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40-486: The Airster appeared in 1920 designed by Bert Kinner , it was a one or two seat open-cockpit single-engine biplane. The first single-seat Airster was powered by a 60 hp (45 kW) Lawrance L-4 radial engine. When the prototype crashed on a test flight it was rebuilt as a two-seater with a wider cockpit. One Airster named The Canary was bought by Amelia Earhart while she was learning to fly. Later production aircraft had slab-sided plywood fuselages and were powered by

80-593: A 20-year/100,000 mile warranty for the body. During the mid-1950s, Crown made several changes to the Supercoach. In 1954, the company made the Cummins NHH available as an option, producing the first diesel-engined school bus. In 1955, Crown developed the largest school bus in the United States. In expanding the bodyshell to 40 feet (then the maximum for both school buses and motorcoaches) and adding

120-471: A 230-acre property, Kinner opened an airport and a company to manufacture airplanes. The firm, Kinner Airplane and Motor Corporation , was the first California publicly traded company . He was the manager of Kinner Field , the first municipally-owned airport in Los Angeles, located on the west side of Long Beach Boulevard and Tweedy Road, in what is now South Gate, California . His airfield included

160-460: A Hall-Scott gasoline engine. In 1939, Crown acquired Moreland Motor Truck Company; as part of the acquisition, Crown moved to a larger factory in Los Angeles. Additionally, the Supercoach was changed from a mid-engine to a rear-engine configuration for 1940. During World War II, the production of Crown Coach was diverted towards military use; most bodies produced by the company were fire engine bodies for four-wheel drive truck chassis. Following

200-587: A Long Beach hospital". He was buried in the Portal of Folded Wings Shrine to Aviation with other aviation pioneers in Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery . In December 1920, Kinner Field's most famous student, Amelia Earhart , arrived. After taking her first flying lesson with Neta Snook , Earhart bought the prototype Kinner Airster for $ 2,000 to continue her training. The bright yellow biplane, that she immediately christened "The Canary",

240-725: A business as an automobile coachbuilder . In 1918, Kinner served in the United States Army Air Service , but he didn't see active duty, and was not trained to fly, because, on 11 November 1918 the First World War ended. In Venice, California , the following year, he went on an observation airplane ride then began an aircraft career. In 1920, Kinner was working as an aircraft engineer in Los Angeles , but had an aspiration to design and build aircraft. At Long Beach Boulevard and Tweedy Boulevard, on

280-458: A defunct American bus manufacturer . Founded in 1904, the company was best known for its Supercoach range of yellow school buses and motorcoaches ; the former vehicles were marketed throughout the West Coast of the United States. Competing alongside Gillig Corporation and similar its Gillig Transit Coach , the two companies supplied California with school buses nearly exclusively into

320-525: A limited series of light aircraft; the Kinner series of engines powered aircraft from the late 1920s to the early 1930s. The earliest Kinner engines had three cylinders, and were modeled after the French Anzani 3-cylinder fan engines . Later Kinner developed a range of five cylinder engines. The airplane business ended in the mid-1930s, but the engines were produced through World War II . Kinner became

360-420: A major shift in company production occurred as Murillo M. ("Brock") Brockway , the son of the company founder, was put in charge of school bus production. Viewing school buses as a growth market in the suburbs of southern California, Brockway discontinued all wagon production in favor of bus and truck body production. To expand production and improve shipping of its vehicles, a much larger factory in Los Angeles

400-403: A new mid-engine Supercoach. Heavily influenced by motorcoach design, Crown intended it primarily for school bus use. Introduced in 1949, the all-new Supercoach used unit-body construction with high-strength steel in place of a separate chassis; to combat corrosion, all body panels were aluminum. To prove the durability of the Supercoach to potential customers, Crown offered the Supercoach with

440-625: A prospective training school. At the Kinner Airplane & Motor Corporation , he began to design his first small, light aircraft called the Kinner Airster . The tiny biplane was powered by a three-cylinder Lawrence L2 engine that put out 60 hp. In 1923, Kinner moved his airplane and engine manufacturing firm to Glendale. In 1923, the Glendale Airport Association formed, and in 1929, resulted in

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480-501: A rear-engine version, as well as a raised-floor configuration (along with a version similar to the Scenicruiser ); the latter two provided for increased luggage space. To supplement its motorcoach offerings, in 1969, Crown became one of the first distributors of Quebec-built Prevost motorcoaches in the United States. The Firecoach was produced through the 1960s and 1970s with relatively few changes. While sold primarily across

520-404: A result of declining demand for school buses at the time. At the beginning of the 20th century, Don M. Brockway found himself working at the first hardware store in Los Angeles, California . To supplement its income, the hardware store sold parts for wagons and carriages. In 1904, Brockway founded his own company, as Crown Carriage Company began life producing horse-drawn carriages . While

560-437: A second rear axle, Crown raised the seating capacity from 79 to 91 passengers. As a later option, some school districts ordered the Supercoach with a 16th row of seats, further expanding seating to 97 passengers; as with its Gillig counterpart, the 97-passenger Supercoach is the highest-capacity school bus ever sold in the United States. From the 1950s to the 1970s, school bus production on the West Coast evolved separately from

600-428: A small hangar, 1,200 ft (366 m), roughed out runway and one employee, Anita "Neta" Snook , who had recently arrived from Iowa after a season of barnstorming with her Curtiss JN-4 Canuck in tow. "Snooky" turned out to be a good hire as she not only chatted up customers, and ran the air operation, but also served as a mechanic. Kinner hired Snook to test fly his aircraft and to provide flight instruction for

640-536: A streetcar operator, in Denver before going to Minnesota, there working as a barber, taxi service operator, and car dealer. On May 25, 1915, pioneer pilot and aviation designer, Otto Timm crashed in a field in Magnolia, Minnesota , owned by Kinner. His aircraft's Anzani engine was repaired by Kinner, who was fascinated by the aircraft. Later that year, he and his family went to California, where Kinner opened

680-617: A variety of 60 hp (45 kW) engines. In 1927 the company produced a three-seat variant powered by a 100 hp (75 kW) Kinner K-2 engine, with the last Airster being built in 1927. Design rights were sold to the Crown Carriage Works in 1929 who produced a version designated the Crown B-3 . Data from General characteristics Performance Winfield Bertrum Kinner Winfield Bertrum "Bert" Kinner (December 16, 1882 – July 4, 1957)

720-653: The Grand Central Air Terminal at Glendale. In the late Twenties, Kinner discontinued making whole aircraft, and focused on engines. Kinner remained as an officer of The Crown Motor Carriage Company which assumed the aircraft assembly business. Aircraft Division of the Crown Carriage Company licensed the Kinner Airster airframe and it was manufactured as the Crown B-3 between 1930 and 1933. Kinner continued to design and build

760-570: The 1980s ended, the Crown Supercoach had reached over 40 years of production with only minor evolutionary changes made through its production. In 1989, the California Energy Commission began a study to test low-emission school buses, using methanol-fueled vehicles as part of the test; Crown Coach was a manufacturer selected to take part of the study, using a methanol-fuel Detroit Diesel 6V92 engine. The fitment of

800-485: The 1980s. Crown also was the manufacturer of custom-built vehicles derived from its buses, including the Firecoach line of fire apparatus . For 80 years, Crown was headquartered in Los Angeles, California ; in 1984, the company relocated its headquarters and manufacturing to Chino, California , where it operated until its closure. In March 1991, Crown Coach (then a subsidiary of GE Railcar ) ended operations as

840-540: The Carpenter RE, a similar coach to the Crown Supercoach in 1992. Crown built its first all-metal school bus body in 1930. Mid-engine version (1937) Rear-engine version (1939) Produced as school bus and motorcoach Crown Supercoach Series II Motorcoach/Tourcoach Crown Coach Highway/Intercity coaches Produced as both school bus and motorcoach First diesel-powered school bus (1955) First tandem-axle school bus (1956) 1984–1985 First produced as

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880-440: The Crown B-3 between 1930 and 1933. 1932 would mark several major changes for the company. As part of his taking over day-to-day operations of Crown from his father, MM Brockway introduced a ground-breaking school bus body; elements of its design would change school bus design forever. To improve forward visibility, the new bus was a cab-forward design, with the driver sitting next to the engine and radiator. To improve safety,

920-475: The Firecoach, including water tenders , tiller and ladder trucks , and quints (TeleSquirts). In the United States during the years immediately following World War II, population growth of suburbs expanded, fueled by the post-war baby boom. As that segment of the population entered school, demand for new schools (and school buses to transport their students) rapidly rose. In 1946, Crown began development on

960-512: The Supercoach in 1980, focusing entirely on school buses. By 1982, sales of the aging Firecoach had largely collapsed, leading to a temporary hiatus in its production. After 34 years of production and with slightly over 1,800 examples produced, the final Firecoach was produced in 1985. During 1984, Crown moved its headquarters and production from Los Angeles to Chino, California in San Bernardino County . To diversify beyond

1000-587: The Supercoach). In 1986, the partnership ended, with 243 examples produced. At the end of 1986, Crown Coach entered into receivership ; in addition to the closure of production, the Los Angeles factory (which it had owned since 1939) was sold. In April 1987, the company was purchased at auction by GE Railcar. After a reorganization as Crown Coach, Incorporated, production in Chino restarted in July 1987. As

1040-734: The Supercoach-based product line, Crown entered into a joint venture with the Hungarian firm Ikarus to produce articulated mass-transit buses. At 102 inches wide and 60 feet long, the Crown-Ikarus 286 was the longest and widest bus ever produced by Crown Coach. Bodied by Ikarus in Hungary, the transit bus was imported to Crown in California for final assembly, including its interior and American-sourced powertrain (shared with

1080-802: The West Coast's largest producer of aircraft engines in 1941. The last series of Kinner engines powered PT-22 trainers. In the 1930s, Kinner, formed Security National Aircraft Corporation and built planes at Long Beach, California , and Downey Field, that later became Downey Studios , in Downey, California , Kinner married Cora M. Brusse (1887-1982), the sister of his test pilot, Lee V. Brusse. In Minnesota , they had two children, Winfield Bertrum Kinner II (1911–1993), and Donald W. Kinner (1914–?). In California , they had two children, Donna M Kinner (14 August 1922—?), and Robert H Kinner (21 October 1924—?). Lee V. Brusse became Kinner's chief pilot and test pilot. Cora sewed fabric for airframes. Kinner

1120-532: The West Coast, examples of the Crown Firecoach were purchased by fire departments across the United States. In 1965, a roof was made standard for all Firecoaches, in the interest of firefighter safety. In 1979, the Brockway family sold Crown Coach Corporation to a local truck distributor; this began a sequence of ownership changes. Due to slow sales, Crown ended production of the motorcoach version of

1160-470: The bus was designed with an integral chassis; the windows were mesh-reinforced safety glass. Alongside the standard braking system, the bus also was equipped with two backup braking systems. In 1935, the cab-forward school bus was updated and dubbed the Crown Supercoach . For 1937, to increase seating capacity to 79 passengers, Crown produced its first mid-engine Supercoach; the bus came with

1200-601: The engine required an extensive update of the rear bodywork of the Supercoach, leading to a matching update of the front bodywork. Although not a completely new design, the Series II, as it was named, was the first major update to the Supercoach since 1948. GE railcar would find the business unprofitable and would seek a buyer. After an unsuccessful attempt at finding a buyer in 1990, Crown Coach would be shut down on March 31, 1991. Crown's difficulty in competing with manufacturers of smaller, less durable but cheaper school buses

1240-405: The first vehicles were built in a wooden shed, the company moved to a brick factory in 1910. After 1910, as carriages gradually became "horseless", Crown experimented with building truck bodies. In 1916, the company built its first bus body for transit use; it was an open-air design heavily influenced by wagon design. After World War I, Crown built its first body for school bus use. In 1921,

Kinner Airster - Misplaced Pages Continue

1280-464: The ground up, both Crown and Gillig chose to serve as the West Coast distributor for other manufacturers. At various times, Crown would market Wayne , Blue Bird , and Thomas Built Buses in California. Sharing much of its underlying structure with the Crown school bus, the intercity Crown Supercoach was marketed with several configurations. Along with an underfloor configuration, Crown also produced

1320-437: The rest of the United States, with the Crown Supercoach and the similar Gillig Transit Coach having a near-monopoly of the school bus segment in California and a large share of the rest of the West Coast. Outside of the region, many operators continued use of lower-capacity conventional-type buses based upon truck chassis. For users seeking lower-capacity buses on the West Coast, in place of developing an all-new model line from

1360-405: The war, the company returned to bus production, beginning design work on the 1948 Supercoach. As a side project, engineers at the company designed an all-new cabover fire engine, using the mid-engine chassis of the Supercoach bus. The first Crown Firecoach prototype was completed in 1951, after two years of design work. Alongside the initial pumper design, Crown developed several configurations of

1400-477: Was a Quiet Birdmen . About 1939, Kinner retired from active business, transferring his business to Otto Timm , turning to aircraft inspection, due to ill health. Worsening health forced him to retire. Kinner lived to age of 74, dying on 4 July 1957, in Long Beach, California . Los Angeles Times '' reported, "Winfield Bertrum Kinner, 74, pioneer aircraft manufacturer and designer, died late Thursday in

1440-579: Was an American aircraft engine designer and designer of the first folding wing aircraft. Kinner founded Kinner Airplane & Motor Corporation in Glendale, California , which produced radial engines and aircraft. Bert Kinner was born on December 16, 1882, in Benton County, Iowa . His father was from New York . His mother was born in England and her maiden name was Lee. Kinner worked, as

1480-673: Was cited by company president Bruce Freeman in October 1990 as a primary factor in GE's decision to leave the school bus market. The assets of Crown Coach would be purchased by Carpenter Body Works in May 1991. This included tooling and intellectual property of the defunct company. Carpenter hoped to restart production of the Crown Supercoach II , but deemed the unibody construction too expensive for mass production. Carpenter would introduce

1520-484: Was opened in 1923. In pursuit of developing heavier-duty and higher-capacity school buses, Crown introduced the first school bus with dual rear wheels in 1927 (on a Reo chassis). In 1930, it produced its first all-metal school bus body (on a Mack chassis), with a 43-passenger capacity. In 1929, Aircraft Division of the Crown Carriage Co. licensed the Kinner Airster airframe and it was manufactured as

1560-528: Was underpowered but provided Earhart with valuable flight time. When she wasn't able to raise more than the deposit, Kinner made a deal with her so that the Airster could be on hand as a demonstration aircraft in exchange for upkeep and hangar fees. Earhart soloed in the Airster, and after Neta left Kinner field to get married, Earhart stayed on, and continued flying. In October 1922, the Kinner Airster

1600-400: Was used to set a world high altitude record of 14,000 ft (4,267 m) for women pilots, the first of the many records set by Earhart. Due to a change in the family fortunes, Earhart was forced to sell "The Canary", but later put together enough money to purchase a second Airster. Crown Carriage Company The Crown Coach Corporation (founded as the Crown Carriage Company ) is

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