Ken Brock Manufacturing Explained

Ken Brock Manufacturing, Inc.
Type:Privately held company
Fate:Out of business
Foundation:1960s
Founder:Ken Brock
Defunct:late 2005
Hq Location City:Stanton, California
Hq Location Country:United States
Industry:Aerospace
Products:Kit aircraft, autogyros
Subsid:Santa Ana Metal Stamping

Ken Brock Manufacturing, Inc. was an American aircraft manufacturer founded by Ken Brock in the 1960s and based in Stanton, California. The company specialized in the design and manufacture of autogyros in the form of kits for amateur construction, including under the US FAR 103 Ultralight Vehicles rules.[1] [2] [3]

Ken Brock Manufacturing produced a number of aircraft designs including the Brock KB-1, Brock KB-2 and Brock KB-3 autogyros, plus the Ken Hovey-engineered Brock Avion ultralight aircraft. The company was also noted for the high-quality aircraft parts that it produced for other designer's aircraft, especially the Rutan Long-EZ and the Cozy Mark IV.[1] [2] [3] [4]

The company occupied a 10000square feet plant that included lathes, milling machines, drill presses, tap and die making, equipment for heat treating metal, plating and welding.[5]

A subsidiary was Santa Ana Metal Stamping, which Brock set up to produce stamped metal parts using numerical control machinery.[6]

The company closed for business at the end of 2005 after Brock's death on 19 October 2001 while landing a Thorp T-18.[7] After his death, Brock's widow, Marie Brock, who survived the 2001 accident, attempted to sell the business and parts on hand. Aircraft Spruce & Specialty Co purchased the Cozy Mark IV parts inventory, jigs, tooling and drawings.[4]

Aircraft

+ align=center style="background:#BFD7FF"Summary of aircraft built by Ken Brock Manufacturing
Model nameFirst flightNumber builtType
Brock KB-1single seat autogyro
Brock KB-21970more than 300 (2005)single seat autogyro
Brock KB-31985200 (2005)single seat autogyro
Brock Avionsingle seat ultralight aircraft

External links

Notes and References

  1. Cliche, Andre: Ultralight Aircraft Shopper's Guide 8th Edition, pages E-3 and F-3. Cybair Limited Publishing, 2001.
  2. Downey, Julia: 2005 Trikes 'Chutes and Rotorcraft Directory, Kitplanes, Volume 22, Number 2, February 2005, page 57. Belvoir Publications. ISSN 0891-1851
  3. Web site: Ken Brock Manufacturing, Inc.. 24 February 2015. exp-aircraft.com.
  4. News: Ken Brock Manufacturing Closed . 24 February 2015. 31 January 2006. Aero News Network.
  5. Web site: Manufacturing Facilities. 15 February 2015. Brock. Ken. https://web.archive.org/web/20050204142655/http://kenbrockmfg.com/mfgfac.htm . 4 February 2005.
  6. Web site: Santa Ana Metal Stamping. 15 February 2015. Brock. Ken. https://web.archive.org/web/20050204143500/http://kenbrockmfg.com/stamping.htm . 4 February 2005.
  7. Web site: NTSB Accident Number: LAX02FA008. 2021-06-26. www.accidents.app.