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Who Made What?

~~~~~~~~~~~~
PLANES
&
THEIR MAKERS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Copyright 2000-2004 by Richard Harris
Last updated March 4, 2004
All Rights Reserved
NO GUARANTEE OF ACCURACY!
Listed below are some of the leading aircraft lines and brand names which have been passed from one manufacturer to another.

It can be challenging to figure out who claims which aircraft, when, but here's a few clues.

NO GUARANTEE AS TO ACCURACY (this was done largely from memory), but I'm definitely pretty close on most of these.

They at least give you some useful clues, especially when looking up aircraft by manufacturer's name, when the manufacturers have changed repeatedly.

Many of the aircraft and manufacturers listed are out of production, now, or even out of existence. Some have resumed production after prolonged absence, and others go in and out of business periodically.

The abbreviation "ca." (as in "ca.1969") means "circa" -- Latin for "about" or "approximately."
Comments and corrections are invited, and future updates and additions are in the works.


The following categories are described:


MAJOR MANUFACTURERS


Boeing Co.

now owns...
--------
Boeing
  which joined:
- Boeing Commercial Airplane Company, Seattle, WA area
(707, 727, 737, 747, 757, 767, 777...)
- Boeing Military Airplane Company, Wichita, KS
(B-17, B-29, Stratoliner, B-47, B-52, KC-135)
- Boeing-Vertol (helicopters), Philadelphia, PA
(H-21 Workhorse, SeaKnight, CH-46 Chinook)
(also teamed with Bell Helicopter for tilt-rotor V-22 Osprey)
--------
McDonnell-Douglas (MD-10, MD-11, MD-80, F-15, F-18, AV-8B. etc.)
  which joined:
- McDonnell Aircraft, St. Louis, MO
(F-4 Phantom II, F3H Banshee, XF-85 Goblin, etc.)
- Douglas Aircraft, Long Beach, CA
(DC-3, DC-4/6/7, DC-8, DC-9, DC-10, A4D, A-1E)
- Hughes Aircraft, Culver City, CA
(helicopters:
        Hughes 269A/300 [sold to Schweizer; see below])
        Hughes 369A/500 [spun off to MD Helicopters, Inc.; see below];
--------
Rockwell International's aerospace div.
    (formerly North American / Rockwell)
    (AT-6, P-51 Mustang, F-86, F-100, A-5, OV-10,
        B-1, Space Shuttle, Aero Commander line)
--------
Hughes Electronics (satellites)
--------
Rocketdyne
    (large rockets & rocket engines -- one of the nation's 3 chief makers of them)

Bombardier Aerospace , Montreal, Quebec, Canada
merger of ...
Canadair (Canada)
Short Bros. (Belfast, Northern Ireland, U.K.)
Learjet (Wichita, KS and Tuscon, AZ)
  and
deHavilland of Canada (Canada)

1999: BAE SYSTEMS
merger of British Aerospace with Marconi Electronics
--------
1977: British Aerospace
merger of most of Britain's major aircraft manfacturers:
--------
1965, Hawker-Siddley
        Hawker
        A.V.Roe / Avro
        Gloster
        Blackburn & General
        Folland
        Airspeed
        deHavilland
        Armstrong-Whitworth
--------
1959, British Aircraft Corp. ("BAC")
        Bristol
        British Electric
        Supermarine
        Vickers
        Hunting-Percival
--------
1936, Scottish Aviation

EADS/Airbus/Aerospatiale
merger of most of France's aircraft manufacturers, plus other European mfr's.
2002:   EADS (European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company) is co-owner (with BAE SYSTEMS, above) of 1970:   Airbus ca. 1970, Aerospatiale
ca. 1970, Airbus: merger of Aerospatiale (France) & Deutsche Aerospace (Germany);
    1971: CASA (Spain) joined;
    1982: alliance with British Aerospace (UK).
ca. 2000, EADS (Aerospatiale, plus Daimler Aerospace, of Germany)

General Dynamics / Convair / Consolidated-Vultee
Consolidated Aircraft
 merged with
Vultee Aircraft
 to produce
Consolidated-Vultee
 later
Convair
 later
General Dynamics, Ft.Worth, TX

Lockheed-Martin
merger of ...
Lockheed Aircraft (Marietta, GA & Burbank, CA)
 and
Martin-Marietta (Marietta, GA)

LTV / Ling-Temco-Vought
Chance Vought Aircraft
 merged with
Texas Engineering & Mfg. Co. (TEMCO)

Northrop-Grumman
merger of ...
Northrop Aerospace (southern Calif.)
 and
Grumman Aircraft (Bethpage, Long Island, NY)

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LIGHT AIRCRAFT

Aerostar
designer:  Ted Smith
1965, Aero Commander (design only, as Aero Commander 700)
1965-69, Ted Smith Aircraft Co., Inc. (production began 1968)
Ted Smith Aerostar , Inc., div. of American Cement
Aerostar Aircraft Corp., div. of Butler Av.
Aerostar/Butler (Mooney)
Piper Aircraft.
Aerostar Aircraft Corp. (current) (attempting to revive idea of bizjet version of pressurized Aerostar)


Aero Commander lines:
-----------------
Twin-prop ("Twin Commander") line:
(500 / Shrike Commander / 520 / 560 / 680 / 685 / 690 / 800 / 900 / 1000 Grand Commander / Turbo Commander; designer:  Ted Smith)
1944-58, Aero Design & Engineering Co.
Aero Commander div. of Rockwell Corp.
Aero Commander div. of North American - Rockwell
Rockwell Commander
Gulfstream Aerospace (as Gulfstream-Commander)
Twin Commander Aircraft Corp. (rebuilding Twin Commanders to "zero-time")
Renaissance Aircraft (rebuilding Twin Commanders to "zero-time")
-----------------
Early single-engine lines:
-----------------
(the 2-4-seat, high-wing line:  designer C. Vollmer)
Volaire Aircraft
Aero Commander div. of Rockwell (as the Lark & Darter)
Aero Commander div. of North American - Rockwell
-----------------
(the 2-seat, retractable-tailwheeled Meyers 145 and 4-seat, retractable-tricycle Meyers 200: designer: Al Meyers)
Meyers (145 & 200)
Aero Commander div. of Rockwell (200)
Aero Commander div. of North American - Rockwell (the Meyers 200, as the AeroCommander 200D)
Interceptor Corp. (200, with turboprop as Interceptor 400)
MICCO (the Meyers 145, modified as the SP-20 and SP-30)
Meyers Aircraft Corp. (attempts to revive 200/400).
-----------------
Later single-engine line:
(Commander 112/114)
Aero Commander div. of North American - Rockwell
Rockwell Commander
Commander Aircraft (Oklahoma City, Okla.)
-----------------
Cropdusters
- Call/Sparrow/Quail
        Call
        Aero Commander
        CAMA (Mexico)
- Snow/Thrush
(Snow / Snow Commander / AgCommander / Thrush / TurboThrush)
Snow Aircraft
Aero Commander div. of North American - Rockwell
Rockwell Commander
Ayres Aircraft (Florida
-----------------
Jet Commander
see BIZJET section, below

Aeronca Champion (including "Champ," "Citabria"  etc.)
ca.1927, Roche-Dohse ('Flying Flivver' prototype), Dayton, OH
1928, Aeronautical Corporation of America, Cincinnatti, OH
1937, Aeronca, Middletown OH
1951, Champion Aircraft, Osceola, WI (including 7EC Champ & 7ECA Citabria)
ca.1970, Alexandria Aircraft (as Bellanca-Champion line, including Citabria, Scout & Decathalon)
ca.1999, American Champion Aircraft (current) (various versions of Citabria)

American/Yankee/Tiger line
Bede Aircraft (as BD-1 kitplane)
American Aircraft (as AA-1A Yankee, and 4-seat AA-5A Traveler, AA-5B Tiger)
Grumman-American (as AA-1B  Trainer & Tr-1; AA-1C Lynx, AA-5C Cheetah, AA-5B Tiger)
Gulfstream Aerospace (as Gulfstream-American AA-1C Lynx, AA-5C Cheetah, AA-5B Tiger, and AA-7 Cougar twin)
AGAC - American General Aircraft Corp. (as AG-5B Tiger)
Tiger Aircraft (as AG-5B Tiger)
SOCATA (of France) (AA-7 Cougar twin relabeled as TB-50 Tangara)

Beech / Raytheon
origins:
Travel Air, later...
Travel Air div. of Curtiss Wright Corp.(Model 17 Staggerwing)
independent as:
Beech Aircraft Corp.
Beech Aircraft div. of Raytheon Corp.
Raytheon Aircraft div. of Raytheon Corp. (Beech merged with Hawker Jets div. of British Aerospace)
Beechcraft div. of Raytheon Aircraft div. of Raytheon Corp.

Bellanca
---------
(steel-tube/fabric/wood-wing aircraft, by Giuseppe M. Bellanca)
1912, Bellanca Aeroplane Co.
1913-1922, Giueseppe Bellanca (on his own)
1922-23, Roos-Bellanca Airplane Co.
1923-26, Wright-Bellanca
1926-27, Columbia Aircraft Co. (Chas. Levine as president, Bellanca as Chief Engineer)
1927-56, Bellanca Aircraft Corp.
---------
regular Bellanca tube/fabric/wood-wing line, all in Alexandria, MN:
Downer Aircraft
Interair
Bellanca (not connected to Bellanca family) (includes Bellanca-Champion line, see "Aeronca/Champion" list)
Alexandria Aircraft
Alexandria Aircraft, LLC (current)
---------
Avia Bellanca (offshoot, by son August Bellanca, to produce composite 'Skyrocket'),

Cessna / Textron
Cessna Aircrraft Co.
Cessna Aircrraft Co., div. of General Dynamics
Cessna Aircrraft Co., div. of Textron Corp.

Ercoupe
1940-41, ERCO - Engineering Research Corp. (hence: ERcoupe), Riverdale, MD (112 built)
1945-52, Sanders Av. (as Ercoupe 415C-415H), Riverdale, MD (5,028 built)
1956-60, Forney Aircraft (Fornaire F-1 Aircoupe), Ft.Collins, CO (157 built)
1960-62, Air Products (F-1A Aircoupe), Car lsbad, NM (25 built)
1964-67, Alon Aircraft (Alon A-2 Aircoupe), McPherson, KS (245 built)
1967-68, Mooney (Alon) Aircraft (A2-A Aircoupe), McPherson, KS (21 built)
1968, Mooney (Alon) Aircraft (A2-A Cadet), McPherson, KS (38 built)
1969-70, Mooney Aircraft (as Mooney M-10 Cadet), Kerrville, TX (59 built)

Fairchild, Swearingen & SAAB
The Swearingen Merlin/Metro line evolved into a series of turboprop commuter airliners:
Swearingen Aircraft, TX  (Merlin/Metro line)
Fairchild Aircraft Corp. acquired Metro line
SAAB licensed turboprop airliner as SAAB-Fairchild SF-30

Monocoupe & Luscombe (incl. 8 & Sedan)
Mono Aircraft (Phantom, Monocoupe)
Luscombe Aircraft (Model 8/Silvaire and Model 11/Sedan)
-----------
DLAHF (Don Luscombe Aviation History Foundation:  type certificate holders for Model 8/Silvaire)
Rennaissance Aircraft (attempted revival of Model 8/Silvaire)
Luscombe Aircraft (Model 11/Sedan), Altus, OK

Mooney
(designers:  Al Mooney, Ralph Harmon, etc.)
ca.1936, Mooney Aircraft (Wichita, KS, under sponsorship of Bridgeport Machine Co.)
ca.1947, Mooney Aircraft (restarted, following collapse of Culver Aircraft), Wichita, KS
ca.1951-68, Mooney Aircraft (relocated) Kerrville, TX  (included relabeling of Ercoupe and Mtsubishi MU-2 turboprop twin as "Mooney" planes; Al Mooney soon surrendered ownership)
ca.1970, Butler-Aerostar Aircraft (Mooney, absorbing Ted Smith Aerostar, as div. of Butler Aviation)
ca.1972, Mooney Aircraft div. of Republic Steel (Mooney, having spun off Aerostar twin line to Piper)
ca.1980, Mooney Aircraft Corp. (current)
-----------
NOTE:  Mooney relabeled various planes, including:
ca. 1968-69, Alon A2-A Aircoupe (later modified into M-10 Cadet)
ca. 1968-71, Mitsubishi MU-2 series turboprop twins (popularly nicknamed "rice-rocket")
ca. 1980, SOCATA TBM-700 pressurized turboprop single

Navion
-----------------
single-engine Navion:
ca.1945, North American Aviation  (as "NAvion")
ca.1947, Ryan (as Navion)
ca.1966, Navion (as Rangemaster), TX
1966, American Navion Society (as Rangemaster Model H), Seguin, TX
1972, Navion (Lou Bishop)
ca.1972, Navion (Ced Kotowicz), Wharton, TX (7-8 planes)
ca.1970, American Navion Society  (parts only), Banning, CA
1990, American Navion Society  (parts only), Lodi, CA
1999, American Navion Society  (parts only), Grand Junction, CO
2001, American Navion Society  (parts only), Grand Junction, CO (HQ in Vancouver, WA)
-----------------
Twin Navion conversions:
---------
Riley Twin Navion:
1952, Dauby Eqpt. Co., Los Angeles, CA and Acme Aircraft Co., Lomiat, CA (prototype, sold to Jack Riley, 1953)
1952-54, Riley Aircraft Corp., Ft.Lauderdale, FL
1953-57, TEMCO (Texas Engrg. & Mfg. Co.), Dallas/Grand Prairie, TX (near Ft.Worth) (mfg. under license from Riley)
---------
Cam-Air 480:
1952 CAM-AIR div. of Cameron Iron Works, Galveston, TX

Piper / New Piper
ca.1927, Taylor Brothers Mfg. Co., Rochester NY (Taylor Chummy, designer: C.Gordon Taylor)
ca.1928, Taylor Brothers Mfg. Co., Bradford, PA (Taylor Cub E-2, designer: C.Gordon Taylor)
acquired by Wm. Piper, Sr., retained Taylor Bros. name for some years, with C.G. Taylor as president
(C.G. Taylor left to form Taylorcraft, which would go in and out of business intermittently to the present)
ca. 1935, Piper Aircraft Corp., Lock Haven, PA;  later added Vero Beach, FL facility
late-1960's, Piper Aircraft Corp. div. of Bangor-Punta  (seized from Piper family in hostile takeover), Vero Beach, FL
[a series of bankruptcies and reorganizations followed, as the company went in and out of business], Vero Beach, FL
ca. 1990, New Piper Aircraft Corp.  (current), Vero Beach, FL

Stinson (108/Voyager/Station Wagon)
ca. 1926, Stinson Aircraft, Detroit, MI
ca. 1946, Stinson Div., Consolidated-Vultee Aircraft
ca. 1947, Stinson Div., Piper Aircraft  (Stinson line soon discontinued, but Twin Stinson heavily modified into successful Piper Apache)

Swift (Globe/Temco, etc)
Globe Swift (copied largely from wooden Culver Cadet, extensively re-engineered)
Temco (Texas Engineering & Mfg. Co.) (first built Swifts under license, then acquired the line)
Piper/LoPresti Swift Fury (attempt to revive design, heavily modified by Roy LoPresti)

Taylor Bros. / Taylorcraft & Piper
ca.1927, Taylor Brothers Mfg. Co., Rochester NY (Taylor Chummy, designer: C.Gordon Taylor)
ca.1928, Taylor Brothers Mfg. Co., Bradford, PA (Taylor Cub E-2, designer: C.Gordon Taylor)
acquired by Wm. Piper, Sr., retained Taylor Bros. name for some years, with C.G. Taylor as president
-----------------
(C.G. Taylor left to form Taylorcraft, which would go in and out of business intermittently to the present)
-----------------
ca. 1935, Piper Aircraft Corp., Lock Haven, PA;  later added Vero Beach, FL facility
late-1960's, Piper Aircraft Corp. div. of Bangor-Punta  (seized from Piper family in hostile takeover), Vero Beach, FL
[a series of bankruptcies and reorganizations followed, as the company went in and out of business], Vero Beach, FL
ca. 1990, New Piper Aircraft Corp.  (current), Vero Beach, FL

Taylor / Colonial / Lake amphibians
(designer: Molt Taylor, no relation to C.Gordon Taylor)
Taylor (Taylor Coot 2-seat homebuilt model; also Taylor Aerocar flying automobile), Seattle, WA area
Colonial Aircraft (Colonial Skimmer)
Lake Aircraft (LA-4, Buccaneer, etc.)
Taylor (Taylor Coot 2-seat homebuilt model)

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FOREIGN LIGHT AIRCRAFT (also see other categories)

deHavilland of Canada line
deHavilland Aircraft (U.K.)
deHavilland of Canada
deHavilland of Canada (mostly owned by Boeing)
deHavilland of Canada div. of Bombardier Aircraft

SOCATA
(France)
merger of
Morane-Saulnier
Fouga
 and
Potez
ca.1970, (SOCATA was part of Aerospatiale for several years)

Stello Frati's Italian planes
Siai-Marchetti Aircraft, Milan, Italy
temporarily relabled in U.S. as "WACO" (to capitalize on famous WACO brand)
Falco Aircraft (kitplane version of SF.260)

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BIZJETS

Learjet
-----------------
1959, Swiss-American Aircraft Corp. ("SAAC"), St. Galen, Switzerland (developing prototype of first Learjet, Model 23,  based largely on Swiss FFA P-16 jet fighter)
----------
1962, Lear Jet Corp., Wichita, KS (production begins on Model 23, then 24 and 25)
----------
1967/1970, Gates Learjet Div. of Gates Tire & Rubber Co. (1967 acquired by Gates, 1970 renamed), facilities in Tuscon, AZ, briefly made Co. hdqtrs. in mid/late-1970's, then returned to Wichita (Models 24, 25, 28/29, 35/36/C-21D, Longhorn 55)
----------
1987, Learjet Div. of Integrated Acquisitions, subsidiary of Integrated Resources (Models 35/36/C-21D, Longhorn 55, and eventually Model 31)
----------
1990, Learjet Div. of Bombardier Aerospace, div. of Bombardier, Ltd., facilities & offices remained in Wichita & Tuscon, AZ, but parent co. hdqtrs. in Montreal, Canada (Models 31A, 45, and 60)

Diamond / Beechjet
Mitsubishi Diamond I/IA
Beech Beechjet 400
Raytheon Beechjet 400A
Raytheon Hawker 400XP

Sabreliner
North American Aviation
North American-Rockwell
Sabreliner Corp., St. Louis, MO

Jet Commander / Westwind / Astra / Galaxy
Aero Commander Div., North American - Rockwell
Israel Aircraft Industries, Ltd. (as the Commodore Jet & Westwind)
Galaxy Aerospace (as the Westwind and Astra)
Gulfstream Aerospace, div. of General Dynamics (as the G100 and G200)

Hawker Business Jets & DH- / HS- / BH-125 lines
deHavilland (as DH-125)
Hawker-Siddley (as HS-125, relabled in U.S. as Beech-Hawker BH-125)
Hawker Jets div., British Aerospace (as HS-700 series)
Raytheon Aircraft (merged with Beech Aircraft, under Raytheon Corp.) (as Hawker 800 series, and others)
Gulfstream
Grumman Aircraft (Gulfstream I turboprop, and Gulfstream II bizjet, also G-III)
Gulfstream Aircraft (G-IV, G-IVSP, G-V)
Gulfstream Aerospace (absorbed, then discarded Grumman-American line, then absorbed and discarded Aero Commander twin line)

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HELICOPTERS

Hiller
Hiller
Hiller div. of Fairchild Aircraft (as Fairchild-Hiller)

Hughes 269A / 300C / 333 helicopter
Hughes Aircraft (1960's to July 1983, Culver City, Calif., as the Hughes 200, 269, 269A, 300, and TH-55A)
Schweizer Aircraft (July 1983, Elmira, NY, Model 300C and 333)

Hughes 369A / 500-series / 600 / Explorer helicopter
1960's to 1983, Hughes Aircraft, Culver City, Calif (as the Hughes 500 thru 500D, and military 369/369A/OH-6/OH-6A Cayuse/LOACH; 500M and Defender)
1984, McDonnell-Douglas (as MD-500E, MD-520N, MD-600N and Explorer)
1997, Boeing (acquired with McDonnell-Douglas, in 1997, as the MD-520N, MD-600N and MD-900 Explorer)
ca.2000, MD Helicopters, Inc. (as MD-500E, MD-520N, MD-530F, MD-600N and 902 Explorer)

Bell
Bell Aircraft
Bell Helicopter div. of Bell Aircraft
Bell Helicopter, div. of Textron
Bell-Boeing (team to produce tilt-rotor V-22 Osprey)
Bell-Agusta (team to produce tilt-rotor BA-609)
Piasecki/Vertol/Boeing
P-V Research Co.
Piasecki
Vertol
Vertol div. of Boeing
Boeing-Vertol Co.
Boeing-Philadelphia
(also teamed with Bell on V-22 Osprey, as Bell-Boeing)

Eurocopter
merged helicopter divisions of
Aerospatiale (France)
 and
Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm ("MBB") (Germany)

Westland
Westland Aircraft
ca.1999, merged with Augusta (of Italy)

Seibel / Cessna
Seibel Helicopter
ca.1957, Cessna Aircraft Co. (producing CH-1/Skyhook light helicopter)


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