ERCO 415 Ercoupe
Fred Weick had been the assistant chief of aeronautics design at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) in the early 1930s, and as such had participated in testing a spin-resistant aircraft, dubbed the W-1. The one-off W-1 prototype had been built by NACA engineers in their spare time and at their own expense, and showed superb handling characteristics. Weick liked the design so much that he decided to go into business for himself; in 1936, he resigned from NACA and joined the Engineering and Research Corporation (ERCO) at College Park, Maryland.
Drawing on his experience with the W-1, Weick designed the ERCO 310 Ercoupe in 1937. The driving force behind the Ercoupe was a cheap aircraft--something necessary in the cash-strapped Depression years--but one that was also very safe and easy to fly. The endplate tail and low wing was a little unusual in a time dominated by single tail, high wing civil aircraft, but what made the Ercoupe truly unique was its lack of rudder pedals: the aircraft was flown entirely by the control wheel. This made the Ercoupe very easy to fly, and its design, with some basis in the W-1, was nearly impossible to spin. Finally, because the Ercoupe was made of aluminum, it was tougher than its fabric-covered competition.
The Ercoupe showed a lot of promise, but before it could become popular, the United States entered World War II. All aluminum was diverted to wartime production, and Ercoupes were instead built with wood. This made them remarkably quiet, and though production was almost nonexistent due to the war, a few ERCO 310s were used by the Civil Air Patrol to patrol the US East Coast for German U-boats--wooden 310s were so quiet, U-boat crews on the surface could not hear them until they were on top of the submarine. Unfortunately, the diminutive Ercoupe could not carry depth charges, so this early stealth ability was of limited use.
Once the war ended, ERCO swung back into production, and the Ercoupe proved the company's faith in the aircraft. At one point, the company was averaging 3500 aircraft a year, marketing them in mail-order catalogs and flying them to airshows, and the Ercoupe was one of the cheapest aircraft available. Unfortunately for ERCO, the market was also glutted postwar, and the Ercoupe could not compete against much larger companies, such as Cessna and Piper. ERCO went bankrupt in late 1946, and was bought out by Aeronca.
The Ercoupe was not gone, however. Over the next 30 years, seven companies would own the patent for it, and produce aircraft, ending with Mooney rolling out the last in 1970. Even today, spare parts remain plentiful.
As a rule, I usually don't photograph general aviation aircraft, but I have a friend who loves the Ercoupe, so I got this picture for him. This is a postwar ERCO 415C with an uprated engine; it was donated to Pima in 1990, but not placed on display until 2004.
ERCO 415 Ercoupe
Fred Weick had been the assistant chief of aeronautics design at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) in the early 1930s, and as such had participated in testing a spin-resistant aircraft, dubbed the W-1. The one-off W-1 prototype had been built by NACA engineers in their spare time and at their own expense, and showed superb handling characteristics. Weick liked the design so much that he decided to go into business for himself; in 1936, he resigned from NACA and joined the Engineering and Research Corporation (ERCO) at College Park, Maryland.
Drawing on his experience with the W-1, Weick designed the ERCO 310 Ercoupe in 1937. The driving force behind the Ercoupe was a cheap aircraft--something necessary in the cash-strapped Depression years--but one that was also very safe and easy to fly. The endplate tail and low wing was a little unusual in a time dominated by single tail, high wing civil aircraft, but what made the Ercoupe truly unique was its lack of rudder pedals: the aircraft was flown entirely by the control wheel. This made the Ercoupe very easy to fly, and its design, with some basis in the W-1, was nearly impossible to spin. Finally, because the Ercoupe was made of aluminum, it was tougher than its fabric-covered competition.
The Ercoupe showed a lot of promise, but before it could become popular, the United States entered World War II. All aluminum was diverted to wartime production, and Ercoupes were instead built with wood. This made them remarkably quiet, and though production was almost nonexistent due to the war, a few ERCO 310s were used by the Civil Air Patrol to patrol the US East Coast for German U-boats--wooden 310s were so quiet, U-boat crews on the surface could not hear them until they were on top of the submarine. Unfortunately, the diminutive Ercoupe could not carry depth charges, so this early stealth ability was of limited use.
Once the war ended, ERCO swung back into production, and the Ercoupe proved the company's faith in the aircraft. At one point, the company was averaging 3500 aircraft a year, marketing them in mail-order catalogs and flying them to airshows, and the Ercoupe was one of the cheapest aircraft available. Unfortunately for ERCO, the market was also glutted postwar, and the Ercoupe could not compete against much larger companies, such as Cessna and Piper. ERCO went bankrupt in late 1946, and was bought out by Aeronca.
The Ercoupe was not gone, however. Over the next 30 years, seven companies would own the patent for it, and produce aircraft, ending with Mooney rolling out the last in 1970. Even today, spare parts remain plentiful.
As a rule, I usually don't photograph general aviation aircraft, but I have a friend who loves the Ercoupe, so I got this picture for him. This is a postwar ERCO 415C with an uprated engine; it was donated to Pima in 1990, but not placed on display until 2004.