Encyclopedia Dubuque
"Encyclopedia Dubuque is the online authority for all things Dubuque, written by the people who know the city best.”
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Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
DUBUQUE AIRCRAFT COMPANY
DUBUQUE AIRCRAFT COMPANY. In the early 1900s John Andrew LOETSCHER and Samuel Simmert established the Dubuque Aircraft Company. Simmert was the mechanical expert. The school had one airplane and one hydroplane completed. A third airplane was being constructed. Flight instruction was offered by "Chick" Addison of Des Moines; George Mace of Bellevue; and Joseph F. Hammel of Dubuque.
Officials of the company announced on April 19, 1917 that they had offered their factory and their DUBUQUE AVIATION SCHOOL for use by the federal government. The letter sent to the war department resulted in the government asking for complete details of the factory and school. (1) No record exists of any business arrangement being made.
Dubuque Aircraft Company officials announced on April 28, 1917 that they had leased NUTWOOD PARK which would be renovated into an aviation school open for business on May 7th. The company had originally taken an option on an island in the MISSISSIPPI RIVER two miles south of the DUBUQUE HIGH BRIDGE, but recurrent flooding had made it unusable. The location would have been ideal for instruction in land and water landing. In April the company had one plane ready for instruction at Nutwood Park. A hydroplane for water landing had been constructed, but an engine had not yet arrived. (2)
On May 2, 1917 the company announced that it had its first contract to build a tractor-biplane. The customer was "Chick" Addison of Humboldt, Iowa. The military-type plane would be capable of carrying two passengers. Its 100 horsepower motor could reach speeds of between 45 and 70 miles per hour. At the time of the purchase, Addison was a student of the aviation school. He planned to use his plane to instruct others how to fly as soon as he was licensed. (3)
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Source:
1. "Offer Services to the Government," Dubuque Telegraph-Herald, April 19, 1917, p. 17
2. "Aircraft Company Leases Old Nutwood Park," Dubuque Telegraph-Herald, April 29, 1917, p. 35
3. "To Build Another Flying Machine," Dubuque Telegraph-Herald, May 2, 1917, p. 10