| Waco Aircraft Company | |
| Former Name: | Weaver Aircraft Company |
| Industry: | Aerospace |
| Predecessors: | --> |
| Founders: | --> |
| Successors: | --> |
| Hq Location City: | Troy, Ohio |
| Hq Location Country: | United States |
| Areas Served: | --> |
| Owners: | --> |
The Waco Aircraft Company (WACO) was an aircraft manufacturer located in Troy, Ohio, United States. Between 1920 and 1947, the company produced a wide range of civilian biplanes.
The company initially started under the name Weaver Aircraft Company of Ohio but changed its name to the Waco Aircraft Company in 1928/29.
WACO (referring to the aircraft) is usually pronounced "wah-co"[1] (the first syllable pronounced as in "water"), not "way-co" like Waco, Texas, whose name is entirely unrelated.
Several companies operated under the Waco name, with the first company being the Weaver Aircraft Company, a firm founded by George E. Weaver, Clayton Bruckner, and Elwood Junkin in 1920 in Lorain and Medina, Ohio after they had already been collaborating for several years. In the spring of 1923 this became the Advance Aircraft Company in Troy, Ohio, after the departure of Weaver.
In 1929, it was changed from Advance Aircraft Company to Waco Aircraft Company.[2] The firm is often confused with Western Aviation Company, the name of four unrelated aircraft enterprises in Chicago, Illinois; San Antonio, Texas; and Burbank, California.
Waco's history started in 1919 when businessmen Clayton J. "Clayt" Brukner and Elwood "Sam" Junkin met barnstorming pilots Charles "Charley" William Meyers and George "Buck" Weaver. Although their initial floatplane design was a failure, they went on to found the Waco company in 1920 and established themselves as producers of reliable, rugged planes that were popular with travelling businessmen, postal services and explorers, especially after the company began producing closed-cabin biplane models after 1930 in addition to the open cockpit biplanes.[3]
The Waco name was extremely well represented in the U.S. civil aircraft registry between the wars, with more Wacos registered than the aircraft of any other company. Production types include open cockpit biplanes, cabin biplanes and cabin sesquiplanes (known by Waco as Custom Cabins) as well as numerous experimental types.
During World War II, Waco produced large numbers of military gliders for the RAF and US Army Air Forces for airborne operations, especially during the Normandy Invasion and Operation Market Garden. The Waco CG-4 was the most numerous of their glider designs to be produced. At the same time Waco produced over 600 of its UPF-7 open biplanes and 21 VKS-7F cabin biplanes for the Civilian Pilot Training Program, which supplemented the output of the military training establishments. 42 privately owned models of sixteen types were impressed into service as light transports and utility aircraft with the USAAF under the common designation C-72/UC-72.
Waco ceased operations in 1947,[4] having suffered the fate of a number of general aviation companies when an anticipated boom in aviation following World War II failed to develop.[5] The final Waco relied on an experimental Franklin engine which, with the cancellation of other contracts became so expensive, that the Aristocraft, which relied on it, was cancelled.[6]
The Waco brand name was briefly revived, in the 1960s and early 1970s—for a scheme to produce, assemble, re-assemble or market a series of modern, all-metal Italian and French lightplanes (semi-monocoque, enclosed-cabin, low-wing, single-engine) under licence in the United States. The program was headed by a "Mr. Berger," and the enterprise was known (in 1968) as Waco Aircraft Co., a subsidiary of Allied Aero Industries, Inc., and based at Pottstown-Limerick Airport, Pottstown, Pennsylvania, with dealers in Connecticut, Georgia, Oklahoma, Texas, California, and Ontario, Canada.[7] The European WACOs—in some cases replacing the original Lycoming engines with less-popular Franklin engines (Mr. Berger was involved with Franklin) -- were to be manufactured (or at least assembled or re-assembled) in the U.S. by WACO Aircraft Company at Syracuse, New York. Only several dozen (perhaps 65–150) of these European-origin aircraft were sold as WACOs before the death of Mr. Berger put an end to the program. These planes included:[8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13]
The WACO Classic Aircraft company (unrelated to the original Waco) began building its WACO Classic YMF in 1986, an upgraded version based on Waco's original type certified design.[15]
A large number of survivors exist, with the largest single collection residing at the Historic Aircraft Restoration Museum at Dauster Field, Creve Coeur, near St Louis, Missouri.[16]
| + Engine designations (1930–1942) | |
| Letter | Engine |
|---|---|
| A | Jacobs L-6MB |
| B | Wright R-540 |
| C | Wright R-760 |
| D | Wright R-760-E1 |
| E | Wright R-760-E2 |
| H | Lycoming R-680-E3 |
| I | Kinner B-5 |
| J | Wright R-975-E1 |
| K | Kinner K-5 |
| M | Menasco C-4 |
| O | Kinner C-5 |
| P | Jacobs LA-1 |
| Q | Continental A-70 |
| R | Warner Scarab |
| S | Pratt & Whitney R-985 |
| U | Continental R-670, W-670-K, W-670-6 |
| V | Continental W-670-M |
| W | Wright R-975-E3 |
| Y | Jacobs L-4MB |
| Z | Jacobs L-5MB |
Note: Waco civilian designations describe the configuration of the aircraft. The first letter lists the engine used, the second the specific type, and the third the general series. The coding system was changed in 1929 with several letters reassigned, and later with the introduction of the Custom Cabin series, the third letter 'C' was initially replaced with C-S (Cabin-Standard) and finally S.[17] The numeral suffix represents the first year of production if it is 6 or higher (6=1936), or a sub type if 2 or less. Thus EGC-7 is a Wright R-760-E2 (3500NaN0) engined, cabin biplane airframe, custom cabin model first manufactured in 1937.[18]
Many Waco Cabin Biplanes that were originally sold as civilian aircraft, were impressed into military service in World War II. The United States Army Air Forces classified theirs regardless of type as Waco C-72s, with type letters identifying specific models. Other countries used other designations for their own Wacos.
1 conversion of Waco 10 with Continental W-670 radial engine.
Waco 10 variant with Wright J-5 radial engine, known as J-5 Straightwing, Waco Sport, and Whirlwind Waco. 95 built.
Variant of ASO Wright J-6-5 radial engine. 45 built.
Variant of ASO with Wright J-6-7 radial engine. 59 built.
Variant of ASO with Hispano-Suiza A/E V8 engine. 62 built.
Variant of ASO with Packard DR-980 engine. 1 built.
Taperwing variant of ASO. 54 built.
Taperwing variant of CSO. 35 built.
Modified from HSO. 1 built.
Wright J-6-9. 1 built.
JTO variant for evaluation by U.S. Navy. 2 built.
Straightwing mailplane with Wright R-975 engine. Derivative of ASO with 14" fuselage stretch. 2 built.
Taperwing mailplane with Wright J-6-9 radial engine. Derivative of ATO with 14" fuselage stretch. 4 built for Northwest Airways
Improved KBA, side by side two seat biplane with optional canopy and Kinner B-5 engine. 3 built.
Kinner K-5 radial engine. 50 built.
IBA variant with Jacobs LA-1 radial engine. 4 built.
IBA variant with Warner Scarab radial engine. 4 built.
IBA variant with Continental R-670 radial engine. 6 built.
Improved IBA, known as Waco Sportsman, with Jacobs LA-1 radial engine and greater range. 4 built.
PLA variant with Continental R-670 radial engine. 1 built.
Kinner C-5 engine. Unknown if built.
Jacobs LA-1 engine. 4 built.
Kinner R-5(?) engine. None built.
Jacobs LA-1 radial engine. 3 built.
Continental A-70 radial engine. 31 built.
Continental R-670 radial engine. None built, became UBF.
Jacobs L-4 radial engine. 18 built -3 & -5.
Jacobs L-4 radial engine. Basis for YMF-5 Super currently in production.
Kinner B-5 radial engine. 50 built.
Kinner K-5 radial engine. 20 built.
Menasco C-4 Pirate inline engine. 4 built.
Continental A-70 radial engine. 1 built.
Warner Scarab radial engine. 177 built.
Wright R-760 radial engine. 1 built.
Lycoming R-680 radial engine. Possibly not built.
Continental R-670 radial engine. Prototype for UPF-7.
Second-most produced variant, over 600 built. Continental W-670 engine. Widely used in the Civilian Pilot Training Program. 14 became YPT-14 trainers, but not adopted by USAAF.
with Wright R-540 engine. None built.
with Kinner C-5 engine. modified to QDC.
with Jacobs LA-1 engine. 2 built on special order.
with Continental A-70 engine. 37 built.
with Continental R-670 engine. None built.
with Kinner C-5 engine. 3 built.
with Continental R-670 engine. 40 built.
with Wright R-540 engine. 1 built (converted from OEC or UEC).
with Continental R-670 engine. 83 built.
with Continental R-670-B engine. 18 built.
VKS-7 for CPTP with flaps. 21 built.
Continental R-670-A or 2250NaN0 Continental R-670-B engine. 4 built.
Jacobs L-4 engine. 50+ YOC & YOC-1 built.
Jacobs L-5 engine.
Wright R-760-E engine. 30+ built of all CUC types.
Wright R-760-E1 engine.
Wright R-760 engine.
Jacobs L-5 engine. 7 built.
Wright R-760 engine. None built.
Wright R-760 engine. 11 built.
Wright R-760 engine. 20 built. USCG used 3 as J2W-1.
Pratt & Whitney Wasp Jr engine. None built.
Continental R-670 or W-670-K or W-670-6. Probably none built.
Continental W-670 engine.
Jacobs L-4 engine. 13 built. 1 ex-RAAF example re-engined with DeHavilland Gypsy 6 inline engine.
Jacobs L-5 engine. 68 built.
Jacobs L-6 engine. 17 built, 2 modified to EGC-8.
Wright R-760 engine. 2 built.
Menasco Pirate inline engine. Unknown number built.
Continental R-670 engine. None built.
Continental W-670 engine. None built.