The Columbia Aircraft Corp was a United States aircraft manufacturer, which was active between 1927 and 1947.

Formation and operations

Columbia Aircraft was founded in December 1927 by Charles A. Levine as chairman and the aircraft designer Giuseppe Mario Bellanca

Giuseppe Mario Bellanca

Giuseppe Mario Bellanca was an Italian-American airplane designer and builder who created the first enclosed cabin monoplane in the United States in 1922. This aircraft is now on display at the National Air & Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.-Biography:He was born on March 19, 1886 in...

 as president. The initial name used was Columbia Air Liners Inc. The aircraft factory was established at Hempstead, New York

Hempstead (village), New York

Hempstead is a village located in the town of Hempstead, Nassau County, New York, United States. The population was 53,891 at the 2010 census.Hofstra University is located on the border between Hempstead and Uniondale.-Foundation:...

. Levine hired pilots Bert Acosta

Bert Acosta

Bertrand Blanchard Acosta was a record setting aviator. With Clarence D. Chamberlin they set an endurance record of 51 hours, 11 minutes, and 25 seconds in the air. He later flew in the Spanish Civil War in the Yankee Squadron. He was known as the Bad Boy of the Air...

, Eroll Boyd, John Wycliff Isemann, Burr Leyson, and Roger Q. Williams

Roger Q. Williams

Roger Quincy Williams was an American aviator, born in Brooklyn, New York.In July 1929 Williams, with Lewis Yancey, broke the over-water flying record by making a non-stop flight from Old Orchard Beach, Maine to Santander, Spain. The 3,400 mile flight took 31 hours and 30 minutes...

 at $200 a week to perfdorm a series of publicity record attempts for the company.

The most ambitious project for the company was the "Uncle Sam". The $250,000 prototype was brought to market at the height of the depression. It was sold at auction for $3000 to pay back hangar rent. The "Uncle Sam" and two other Triads was destroyed shortly afterward in a Roosevelt field hangar fire where 20 other aircraft were spared.{cite news|newspaper=The Meriden Daily Journal|title=Suspect in Arson Fire|date=30 January 1931}}

By 1941, the firm's title was Columbia Aircraft Corporation and the factory was located at Valley Stream, Long Island

Long Island

Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...

.
From 1941, Columbia worked closely with Grumman Aircraft, undertaking the development and production of that company's military amphibian aircraft designs including the J2F Duck and the Columbia JL.

After the completion of wartime contracts for the United States Navy, the firm's operations reduced in scale and Columbia was acquired by Commonwealth Aircraft

Commonwealth Aircraft

Commonwealth Aircraft was formed in late 1942 on the acquisition of the assets of Rearwin Aircraft & Engines. Commonwealth continued producing the acquired Rearwin designs in the acquired Rearwin facilities in Kansas City, Kansas. In early 1946, Commonwealth took over Columbia Aircraft...

 circa 1948.

Aircraft

(Data from Aerofiles)

• Wright-Bellanca WB-2 Columbia The sole example built in 1926 and bought from Wright Aeronautical
  Wright Aeronautical
  Wright Aeronautical was an aircraft and aircraft engine manufacturer located in New Jersey.-History:This American company evolved from the 1909-1916 Wright Company, which merged with the Glenn L. Martin Company in 1916 to form the Wright-Martin Aircraft Corporation. Glenn Martin resigned from...
  
  , The Columbia was a multiple world record holding aircraft designed by Bellanca that was originally considered for use by Charles Lindberg in his transatlatic flight of 1927. Bellanca took the rights to the aircraft when he left the company, making the CH series
  Bellanca CH-200
  |-References:* * -See also:...
  
   of aircraft based on the design.

• Single-seat open cockpit high-wing monoplane. Un-named design powered by a 40 h.p. Salmson engine, 1 built in 1929;

• CAL-1 Triad. Six passenger closed cabin high-wing monoplane. Powered by an 220 h.p. Wright J-5. Span 40 ft. Length 33 ft. Convertible to amphibian or seaplane. 2 built in 1929. Both destroyed in a factory fire in January 1931.

• Uncle Sam. Closed cockpit high-wing monoplane with a 450 h.p. Packard 2A engine. Span 60 ft with 1400 gallon gas tanks. Single development aircraft for a planned 50-passenger transoceanic transport. Test flown in 1930 using water ballast in long range tanks, logging twelve flights but found to be under-powered. Destoryed January 1931 hangar fire with engine and instruments removed.

• Grumman J2F-6 Duck
  Grumman J2F Duck
  |-Popular culture:* A J2F Duck was used in the 1971 film Murphy's War, which includes a spectacular three-minute rough water takeoff scene along with numerous flying and aerobatic sequences...
  
  . Single-engine amphibian biplane for the U.S. Navy. 330 built under sub-contract to Grumman Aircraft in 1941/42.

• Columbia JL. Single-engine monoplane amphibian for the U.S. Navy. 3 built in 1946, 1 being used in destructive static tests.

External links

• http://aerofiles.com/_cl.html Production details from Aerofiles of Columbia aircraft production