors were announced as follows: A.J. Cunningham, No. 1000 East Avenue;F.E. Cunningham, No.10 South Goodman Street; J.C. Dryre, East Avenue, Brighton;J.W. Fulreader, No. 203 Chili Avenue; R.F. Hall, No. 78 Inglewood Drive. W.T. Thomas, No. 510 Seneca Street, Ithaca.
Officers were elected as follows: Francis E. Cunningham, president;J.C. Dryer, first vice president; R.F. hall, second vice president; J.W. Fulreader, treasurer, and W.R.R Winans, secretary.
For encouraging the formation of the corporation and locating it in Rochester, the Rochester Chamber of Commerce was given praise by Mr. Cunningham. He said the idea of having a Rochester plane manufacturing with Fred Cross, chairman of the Chamber's aviation Aviation Committee; and the corporation was formed only after extended investagation by Roland B. Woodward, secretary of the chamber; Ernest Veigel, when he was the manager of the New Industries Bureau; E.A. Scxheibe of Bausch & Lomb Optical Co.; and J.E Mckelvey and J.F. Clark and the Rochester Industrial Development Corporation. The new corporation also has the endorsement of the Rochester Industrial Development Corporation.
EXPERT ENGINEERS
In charge of manufacturing will be R.F. Hall, P.D. Wilson and W.R.R. Winans, all engineers formerly with Thomas-Morse Aircraft Corporation.
W.T. Thomas , who will be consulting and directing engineer of the Cunningham-Hall Aircraft Corporation, was founder of the Thomas Brothers Airplane Company, and until 1921 vice president of the Thomas-Morse Corporation.
Beside planes carrying four and six passengers, Mr. Cunningham said the new concern would make air mail planes. He said:
"The planes will present the latest developments in aircraft design, and will insure dependable, durable and comfortable aircraft equipment. The planes will be built of duraluminum, an alloy of aluminum, as light as aluminum and as strong as mild steel, and special alloy steels of great strength. In all passenger planes special attention will be made to make cabins as comfortable as possible."
The first task for the corporation will be to train employees, Mr. Cunningham said, and for this work P.F. Brown, F.J. Newton and Mage Smith, all formerly with the Thomas-Morse Aircraft Corporation, have been engaged.
Mr Cunningham said the company has an exclusive license for a long term of years and is protected by a score of patents, one in particular covering a high lift wing which greatly increases the scope and safety of airplanes.
SERVICE FOR OWNERS
Besides space for manufacture of planes the new corporation will provide a service for local airplane owners. This is expected to be an assett to the Rochester Municipal Airport. Mr. Cunningham, in outlining the the new business said:
" The manufacture of airplanes already had passed the experimental stage and has reached a point in development where ordinary business and production methods are being applied with success. The future of the airplane business in very promising. During 1927 the American airplane manufacturers produced approximately 1,500 commercial planes. This year, the total will exceed 10,000, and indications are 1929 production will be double that of 1928.
"The use of airplanes for business and pleasure is rpidly increasing and there already exists a large demand for well engineered and well built planes. The Cunningham-Hall Aircraft Corporation has the engineering and technical ability and manufacturing facilities and experience to produce airplanes to meet the present and future demands of the market.
"There is every reason to believe that the airplane industry will assume large proportion. We expect the Cunningham-Hall Aircraft Corporation and Rochester to profit by the growth in a new industry."
Rochester Journal, November 12, 1928