Beautifully engraved certificate from the Aeronca Aircraft Corporation issued in 1941. This historic document was printed by Franklin Lee - American Banknote Company and has an ornate border around it with a vignette of an allegorical woman with two world globes on her side holding a winged wheel with mono planes flying. This item has the printed signature of the Company's President and Secretary and is over 71 years old.
Certificate Vignette The Aeronca Aircraft Corporation was founded November 11, 1928 in Cincinnati, Ohio. The company was the first to sell a profitable general aviation aircraft, and by the time production ended in 1951, Aeronca had sold 17,408 aircraft in 55 models. Production began with the Jean A. Roche-designed Aeronca C-2 monoplane, often called the Flying Bathtub, in 1929. The next major model was the Scout of 1937, a two-seater, which was developed into the famous Chief and Super Chief the next year. The Defender, a tandem trainer version of the Chief with a higher rear seat, was used in training many of the pilots who flew in World War II. Several observation and liaison aircraft designs were also produced during and after the war, including the L-3, L-16, and O-58. Following the close of World War II, civilian production of the Chief and Defender resumed. 1945 also saw the introduction of a new model based on the Super Chief: the 7AC Champion or Champ. The Champ was a tandem development that shared many components with the Chief, and outsold its sibling at a rate of 8 to 1. Between 1945 and 1951, over 10,000 Champions were sold. Aeronca ended production in 1951, selling the Champion and Chief designs to the new Champion Aircraft Corporation, which continued the Champion as the Citabria. Aeronca now builds components for aerospace companies including Boeing, Northrup, Lockheed, and Airbus.