Airborne again
Velies were flying high in 1928
After the tragic hijacked plane
crashes of September 11, 2001, people are afraid to fly and the airline industry is on the
verge of a nasty nosedive.
Ý
Led by Deere’s
grandson Willard, the Velie vehicle ventures included buggies, automobiles and airplanes
from 1902 to 1928.
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That’s why the Green
Girl wanted to pay tribute to the thrill of flying with a look at the successes of the
Velie Monocoupe.
Earlier columns on the adventurous Velie family mentioned their
manufacturing success in carriages and cars, but they also made airplanes for a short
period around 1928.
Willard L. Velie, grandson of John
Deere, became a millionaire in Moline with his successful automobile business. After
living large for many years, W.L. Velie was enjoying the fruits of his labor when his son
Will Jr. convinced him of a high-flying future in aviation. Soon the Velies acquired the
failing Central States Aero Company of Moline.
An excellent engine
In 1927, Velie Motors Corporation designed and built a radical and
extremely successful 5-cylinder radial aircraft engine rated for 62 hp at 2000 rpm.
Ý
Here, Willard Velie (left)
poses next to Bill Stout (right), designer of the Ford Trimotor at the Detroit
All-American Air Show in April 1928. After seeing Velie’s Monocoupe, Stout and his
boss Henry Ford wanted to buy the business from Velie, who refused to sell his newly
acquired venture.
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This engine would
power the two-place Monocoupe first flown by Moline airport manager Rusty Campbell on
April 1, 1927 (April Fool’s Day?!?).
It was rumored that early Velie engines dropped
so much cast iron on Moline’s airport that Campbell claimed it was ruining his
mowers. So an improved engine was introduced with aluminum heads and nickel steel
cylinders.
"For over 20 successive years the name
VELIE has been a synonym for quality and superior performance. Only the highest quality
materials and workmanship have entered in the construction of Velie products."
"More than eight years ago, Velie,
recognizing the demand for a better automobile motor than at that time available for motor
car use, designed and built the famous Velie airplane type valve-in-head motor.
"Today, the sensational success of the
famous "Monocoupe" powered with the Velie five-cylinder air cooled, aircraft
engine, which has been approved by the United States Department of Commerce, proves
conclusively that Velie is again far in the lead in motor design and construction."
(Quoted excerpt from "Simplified
Flying" booklet)
Engine falls from plane
| Ý 
Famous aviator Charles
Lindbergh loved to fly the Velie Monocoupe!
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The famed Velie M-5 engine has
another unique story connected to it.
Apparently, in October of 1929,
the motor dropped out of the Monocoupe plane somewhere over Talbot, Michigan, causing the
plane to make a crash landing.
According to the local newspaper
(the Eagle News of Marinette, Wisconsin), the headline was "Motor Drops Out of Plane,
All Escape."
The pilot and his passenger were
flying from Alvada, Montana to Manistique, Michigan when "the motor of their
Monocoupe had torn loose from their plane and dropped 2,400 feet to earth."
The pilot managed to crash-land
the motor-less plane in the treetops near a cemetery but both pilot and passenger walked
away.
"Pilot Wilbur explained that
the propeller broke and knocked the motor out of balance and the violent vibration jerked
the motor out of the ship."
Ý
An aerial shot of an
airplane factory —ÝVelie Monocoupes were built at the Mono Aircraft factory in
Moline until 1931 when production relocated to St. Louis.
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The pilot offered a $5 reward for
finding the lost motor, but it was not discovered until 67 years later in 1996!
Flying in first
class comfort
The Monocoupe aircraft quickly gained industry popularity and success
both as a personal and racing craft as a result of its closed-cabin comfort, responsive
controls, speed and economy.
Dealerships were in great demand and planes were shipped from Moline
all across the country on railcars.
In 1928 at the National Air
Races in Los Angeles, the Velie Monocoupe scored its first victory. The plane also won a
number of speed events averaging just over 100 mph against competitive aircraft with much
larger 90-100 hp engines.
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A female pioneer
pilot, Phoebe Fairgrave Omlie, flew Velie Monocoupes, winning numerous races and
competitions. Check out next week’s column for more information on this aviation
adventure-seeker.
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The end
of an era
Just as the company was planning
to introduce a four-place Monocoach, W.L. Velie died in October of 1928 at age 62. His son
ceased automobile production to focus on building airplanes, but he too died suddenly just
four months after his father, promptly grounding the Velie’s fledgling flying
business.
A St. Louis firm bought the company and continued production in the old
Velie carriage factory buildings until July 1931. Then production relocated to St. Louis
under the renamed Monocoupe Corporation/Lambert Engine & Machine Corporation.Ý
Today, Monocoupe fans can connect with others and even attend an annual
fly-in. Contact Bob Coolbaugh at 703-590-2375 for more information, or e-mail him at monocoupe@erols.com
Remember Amelia Earhart?
Well, her fellow female pilot Phoebe Fairgrave
Omlie flew Velie Monocoupe planes, finishing first in numerous races. Next week,
we’ll take a closer look at this female pioneer pilot..
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Birth of a
legend
The Monocoupe 70 was built in 1928 with a
55-hp Velie M-5 engine. |
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Here, factory employees weld the
steel fuselage of the Velie Monocoupe plane |
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The wing assembly section of the
Mono Aircraft factory. |
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Skilled men assemble the Velie M-5
motor in the Moline factory. |
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This 5-cylinder valve-in-head
motor became a sales success for Velie, powering Monocouple airplanes with up to 62 hp at
2000 rpm. |
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A crew installs the Velie M-5
motor in the Monocoupe. |
| Ý "Simplified
Flying"
A booklet called "Simplified
Flying" written by Don A. Luscombe, Vice President and Sales Manager for Mono
Aircraft, Inc. of Moline, is billed as "a non-technical review of salient points in
primary flying —Ýwritten only for the purpose of encouraging interest in
aviation and with no presumption of serving as a text book." 
The first 20 pages explain the
principles of flying an airplane, including theory, controls, turning and landing. The
rest of the booklet’s 50-some pages highlights the Monocoupe plane and the Velie M5
engine itself. Promotional and technical text along with black-and-white photos complete
the aviation guide:
THE MONOCOUPE "The Ultimate
Plane for the Private Flyer"
"The Monocoupe is a
registered trade name for a two-place, enclosed monoplane which has been designed to
satisfy an entirely new market — that of the private owner.
Great care has been taken
to provide the things which will be demanded by the man taking the air for personal
transportation or for the sheer pleasure of flying. Since the private flyer will not
engage in military combat and has already learend from the motor car the needlessness of
fatiguing wind or soot and oil in his face he will choose the enclosed type of plane.
After satisfying himself that the cabin type sacrifices nothing in performance and
enhances it in many instances, he immediately visualizes the opportunity for comfort as
well as smartness of line and appointment.
Aside from the splendid performance and its extreme economy of
operation, the Monocoupe embraces the very features which have brought it instant
popularity. NO longer need one climb up over the top to enter. Open the door and step in
just as you would into your car. No more helmets, goggles or other accouterments of the
race track are needed. Wear white flannels and a straw hat if you will. You and your
passenger sit side by side in a compartment richly upholstered in Mohair. You converse at
full throttle, for exhaust gases and noises are collected and carried behind the cabin.
You are first amazed at its quick take off, sharp angle of climb and
its ease of operation. You will recognize its inherent stability, and immediately discover
a rare range of unobstructed vision.
Then if you have been fortunate enough to see the details of
construction a new confidence in flying safety settles down upon you with gratifying
relaxation.
There are over four hundred miles in your gasoline tanks of twenty-five
gallon capacity. They are in your wings and entirely graveity pressure. There are two
Scintilla magnetos. There are two gas lines to your carburetor and two spark plugs in each
cylinder. There is enough oil for all day. Your motor is air-cooled, so there are no water
or plumbing troubles ahead.
A great surprise awaits you in the manner the Monocoupe flattens out
the "bumps." Cruise along at eighty-five on less than half throttle or open up
to one hundred miles an hour. Take your hand off the stick, make your banks in figure
eights employing only the rudder. You will find it exceptionally easy to land.
You taxi up to the hangar and push it in unassisted without finding
yourself out of breath.
The company behind the Monocoupe is amply financed and is already
taking its place in foremost rank. At this moment the Monocoupe is being built in its own
factory with more than three hundred thousand square feet of floor space. All the
machinery and facilities of a large automobile manufacturing corporation are available.
This will permit an increase in production to fifty Monocoupes each day, if necessary. Its
early popularity indicates that this production may soon prove necessary, for those
familiar with its advantages proclaim it the easiest airplane in America to sell.
Nothing has been spared in workmanship or material. Only the best of
everything money will buy goes into its construction and because it is modern in every
respect it represents one of the greatest values in the aeronautical world today. It gets
first attention wherever it goes. It offers a new smartness, fine performance, cabin
comfort and cleanliness, economy of operation, utmost quality and low first cost. The
Monocoupe points the way toward the ultimate plane for the private owner."
For more monoplane specs and photos, go to http://www.aerofiles.com/_mono.html.
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Text and photosÝ © 2001 Brenda
Kruse. |