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« on: January 21, 2012, 05:34:28 PM »
A little information from Juptner on the Cadet:
K.K. Culver and Al Mooney were already organized as Culver Aircraft Co. making Darts in CMH. Type Certificate was issued 9-7-40 and production started in Columbus, OH but moved to Wichita, KS before the end of that year. I dont know how many "Ohio Cadets" there are but my sn 126 has a Columbus data plate.
By mid year 1941 there were 130 people working for Culver! Late in 1941 Culver was bought out by Chas. Yankey and Walter Beech and Mooney stayed with them. Art Mooney, his brother was production supervisor. Cadet production ended 10-17-42 with #459 (only 358 airplanes total). It is interesting that they started with sn-100 as a marketing ploy... thought it would be easier to sell then sn-1!
Juptner states that Cadets were delivered with all 4 engine options: A-75-8 or -9 / A-80-8 / 4AC-176 / 4AC-199.
Wood props and a first aid kit were standard equipment. (The Franklins had bat, gen & starter but not the Cont.)
Other options were: Freedman-Burnham adj. prop. / 12v battery /wind driven generator / cabin heater / landing light / fire ext. / perking brake / oil cooler / 15g. aux. fuel & 8qt. oil sump / and last of all a radio!
In 1942 Culver Aircraft was begining to look at the military contract options and (in order to survive and to contribute to the war effort) began developing the LAR-90 -aka- PQ-8. I don't know if they were ordered to stop civil production or they had to because the materials were all taken up for the war effort. Amounts to the same thing.
The "V" was developed during the war as it was felt that a safer / more benign machine would sell better after the war to all the 'new' pilots there would be then.
A last note: Walter Beech was interested enough in this 'new - faster - retractable' design to invest in it. He watched Jameison develop his 2 place "V" tail Jupter and it is said that the Swift was somewhat reverse engineered from the Cadet, so... To what extent is the Cadet the 'father' of the Swift and the Bonanza?