A rare bird from Gravenhurst, Ontario

[fortrena]

Even though the elementary flying training schools of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) flew Fleet Finches and de Havilland Tiger Moths for a good part of the Second World War, the RCAF realised even before the end of 1940 that these biplanes no longer had much in common with the combat aircraft of the time. Budding pilots needed a more modern aircraft, a monoplane. In November, the RCAF launched a competition to find such an aircraft. This initial training two-seater would have to include as many wooden elements as possible in order to reserve aluminum for combat aircraft. The director of the Division of Mechanical Engineering of the National Research Council of Canada (NRC), John Hamilton Parkin, immediately proposed the development of such an aircraft by his services. The RCAF deemed this option too risky and, in December, asked more than thirty-five North American aircraft manufacturers, including about fifteen Canadian ones, to submit proposals. The NRC returned to the breach once more, in January 1941, but was no more successful.

A small and newly formed Ontario aircraft manufacturer, White Aircraft (Canada) of Hamilton, was so interested in the RCAF's competition that it is purchased tooling in order to produce the White PT-7, an initial two-seater training biplane of recent design. The RCAF politely rejected this aircraft, considered obsolete. The subsidiary of White Aircraft, a small American firm, then installed in a space rented from a manufacturer of road equipment, soon launched a second proposal. Its management indicated that a recently acquired company, Union Aircraft and Marine of Gravenhurst, Ontario, had developed a single-engine monoplane amphibian before the start of the Second World War. A prototype completed in 1940 had allegedly performed several flights, without any registration and quite illegally. White Canadian Aircraft offered to supervise the production of a training version of this aircraft, the Neylan 2P-CLM, at the Gravenhurst plant. The RCAF politely rejected this new offer.

Would anyone have information on this rare bird?

 

[hesham]

You didn't answer me dear Fortrena,

was it related to this one;

Gull 1939 = 4pChwMAm; 160hp Menasco pusher. Design modified from Argonaut. POP: 1. Project was shelved when a market failed to materialize.

American airplanes: Wh - Wy

 

[fortrena]

Apologies.

While I cannot say if the Gull and the Neylan 2P-CLM were one and the same, that is certainly a possibility.

 

[CubCam]

Even though the elementary flying training schools of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) flew Fleet Finches and de Havilland Tiger Moths for a good part of the Second World War, the RCAF realised even before the end of 1940 that these biplanes no longer had much in common with the combat aircraft of the time. Budding pilots needed a more modern aircraft, a monoplane. In November, the RCAF launched a competition to find such an aircraft. This initial training two-seater would have to include as many wooden elements as possible in order to reserve aluminum for combat aircraft. The director of the Division of Mechanical Engineering of the National Research Council of Canada (NRC), John Hamilton Parkin, immediately proposed the development of such an aircraft by his services. The RCAF deemed this option too risky and, in December, asked more than thirty-five North American aircraft manufacturers, including about fifteen Canadian ones, to submit proposals. The NRC returned to the breach once more, in January 1941, but was no more successful.

A small and newly formed Ontario aircraft manufacturer, White Aircraft (Canada) of Hamilton, was so interested in the RCAF's competition that it is purchased tooling in order to produce the White PT-7, an initial two-seater training biplane of recent design. The RCAF politely rejected this aircraft, considered obsolete. The subsidiary of White Aircraft, a small American firm, then installed in a space rented from a manufacturer of road equipment, soon launched a second proposal. Its management indicated that a recently acquired company, Union Aircraft and Marine of Gravenhurst, Ontario, had developed a single-engine monoplane amphibian before the start of the Second World War. A prototype completed in 1940 had allegedly performed several flights, without any registration and quite illegally. White Canadian Aircraft offered to supervise the production of a training version of this aircraft, the Neylan 2P-CLM, at the Gravenhurst plant. The RCAF politely rejected this new offer.

Would anyone have information on this rare bird?

I am researching Cub Aircraft and including the complete and detailed aviation history of Hamilton, Ontario Canada - my birthplace. I first searched your postings regarding the wartime testing of Irvin parachutes using the Noury N65 CF-BPX. My 95 year old resource and half-brother of Glenn White mentioned the White Aircraft company. Was the PT-7 built and was it assigned a civil registration, or was it intended as a military prototype? There are several members of my FaceBook private group - Forgotten Cub Aircraft Oublié who live and fly from the Gravenhurst Airport. I plan to contact them to see if they are aware of the Neylan 2P-CLM.

Do you have any "secret" information on the Cub Aircraft Corp. Ltd. operation or know anyone I may contact as a resource for my project? My contact e-mail is Archive@ForgottenCubAircraft.com Thanks .... Cam

 

[fortrena]

Hello,

As far as I can figure out, and I would welcome corrections, the designation PT-7 was a company one which had nothing to do with the U.S. Army Air Corps PT designation. The White PT-7 was apparently a (modernised?) version of the 1930 or so Vervilee AT biplane. A prototype may have flown in 1939.

Cub-wise, the following may perhaps be of interest. Corrections would again be most welcome.

In 1936, Taylor Aircraft / Taylor Aviation established Cub Aircraft in Hamilton, Ontario. A Hamiltonian company, Arcan / ARCAN, was apparently involved in this transaction, with financial assistance from Atlantic Acceptance, another local company. The new firm assembled a few examples of various versions of the Taylor Cub and Piper Cub light / private aircraft before the outbreak of the Second World War.

Cub Aircraft took care of Cub sales and after-sales service on Canadian soil, and operated a flight school. The company also seemingly bought the production rights for the light / private and training aircraft developed by a small American aircraft maker, Harlow Aircraft, a deal that went nowhere. During the Second World War, Cub Aircraft manufactured parts for a few Canadian aircraft manufacturers in a small factory completed in mid-1940 at the Hamilton Municipal Airport.

Like many American aircraft manufacturers, Cub Aircraft hoped that large numbers of military pilots would purchase light aircraft after the end of the conflict. The Ontario company therefore began to produce under license the Piper J-3 Cub. A first aircraft made in Canada flew in October 1945. Cub Aircraft also manufactured a version intended for bush pilots with little money, the L-4 Prospector. It did this using fuselages from L-4 Cub observation planes purchased from war surpluses. Cub Aircraft ultimately produced 128 aircraft, including 18 Prospector. The last of them left the workshops in late 1948.

In 1952, a well-known general aviation company, Leavens Brothers of Toronto, completed a Cub from existing parts.

Cub Aircraft had to face many difficulties from 1946 onward. An explosion and a fire in a workshop in April 1946 caused serious damage and destroyed three aircraft. The local flying club, the Hamilton Aero Club, also trained many pilots, thus reducing the income of the small aircraft manufacturer's flight school. As well, sales of light / private aircraft were well below the expectations of Cub Aircraft's management. Worse yet, Hamilton city officials were keen to use land occupied by the municipal airport, near the company’s workshops, for residential purposes. A licensed production project, at an expanded factory, of the light / private Piper PA-12 Super Cruiser, a modernized derivative of the J-3 Cub, was also lost in 1946 or 1947.

Faced with this perfect storm, Cub Aircraft went into deficit in 1947. It was forced to diversify its production: Cub washing machines, Venetian blinds and radio receivers for cars. In December 1948, Cub Aircraft signed a contract with Consolidated Vultee Aircraft for the purchase of production rights and tooling for Stinson light / private aircraft. Some investors did not appreciate this gesture, which led to nothing.

Norman Vincent, president of Vincent Mining, a group of Toronto mining companies, took control of Cub Aircraft around February 1949 and became president and chief executive officer. The company merged with a small manufacturer of automotive radio receivers, General Radionics of Toronto, designer of the first such item sold by Canadian Tire. The new entity began to assemble televisions designed by the American company Transvision, which explains its new name: Transvision-Television (Canada). The company now had three divisions: aviation, electronics / radio and television. More specifically, the Piper Aircraft representative in Hamilton, Glenn R. White, transferred the aircraft maintenance and repair activities to Trans Aircraft, a subsidiary of Transvision-Television (Canada).

Transvision-Television (Canada) became Arcan / ARCAN in August 1953. The Korean conflict having ended following the armistice of July 1953, the Hamilton factory had to reorient its activities. It started producing material handling equipment. A subsidiary founded in 1957, Arcan / ARCAN Eastern, gradually became responsible for this production, however. Trans Aircraft continued to operate in Hamilton, until perhaps the 1980s, as a concessionaire for Piper Aircraft.

A holding company since 1959, Arcan / ARCAN was one of the many companies involved in the fraudulent bankruptcy of Atlantic Acceptance in 1965. This financial shock, the most serious of its kind in Canada to date, has had such an impact on the Ontario government that it creates a royal commission of inquiry to examine its causes. Even before its report was completed, the Canadian government created the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation to protect the deposits entrusted to its members.

It might be noted that Atlantic Acceptance provided much of the funding for a well-known small Toronto company, Commodore Business Machines. The name of the founder of this pioneer in the world of the personal computer, the formidable Jack Tramiel, born Idek Tramielski, was mentioned during the testimonies about the bankruptcy of Atlantic Acceptance but this individual was never indicted in any way.

 

[CubCam]

LOL, may I offer a revised Cub Aircraft Brief History that I authored for the CAHS that was subsequently re-published by the Toronto Aviation History website and the now defunct Prairie Planes (.ca). I'm glad to see that some of my self-funded and philanthropic research is being recognized. I've extended my project to include all Hamilton based Cub Aircraft, including imported Pipers too. My detailed history starts in 1911 and follows through the evolution to Peninsulair Ltd. I have establish numerous contacts that are very willing to share their material, mementoes and recollections.

The original text was written in 2018 and this 3rd revision is somewhat obsolete with the most recent data I've located. Thank you for adding some new details that I will certainly want to add to my detailed history and research. I will want to know your sources since copyright is very important, even for my educational material.


Forgotten Cub Aircraft – A Brief History – part 1

As a native Hamiltonian, I was surprised to learn that Hamilton, Ontario once had an aircraft manufacturing plant and a flying school affiliated with Piper Aircraft Corporation.

My first airplane flight was in a Piper PA-11 float plane. While researching this aircraft, I was able to contact the pilot's widow. She informed me that her husband and his brother went to Hamilton in 1947 to learn to fly and buy a J-3C Cub.

I tried to research information on the Cub Aircraft operation and found that precious little existed and what I did find was both sporadic and inaccurate. I decided to embark on a research project that would “write the wrong”.

In this article, I will provide a brief history of Hamilton's Cub Aircraft that is based on my research to date. The information is gathered from newspaper articles published in the Hamilton Spectator, aviation publications, first person recollections and from a 1969 Ontario Royal Commission. My continuing research will include a comprehensive document on all 150 Cub Aircraft, that were manufactured from October 1945 until its demise in February 1949.

On August 21, 1937, ARCAN Corporation Limited, with funding from Atlantic Acceptance of Hamilton, incorporated as Cub Aircraft Corporation Limited. Initially Cub Aircraft operated a small flying school at its factory and at the Hamilton Municipal Airport, located on the eastern boundary of Hamilton.

Cub Aircraft Corp. Ltd. started to assemble various aircraft, with a handful of employees, under license from the Piper Aircraft Corporation from Lock Haven, PA. With parts shipped from the USA, Cub Aircraft assembled the following aircraft:

• Taylor J-2 Cub
  
• Piper J-3C-40 Cub
  
• Piper J-3C-50 Cub
  
• Piper J-3F-50 Cub
  
• Piper J-3C-65 Cub

Cub Aircraft's assembly factory was located on Adams Street and the fabric and paint shop was located on Cathcart Street, both within 6 km of the Hamilton Municipal Airport. Earlier, on May 11, 1936, a 25 year lease with the City of Hamilton for $100 per year established access to the runways.

From June 1936 until November 1941, Cub Aircraft assembled 34 J-2 Cubs and 37 J-3 Cubs. Their serial number contained the letter “C” prefixed to the Piper Aircraft fuselage number, The oldest surviving J-3 Cub Aircraft is C-1126, CF-BIP. It was assembled in March 1938 with the notation “SUPPLIED AS A KIT TO CUB ACFT, CANADA EXPORT CERT. E3452, DATED 14/03/38”.

Cub Aircraft also imported fully assembled Piper J-4 Cub Coupe and J-5 Cub Cruiser models for sale to Canadian customers from 1939 until 1942. Combined, 30 J-4 and J-5 Cubs are currently registered with Transport Canada,

In July 1940, Cub Aircraft moved its assembly plant and training school into a newly built and modern factory located at the Hamilton Municipal Airport. During World War II, Cub Aircraft did various aircraft assembly and repair as well as military pilot training, employing 250 workers. Russell L. Gibson, President Cub Aircraft predicted in 1944 plans to build 300 airstrips across Canada and distributors spread across Canada after the war's end. Wishful thinking.


Forgotten Cub Aircraft – A Brief History – part 2

Before October 1945, Cub Aircraft was an assembly plant for Piper aircraft, made entirely from part kits imported from the U.S.A. In October 1945, the first post war Canadian civilian aircraft was manufactured by Cub Aircraft Corp. Ltd. using 90% Canadian materials and components. Piper Aircraft specified that all tooling, drawings and modifications would originate from Lock Haven, so that parts on all Cubs, no matter where built, would be interchangeable. Cub Aircraft would attempt to source all parts within Canada unless it was not economically or practically feasible. Cub Aircraft continued to assemble a few US supplied Piper J-3 kits and sold newer US pre-assembled models like the Piper PA-11 and PA-12.

On April 25, 1946 an explosion and fire at the fabric and paint factory destroyed 3 aircraft, including 160C and 161C. According to an eye-witness account by an employee, Al Cooper, nobody was injured, but he felt Cub Aircraft did not have adequate insurance to cover the damages. A second fire at the re-built paint shop occurred on October 9, 1946. No aircraft were lost during the second fire; just several wings and other parts. The early morning blaze was blamed on spontaneous combustion.

Continued competition with the Hamilton Aero (flying) Club and less than anticipated demand for small civilian aircraft started to take its toll. As well, the City of Hamilton realized that the Cub Aircraft lease commitment was costing the city much more in operating costs. Hamilton wanted to expand its housing community onto the land occupied by the airport and there was no room for needed runway expansions.

To make matters even worse for Cub Aircraft, 1947 saw their first year of a financial deficit. Increased demand for civilian aircraft was not to materialize, forcing Cub Aircraft to broaden its manufacturing capabilities. This consisted of manufacturing apartment size portable washing machines, built under license from Cinderella Mfg. Co. Jackson Michigan, venetian blinds and car radios built under license from Wingard (M.A.) Ltd. Chichester England for imported British automobiles.

Although Cub Aircraft continued to be manufactured at Hamilton into late 1948, the decision was made around November 1946 to start using US Army surplus L4 fuselages instead of the truss welded fuselages manufactured at the Hamilton factory. Starting with aircraft 233C (and an earlier 207C prototype) the model name was changed to the L-4B Prospector. Without confirmed orders, many completed Cub Aircraft were used in the flying school, such as 215C until sold on May 7, 1947. 234C, a Cub Aircraft L-4B Prospector was put into storage for almost 3 years until a buyer was found in September 1949.

Desperate times meant desperate measures to try to save Cub Aircraft. On December 16, 1948, R. L. Gibson signed a contract to acquire the manufacturing rights, tools and parts for Stinson aircraft from Consolidated Vultee Ltd. for an astounding 3 million dollars. This might have been his last act of defiance? Rumours surfaced and on February 21, 1949, the Cub Aircraft Corporation Ltd. shareholders voted to change the company's name to Transvision-Television (Canada) Ltd. when it merged with General Radionics Ltd. In the same factory where hundreds of Cub Aircraft were expertly assembled and manufactured, it was now relegated to manufacturing black and white television sets, car radios, small washing machines and venetian blinds.

Glenn R. White, flight instructor, test pilot and owner of Peninsula Air Ltd. took over all aircraft repairs, maintenance and issuance of C. of A. renewal certificates at the Trans Aircraft Company subsidiary. Before the closure of the Hamilton Municipal Airport in 1952, Glenn moved Trans Aircraft Co. to nearby Mt. Hope, became a Piper Aircraft distributor and formed the highly successful Peninsulair Ltd and Glenair Distributors. Due to the sudden and drastic demise of Cub Aircraft, it appears that all of its history and records were expunged. The lack of any preserved documentation helped to inspire me to embark on this project to recognize the accomplishments of the Cub Aircraft Corporation Ltd. Company and its employees. In 1952, the very last Cub Aircraft, C-250, a J-3C-85 was assembled from spare parts at Leavens Bros. in Toronto.

As a denouement to this story, in 1969 a volumus report was issued by an Ontario Royal Commission into the bankruptcy and collapse of Atlantic Acceptance of Hamilton. Within the report, both ARCAN and Cub Aircraft boards of directors were cited with questionable business practises. I wonder how much of this suspicious activity contributed to the failure of Cub Aircraft Corporation Ltd.?



Cameron Price

Forgotten Cub Aircraft Oublié



Cub Aircraft Corp. Ltd. Historian


Repository: Archive@ForgottenCubAircraft.com

 

[fortrena]

Profuse apologies for failing to connect your request with the material I had come across a few years ago.

Additional sources I was able to dig up include
Anon., « Air Transportation – Cub Aircraft Corp. » Canadian Transportation 43 (February 1940), 78.
Anon., « Production – Piper to Build Super Cruiser in Expanded Canadian Plant. » Aviation News 6 (9 August 1946), 23.
Anon., « Construction – Cub Reorganizes. » Aircraft and Airport 11 (January 1949), 28.
Anon., « Construction – Combined Operation. » Aircraft and Airport 11 (March 1949), 28.
Anon., Report of the Royal Commission Appointed to Inquire into the Failure of Atlantic Acceptance Corporation Limited, vol. 2 (Ottawa : Queen's Printer. 1969), 679-681, 697-737 and 882-884.
Robert P. Murray, ed. The Early Development of Radio in Canada, 1911-1930 : An Illustrated History of Canada’s Radio Pioneers, Broadcast Receiver Manufacturers and their Products (Chandler, Arizona : Sonoran Publishing, 2005), 140-142.

There is also material in several issues of the magazine Aviation, which can be accessed via https://archive.org/details/aviationweek by typing "Cub Aircraft" and Hamilton in the Search this collection window on the left, using the Text contents qualifier.

A search in https://www.newspapers.com/ using the same keywords, something I had to put aside back then, might also prove fruitful.

Hoping this helps,

 

[CubCam]

I have expanded the scope of my research project and wanted to find more details about the White Canadian Aircraft Ltd. factory in Hamilton. The attached newspaper article was obtained from the Hamilton Public Library, special collections research area. It appears the factory was a portion of the massive Sawyer-Massey complex on Wellington Ave. N. You will notice that F. E. Neylan was managing director as well as some other well known individuals. The various business trade journeys indicated they manufactured engine nacelles for Anson V aircraft, machinery and equipment, never to successfully build or sell any aircraft. Although White Canadian Aircraft may have had the intention of selling their acquired aircraft designs to the RCAF and civilian pilots, I strongly suspect the development of these aircraft may have been at the relatively nearby factory in Le Roy, N.Y.

After the war, White Canadian Aircraft opened a smaller factory in nearby Grimsby, ON manufacturing mainly metal office furniture. A suspicious fire destroyed the factory on Oct. 5, 1946. The company was liquidated in 1948 and the assets sold off at an auction in Toronto by 1950.

Attachments: WHITE CANADIAN AIRCRAFT PLANT NEARLY FINISHED, The Hamilton Spectator, 1940-12-14, source Hamilton Public Library (HPL)
Google StreetView of existing Sawyer-Massey building complex, 334 Wellington Ave. North
Various newspaper articles - Archives.ORG