CULVER

Culver Aircraft Company was an American aircraft manufacturer that specialized in light aircraft production from the 1930s to the 1940s. The company was founded in Columbus, Ohio, as Dart Manufacturing Corporation by Knight K. Culver, a Monocoupe dealer, and Al Mooney in 1939. It purchased the rights to the Mooney-designed Monosport G from the defunct Lambert Aircraft Corporation. The company was renamed Culver Aircraft Company later that year. Culver produced the Culver Model L, later renamed Cadet, in December 1939, with production supervised by Al’s brother, Art Mooney. The company moved to Wichita, Kansas, after producing 50 aircraft. Two retractable-gear models, the LFA and LCA, were introduced, and in 1941, the company was taken over by Walter Beech, founder of Beechcraft, and Charles Yankey. During World War II, the company switched to subcontract work, producing over 3000 PQ-8/TDC and PQ-14/TD2C gunnery target drones for the USAAF and USN. In 1945, T. Bowring Woodbury was promoted to president, and the company developed the Model V, also known as the M-17. The Model V featured a patented flight control system, known as Simpli-Fly Control, which automated many flight functions, but did not win production orders. After Culver Aircraft entered bankruptcy, the manufacturing plant was purchased by the Coleman Company in 1945. Superior Aircraft Company was established in 1956, purchasing the assets of the Culver Aircraft Company, and put the Model V back into production as the Superior Satellite. Culver Aircraft Company’s notable aircraft include the Dart G, Dart GC, Dart GK, Dart GW, Dart GW Special, LAR, Cadet LCA, Cadet LFA, Cadet LFA-90, PQ-8A, PQ-10, TDC-1, TDC-2, XPQ-14, XPQ-14C, and XPQ-15.