WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES NOVEMBER 9, 2017 23
OUR NEIGHBORHOOD: THE WAY IT WAS
Glendale’s connection to aviation history
BY THE OLD TIMER
EDITORIAL@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
@RIDGEWOODTIMES
Previously located off the intersection
of Cooper Avenue
and 79th Place in Glendale, the
Brunner Winkle Aircraft Corporation
produced Bird biplanes during the late
1920s to early 1930s.
The company began on Long Island
as the Royal Aircraft Corporation in
1926 and relocated to Glendale, under
new management and with a new
name, two years later.
It had etched itself in aviation
history by that time, as it produced a
biplane model that Charles Lindbergh
used in preparation for his historic,
trans-Atlantic fl ight in 1927. He also
used this particular aircraft to teach
his wife, Anne, how to fl y.
TAKING OFF
Brunner Winkle Aircraft Corp. was
incorporated in New York State in May
1928, with William E. Winkle, president;
J.J. Finkel, vice president; Joseph E. Brunner,
treasurer; and August Brunner,
secretary. They rented space in the former
Our Darling Match Factory at 72-34
Charlotte Pl. (now 60th Lane) in Glendale.
Michael Gregor was the chief
engineer and designer. The Brunner
brothers operated an automobile
garage on Metropolitan Avenue in
Middle Village and later had a Buick
agency. Winkle, born in Ridgewood in
1894, was a pilot in World War I and
second lieutenant in the U.S. Army
Aviation Branch. His father operated
an auto service station and tire shop on
Cooper Avenue near Cypress Avenue.
In the fall of 1928, the company
moved to larger quarters, renting
16,000 square feet at 1-17 Haverkamp St.
(now 71st Avenue) in Glendale, which
was on the north side of the Long Island
Rail Road opposite Ford Avenue
(now 79th Place).
The company stated that they
planned on building fi ve planes by
June 30, 1929, and a total of 15 by Sept.
30, 1929. The aircraft industry in the
U.S. at the time was made up of about
600 small companies.
BIRD WAS THE WORD
The fi rst plane that the company
built was the Model A “Bird,” a conventional,
three-seat commercial bi-plane
with two open cockpits. It was propeller
driven and powered by a Curtiss
OX-5 90 horsepower water-cooled,
fi ve-cylinder radial engine originally
designed for World War I aircraft .
The Model A Bird was priced at
$3,150 (equal to $43,814.84 today), had
a cruising speed of 80 mph and could
fl y for eight hours (640 miles) at 16
miles to the gallon. It had a ceiling
of 18,000 feet and a top speed of 105
mph. The fi rst nine Model A planes
produced did not qualify for the FAA’s
full Approved Type Certifi cate (ATC)
and instead were issued memorandum
certifi cates.
In September 1929, the FAA issued
to Brunner-Winkle Aircraft Corp. an
ATC for the new model Bird known
as the BK. It was powered by a fi ve
cylinder, air-cooled radial engine, the
Kinner K-5, built by Kinner Airplane
and Motor Corp. of Glendale, Calif. It
was a 100 horsepower engine. The
Model B-K, priced at $3,895 (equal to
$54,177.40 today), had a top speed of 115
mph. About 75 were built.
The company, however, continued
to build the Model A until their supply
of Curtiss Ox-5 engines was exhausted.
They built about 85 Model As.
We would be remiss if we didn’t note
that Bird planes were, to the best of
our knowledge, not tested in Glendale.
They were shipped east for test fl ights
via rail to Roosevelt Field—then an airport—
where Brunner-Winkle owned
a hangar.
THE REST OF THE STORY
The Depression took its toll on the
Brunner-Winkle Aircraft Corp., and
in 1931, the name of the company was
changed to The Bird Aircraft Corp.
The Brunner brothers dropped out of
management.
Bird Aircraft moved to 79-52 Cooper
Ave., which was near their former
location. The Bird design, an open
cockpit plane, was obsolete, and they
attempted to introduce a cabin version
of the Bird by raising the fuselage to
the top of the wing and eliminating the
cockpits, but this was not successful,
and none were built.
The company went out of business in
1932, and Perth Amboy Title Company
took over their assets. It tried to keep
the business fl ying under yet another
name change—this time as the Speed
Bird Corporation—at a new base in
Keyport, N.J. But alas, fate would clip
the company’s wings, and Speed Bird
was permanently grounded in 1931.
About 300 Birds were built in all; in
later years, they were used for crop
dusting, towing banners and gliders,
etc., and were ideal for these tasks because
of their slow speed. In 1947, there
were still 137 Birds listed on the records
of the FAA. However, as World War II
surplus Stearman training planes became
available at low prices, the Bird
aircraft were replaced.
Today, there are about 70 Bird
planes still around, many of which are
owned by collectors or in museums.
According to Air and Space Smithsonian
magazine, the restored Bird
that Lindbergh used to teach his wife
how to fl y is on display at a Maryland
air park.
Reprinted from the Oct. 16, 2014 issue
of the Ridgewood Times.
If you have stories of Our Neighborhood
that you’d like to share with us,
email The Old Timer at editorial@ridgewoodtimes.
com (subject: Old Timer) or
write to The Old Timer, ℅ Ridgewood
Times, 38-15 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY 11361.
The model, similar to the one pictured above, made a signifi cant mark in
aviation history, as Charles Lindbergh used such a plane to train for his
historic trans-Atlantic fl ight and gave fl ying lessons to his wife.
The fl oor of the Brunner-Winkle factory.
