LC-11 Cadet - X7997 - Part 1

LC-11 All-American Cadet – Registry X7997, SN 501

Built by: Vearne C. Babcock – Sept 1928

Babcock Airplane Company, Akron, Ohio

Stow Field, Akron, Ohio - 1928 - Rear shot of X7997 the first of the LC-11's built

First developing the concept of an “everyman plane” in 1924, it wasn’t until late 1928 that Vearne C. Babcock completed construction of is “Air Flivver”, a small, light weight and affordable monoplane designated the LC-11 Cadet. The first of three known examples, X7997 was originally equipped with a 55 horse-power Clark, 3 cylinder radial engine. Later this was changed to the slightly more powerful, LeBlond 60 HP, 5 cylinder engine (ATC-12). [1][2][9]

Measuring 19 feet from nose to tail, with a 30 foot wingspan, the “Vest Pocket” sized X7997 featured a wooden frame with plywood covering for the keel shaped fuselage and cloth covering for the wings. Weighing a little over 600 lbs empty, the nimble LC-11 could take off in 100 feet of runway with a top speed of 110 miles per hour, and a range of 450-500 miles. [1][3]

First flying in November 1928, the X7997 was to be the flagship of the short lived All-American Aircraft Company founded by Babcock and Carl K Wollam, a noted balloon and dirigible pilot with the Good Year Tire & Rubber Company in Akron, Ohio. In an effort to take advantage of the “Air Flivver” market, the X7997, would put in several appearances at various air shows in the American Mid-West and New England. [1][6][8][10]

She was demonstrated to Israel Klein, a writer with the National Education Association (NEA) in 1928. Mr. Klein then went up in the small plane with Captain Alan E.T. Bruce, the chief test pilot of the All-American Aircraft Company. [3]

Following the tragic death of Captain Bruce (see article on LC-11, X551E), on April 13, 1929, Babcock turned to fellow Akron aviator Ralph F. Thomas as his go to man for aerial demonstrations. Mr. Thomas demonstrated the X7997 at Lansing Airport in Chicago for officials of Cook County, Michigan, including Major Ralph Royce, in November of 1929. [1][4]

Later that month (Nov 1929) he flew the plane to Roosevelt Field, New York. Taking off from Cleveland, Ohio, he traveled nearly 500 miles with a storm nipping at his heels the whole way. As his own words recount;
   “I came over the mail route all the way, beating ahead of a storm all the time and I flew plenty high over the Alleghenies…I never saw a more beautiful sunrise than I did coming over New York City to Roosevelt Field at that early hour. Flying at 6,000 feet, I passed over the Statue of Liberty and Coney Island and in the distance I could see Long Beach. Below me were broken clouds and above a perfect blue sky.
  “I said to Babcock, who flew over from Hadley with me, that if I had enough gas I’d say goodbye and meet him over in Paris.” [1]

Sadly, for the All-American Aircraft Company, the crash of X7997’s sister ship, X551E, in Dearborn, Michigan, 13-Apr-1929 and the crash of the stock market in Oct 29 of the same year spelled the end of the LC-11. [4][7]


However, X-7997 was not destined to go out quietly and an inventor in Akron, Ohio would purchase the little ship as a test bed for his new invention, a steam powered aviation engine. 

Part Two

 

Stow Field, Akron, Ohio - 1928 - Left to right; Captain Alan E.T. Bruce, Vearne C. Babcock, Carl K Wollam, pose in front of X7997

Specs for LC-11 Cadet Monoplane [1][3][10]
Construction: Wood Frame, Plywood covering for fuselage, cloth covering for wings
Powerplant: LeBlonde 60-5D (ATC-12), 60 HP, 5 cylinder radial engine
Dimensions: Length 19 FT: Wingspan 30 FT: 120 SQ FT wing area.
Crew: 2, Pilot and Passenger
Weight: 600+ lbs empty weight
Ceiling: 10,000 ft
Range: 500 Miles
Climb Rate: 800 ft/min
Top Speed: 110 MPH
Cruising Speed: 90 MPH


References:

1.       “Fool Proof ‘Vest Pocket’ Plane at Roosevelt Field” – Article by Fred Lang – The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Brooklyn, NY, 12 Nov 1929, Pg 1

2.       “Mystery Plane” – Article by H.G. Frautschy – Vintage Airplane Magazine – EAA Vintage Aircraft Association – Volume 24, No. 2, Feb 2, 1996 – Pg 26 & 27

3.       “New ‘Ford of the Air’ can be flown by any motorist” – NEA article by Israel Klein – Printed in The Scranton Republican, Scranton, PA, 27 Dec 1928, Page 13

4.       “Detroit Air Crashes Take Lives of Two” – The News-Palladium, Benton Harbor, Michigan, 15-Apr-1929 – Page 7

5.       ATC-12 Record for LeBlonde 60-5D – Document

6.       Department Reports of the State of Ohio – 1928-29 – Vol. 28 – Pg 153

7.       Ohio Secretary of State website – Business Filing Portal – Records pertaining to; The All-American Aircraft Company.

8.       “Display Aero Live Savers” – Detroit Free Press, Detroit, Mich – 15-Apr-1928 – Pg 81, Col. 3

9.       “Babcock Monoplane” – by W. E. Burton - Aero Digest, Nov 1928 – Vol. 13 – Pg 932

10.    “Officials give ‘Fool Proof’ Airplane Test” – Arizona Republic, Phoenix, AZ – 3 Nov 1929, Pg 31, Col. 4

11.    Aircraft Registration Records for X-7997, Babcock Airplane Co. – National Air and Space Museum.