1910 Babcock Monoplane
Built by: Vearne C. Babcock – c. 1910
Babcock-Breininger Aero Supply Co, Seattle, Washington
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| A Bleriot XI similar to the one that Babcock built in 1910 - Wikimedia Commons |
The first confirmed aircraft built and flown by Vearne C. Babcock, was a Bleriot Copy monoplane equipped with a 35 horse-power Curtiss engine. Dubbed the
Babcock Monoplane, there are only a few references I was able to track down on
its career. It was listed as scheduled to fly at an air meet in Seattle,
Washington, June 11, 1911, however, poor weather brought the meet to a
premature close. The seemingly endless rains and winds of the Seattle area
earned it the designation of “hoodoo town” by early aviators. [1][2][6]
1913 Babcock Monoplane
Built by: Vearne C. Babcock – c. 1913
A second monoplane was completed by Babcock on July 4, 1913. A larger
model it was dubbed a Nieuport-Deperdussin style monoplane. An Elbridge engine
was installed first, later to be replaced by an 80 horse-power Maximotor.
Dimensions for the ship were given as thirty feet from nose to tail, with a
twenty-eight foot wingspan. Babcock would later take this monoplane with him to
Spokane, Washington in November of 1914. [3][4]
As to reports that Babcock first flew in Seattle, in 1909, reports
indicate that one Charles K. Hamilton made the first powered heavier-than-air
flight in Washington, in March of 1910. [5]
REFERENCES:
1.
“My Dad: Vearne C. Babcock” – American Airman
Magazine – Vol. 4, No. 2, Feb 1961 – Pg 16 (photo)
2. “Walsh
hits Seattle Phone Pole” – Aero: America’s Aviation Weekly – Vol. 2, No. 12, Pg
8 – 1911
3. Aero
and Hydro: America’s Aviation Weekly – Vol. 6, No. 16, Pg 10 - 19-Jul-1913
4.
“My Dad: Vearne
C. Babcock” – American Airman Magazine – Vol. 4, No. 2, Feb 1961 – Pg 15
5. “Seattle’s
Commercial Aviation: 1908-1941” – by Ed Davies, Steve Ellis – Pg 8
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