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History of the Aerostyle Aviation Firm

119k DestinyAviation  9.0 years ago

When Aerostyle was started in 1906, the founders didn't think that the company would last very long. However, in 1908, they created their first plane, the AV-10. It wasn't very successful, but it proved that they could make working aircraft. Their next project wasn't revealed until 1923, when the company entered their Model 12 into the Lympne Trials. The design was flawed, but again, it proved that they could make working aircraft. Their next projects were the Model 13, Model 14, Model 15, Model 16, and then their most successful aircraft, the Model 17. The Model 16 & 17 featured semi-pressurized cockpits and windscreens for the pilots, but these were widely used by this time. The company was about to sell the design for the Model 17 when disaster struck. In 1935, their warehouse holding most of the prototypes, including the Model 18 & 19, was destroyed. The USAAF revoked their request for more aircraft and the company almost went bankrupt. But, in 1940, the company released the Model 20. The Model 20 was a very radical experimental aircraft, and was never destined to see any practical use. It served as a test bed for further technologies put into later Aerostyle aircraft. Two prototypes were created. On October 22, 1940, Rick Rogers, the chief Aerostyle test pilot, took to the sky in the Model 20. After only a few minutes of flight, Rick lost control of the plane and it crashed into a hillside, killing Rick instantly. The cause of the crash was blamed on engine failure. The other Model 20 was locked up in a storage barn until it's discovery in 2014, and is now on display at the Aerostyle Aviation Museum. After the crash, Aerostyle didn't create another experimental aircraft until 1942, when they released the Model 21. The model 21 was radical even to the Aerostyle design team. The company usually used two or four engines on their planes, but the Model 21 used only three. Because of the amount of power the Model 21 had compared to the other models, it was ordered by the USAAF into full production. But when slow build time and a few engine problems arose, the USAAF cancelled their orders once again. There were approximately 13 Model 21s built, but only two survive. One is in the Aerostyle Aviantion Museum, and the other hanging from the ceiling at the Aerostyle Design Firm headquarters. Due to engine failures and delays, the Model 22 was never released to the public, and in 1944 it was scrapped to make the Model 23, Aerostyle's fastest prop-driven aircraft. It could reach speeds of over 460 miles per hour, which is faster than other propeller aircraft of that time. Soon, however, they would need to go farther; jets. Aerostyle made one last prop-driven aircraft to celebrate their overall success, the Model 24. The Model 24 beat almost all existing speed records at the time, reaching speeds over 520 miles per hour. The Model 24 paved the way for the company to make their first jet, the Model 25. After their success with the Model 24, Aerostyle wanted to make a jet that was as successful. Sadly for them, the Model 25 didn't do very well and the USAF ordered that funds go to other projects, essentially cutting off Aerostyle. This meant that hey had to make airplanes using their own money, not government funds.

The company tested different aircraft in the years leading up to 1965, when they made their first combat aircraft; the F-202 Thunderbow. It became an instant hit, and the USAF (United States Air Force) quickly ordered a grand total of 89 of the jet. All of them were made and shipped just in time for the Vietnam War, where the new strike-aircraft got its' first sight of war. It proved quite successful in its' intended role, but some flaws were found. One major flaw was that it had no gun, and all the hard points were for ground-attack roles, not air-to-air combat. Germany, Italy, and England all ordered multiple F-202s to serve in their air forces, but under licensed names.

Many years passed where the company almost went into bankruptcy. The CEO from 1960, Teddy "Hard-Point" Style (nicknamed for his love of strike-aircraft, the great-great-grandson of the founder) died at 87 in 2003. A new CEO wasn't found until 2010, when the company started to go back and look at the aircraft that were designed from 1945-1960. They found several aircraft designs and even some off-the-record aircraft, including the XB-73 "Linebacker" concept bomber. Many others are still out there, including a very radical design only known as "Project One", which is believed to be a bomber (no one knows what it looks like. No statistics were found of it except that it is "very fast, sleek, and from out of this world").