Eyerly Aircraft Company

Eyerly Aircraft Company
Industry Manufacturing and design
Founded 1930 (1930)
Founder Lee Eyerly
Headquarters Salem, Oregon, United States
Area served
 Worldwide
Products Aircraft, amusement rides

Eyerly Aircraft Company was a designing and manufacturing company in Salem, Oregon. It began in the aircraft industry, but later shifted to amusement rides. It was founded by Lee Eyerly in 1930.

Aircraft manufacturing

Lee Eyerly founded Eyerly Aircraft Company in 1930 to manufacture two inexpensive ways to train pilots which he devised when the Great Depression hit. The first was the Whiffle Hen,[1] a plane which only burned two US gallons (8 L) of fuel per hour of flight. The second was a ground-based flight training device patented under the name "Orientator". The Orientator consisted of a small airplane suspended in what looked like the tines of a giant tuning fork. Air from the electrically driven propeller passed over the wings and rudder, and the operator controlled the movements of the plane in a manner similar to a real aircraft.[2] The Orientator was produced commercially and eventually renamed the Acroplane.

Amusement rides

A salesman approached Eyerly about selling them to carnivals and parks as an amusement ride after noticing several Acroplanes stored on the lot outside Eyerly's shop. While Eyerly was initially skeptical, he agreed to a deal which led to selling about 50 Acroplanes as an amusement ride. The following year, Eyerly changed the company's focus from aircraft to amusement rides based on the successful sales.[2] Eyerly developed and patented numerous amusement rides which would become staples of carnival midways, including The Loop-O-Plane (1933),[2][3] the Roll-O-Plane,[4] the Fly-O-Plane and the Rock-O-Plane (1947).[5][6] Perhaps their most popular design was the Octopus,[4] which resulted in later variations: the Spider and the Monster. Two of the company's kiddie carousel rides were the Midge-O-Racer and Bulgy the Whale.[7]

Although Eyerly’s manufacturing business became amusement rides, the name of the company remained Eyerly Aircraft Company.[7]

Closure

After the company closed, the rights to their rides were purchased by Oregon Rides Inc.[6]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Oregon Aviation Hall of Fame". Oregon Aviation Historical Society. Retrieved 2015-07-12.
  2. 1 2 3 Abbott, Sam (June 30, 1951). "Eyerlys Keep Eyes in Air for Well-Grounded Ideas". The Billboard: 91. Retrieved 2015-07-12.
  3. ↑ "Eyerly Invents "Loop-O-Plane"". Western Flying Magazine. Occidental Publishing Company. 13: 24. 1933.
  4. 1 2 "Loop-o-Plane, Octopus and Rolloplane". Daily Capital Journal. May 6, 1939. p. 12. Retrieved July 12, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ "Rock O Plane". ride-extravaganza.com. Amusement Ride Extravaganza. Retrieved 2015-07-12.
  6. 1 2 "Rock-O-Plane". lewellenamusements.com. Lewellen Amusements. Retrieved 2015-07-12.
  7. 1 2 "Amusement & Carnival Rides by Manufacturer". flatrides.com. The Flat Joint. Retrieved 2015-07-12.
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