The year 1927 was an exciting time for aviation in the United States. Charles Lindbergh flew solo across the Atlantic Ocean in May, James Dole (of the famous Dole pineapples) initiated the “Dole Derby'' from Oakland to Honolulu in August to conquer the Pacific Ocean, the Contract Air Mail Act of 1925 was settling into fine operation, and the U.S. was beginning to process the effects of the Air Commerce Act from the previous year. The public’s volatile interest in aviation had been quickly ignited throughout the previous six years and one of these events to fan that flame was the Spokane Air Derby of 1927. The Air Derby was to begin with the arrival of numerous cross-country participants from San Francisco and was to hold exhibitions of stunt flying, pylon racing, general efficiency races, transport races, commercial speed and other efficiency races, military airplane races between the Navy and Army, and multiple other airborne competitions. One of these races, what most consider the main event, was the New York to Spokane race in which two classes of aircraft, Class A being aircraft equipped with engines over 100hp and Class B being aircraft with engines below 200hp, were to fly across the notoriously rugged and unforgiving terrain of the entire United States to arrive in first place at the Spokane Airport in Washington State. The Spokane officials, offering a prize of $10,000 to the winner of Class A and $5,000 to the winner of Class B, were delighted to have the famous Air Derbies held in their booming city and it is safe to say the contestants were equally excited for the prizes and publicity they could receive from their entrance. To kick off the event, a parachutist leaped from the wing of a biplane and gently landed on the airport’s grounds; the time had come for the coast to coast aerial competition to begin. On that day, September 19th, twenty five contestants and their machines took off from Roosevelt Field in New York and headed for the anxious, abundant crowds poised at the Washington State fair grounds across the country. Facing incredible odds against spontaneously volatile weather, mechanical malfunctions that were plentiful, frightening terrain, and their own physiological limits, these men braved the horrific adverse conditions and finally, on the 21st of September, machines started trickling into view at the Spokane grounds. One after another they landed as people watched and counted and pointed at the tired contestants landing their equally exhausted flying machines. Nine airplanes made it to the finish line. In third place came Mr. James Charles in an OX-5 Eaglerock, in second place was Mr. Leslie Miller in another OX-5 Eaglerock, and collecting the $5,000 cash prize in first place, after flying 30 hours and 23 minutes over 2352 miles, was the Advance Aircraft Company chief Pilot Charlie Meyers in his brand new Waco 10, appropriately named “Wings of Progress”. The outstanding results of the New York to Spokane race of 1927 solidified the Waco 10’s podium in history and assisted in initiating the success of one of the most popular commercial and recreational biplanes to ever exist.

The winning biplane was of a company not exactly new to the aviation scene, however. The Weaver Aircraft Company was founded in August 1919 when George “Buck” Weaver, the mechanic of famed E. M. “Matty” Laird, and his brother-in-law, Charles Meyers, joined forces with two aircraft mechanics from the Great War in Lorain, Ohio. Early in 1919, Buck Weaver, along with his brother-in-law, barnstormed middle west of America in two Curtiss Canucks after contributing to the war effort as civilian flying instructors with Buck’s talents assigned to Rich Field in Waco, Texas and Meyers’ in Canada with the Royal Canadian Flying Corps. Settling in Lorain, Ohio because of the financial stability afforded to them by Avon Lake mayor Gerald Brown and enthusiastic Lorainian thrill-seekers, the two bought another airplane and settled into their new rhythm of crowd pleasing operations. After settling down with their Canuck biplanes, however, the two pilots soon needed mechanics to maintain these machines in between trips of barnstorming and ride hopping. To do this, in the fall of 1919, they contracted the help of two former Aeromarine Plane and Motor Company mechanics named Elwood “Sam” Junkin and Clayton Brukner, two high school best friends, who were looking for work in aviation after designing an aircraft of their own with the help of an original Waco shareholder and designer named Harold Deuther using rented space from the Curtiss company in New Jersey. The two friends also performed their share of duties during America’s participation in the Great War, both working at the Aeromarine Plane and Motor Company and the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor company which is where they initially became acquainted with “Buck” Weaver and Charlie Meyers. After stopping at Weaver’s and Meyer’s airfield just east of Lorain on their way to Battle Creek, Michigan, Weaver offered them the job of maintaining his machines for his miniature flying circus upon hearing of their desires to build their own flying machines, with the first action to repair his already worn show airplanes. With the failure of their own aircraft, a flying boat equipped with a 30hp Lawrence that was unable to lift off the water, fresh in their memories the two were excited to pair their minds with Weaver’s\as he was equally interested in the manufacturing of airplanes to further broaden their\Ohio operations. According to Brukner, they chose to name the venture after “Buck” Weaver because his name was known best in the area amongst themselves and they might secure more funding using a name which people are familiar with. In early 1920, “Buck” Weaver left the company to fly for his old friend Charles “Pop” Dickenson in his home state of Chicago but periodically returned to the company bearing his name to teach “Sam” Junkin and “Clayt” Brukner to fly and generally attend to “his” company. In regards to Waco being Weaver’s company, Brukner stated that apart from barnstorming their airplanes and securing funding for the company, “Buck” Weaver didn’t have much to do with the rest of the company’s operations; that side of Waco being left to Brukner and Junkin. Their first biplane, the Waco 4, was produced in Lorain in 1920 and was of modest build with three seats, an OX-5 engine, and a quaint fuselage and wingspan; often the men would even barnstorm in their own Wacos to pay themselves a wage and advertise for their company in these early days of operations. In the summer of 1921 the company moved their operations to rented manufacturing buildings and an adjacent field in Medina, Ohio after Brukner and Junkin met Howard Calvert, son of the manager of the Honeybee Company and a fellow enthusiast of aviation, while Weaver and Charlie Meyers were off on their own flying adventures. With three additional employees on the payroll now, the Weaver Aircraft Company produced the Waco 5 in 1921, another OX powered aircraft with three seats to rival the popular Curtiss Jenny in performance. Soon Waco’s first production airplane, the Waco Model 6, was introduced and followed rather quickly by the Model 7. Both of these aircraft proved to be quite popular and consequently sold very well, however in March of 1923 the company’s name was changed to the “Advance Aircraft Company” after 21 year old Alden Sampson II, a supposed investor in the company, failed to follow up on a promise of financial backing which forced Junkin and Brukner to buy back his stock. With this change in name also came a final change in location to Troy, Ohio due to Junkin and Brukner’s desire to be closer to more aviation activity and the persuasion of Alden Sampson to move their lucrative operation into the town; the two had originally planned on moving to the epicenter of aviation known as Dayton, Ohio. This proved to be the correct decision by the two friends, as multiple different models of their now increasingly popular Wacos were being produced in a new factory facility, three of the Waco 6 and five of the Waco 7 by this point with a $2,000 deposit required for each airplane, resulting in more employees being needed for assembly and flying. In 1924 George “Buck” Weaver passed away from an infected blister on his ankle from a previous accident, however his name was still synonymous with the biplanes being produced by what was now known as the Advance Aircraft Company. This was a decision made by “Sam” Junkin in 1923 but following his own deeply felt, tragic passing in 1926 the company’s reigns were faithfully entrusted to “Clayt” Brukner alone and in 1929 he made the formal decision to change the company’s name for the final time to the popular “Waco Aircraft Company”.

“Clayt” Brukner and “Sam” Junkin’s genius is almost entirely responsible for the design of Waco’s most successful aircraft until Junkin’s unfortunate death in November of 1926, beginning namely with the Waco 4, the company’s first biplane. Through the years of Waco’s early existence, the aircraft produced were OX powered, of similar construction, had dual open cockpits (excluding the Waco 8, a cabin job), and were generally built using surplus Curtiss Jenny parts auctioned to the public after the end of the Great War. This legacy of aircraft design and reputation for building machines for the sportsman pilot was aptly demonstrated with the Waco machine that carved their name into the concrete foundation of history; the Waco 9. Sleek, multi-purpose, three seated, OX-5 powered, and with a new welded steel tube fuselage, the “New Steel Waco 9” proved to be one of Waco’s most successful designs when it rolled off the assembly line in 1925, receiving one of the very first Aircraft Type Certificates by the U.S. government, A.T.C. #11. Recognizing the demand for their new star performer after 30 Waco 9s were sold in only 4 months after release, “Sam” Junkin, “Clayt” Brukner, and the Advance Aircraft team were hard at work to capitalize on this gain and this they did with the new 1926 Waco 9 which came equipped with horn-type balanced ailerons and changes to the airplane’s landing gear; all minor adjustments to ensure the aircraft and company remained at the head of general aviation in America. In 1926 alone over 100 Waco 9s were sold with many making appearances in air races around the country, to include the highly sought after Ford Reliability Tour, and many were modified and sold with Hispano-Suiza, Curtiss OXX-6, and Curtiss C-6 engines. Clearly Waco had a winning ticket on their hands and needed to maintain the pace set by their cherished Model 9. November 1st, 1926 marked the unfortunate death of Waco designer Elwood “Sam” Junkin due to a heart condition from an episode of rheumatic fever during his childhood which caused a terrific emotional gap in the small Waco team, especially in his best friend from their earliest years “Clayt” Brukner. Before his passing, however, Junkin was hard at work to keep the Waco name in the spotlight for 1927 and had begun work on a machine that would be labeled “The Greatest Waco Ever Built”; the venerable Waco 10. “Sam” Junkins’ passing also resulted in an engineering gap open at Advance Aircraft, a gap that would be filled by one Ed Green, a former stress analysis engineer at Warner- Swayze Company. Picking up on Junkin’s drawings, Ed Green and Advance Aircraft released the Waco 10 in early 1927 with it receiving Aircraft Type Certificate #13 in October of that same year. The Waco 10’s impressive presence was immediately evident; it had split landing gear of the new shock absorbing type with arms stretching to the top of the cowl, roomy cockpits, a small fuselage door for easy access to the two-seat front cockpit, conforming and neat control surfaces, large hydraulically pressed cowling to house the ubiquitous OX-5 engine, large upper wing center section, and Waco’s signature radiator hung beneath the center of the upper wing directly where the pilot would be looking while seated in his cockpit. The Advance Aircraft new machine not only had attractive features but an attractive price, selling at $2460 in 1927 and $2385 in 1928; almost the same price as their Model 9 that remained in production well into 1927, sharing the company’s manufacturing space with its new brother. The Advance Aircraft Company could afford to do this because upon the Model 10’s introduction, it outsold every other competitor by an impressive ratio of two to one; selling 350 Model 10s in 1927 alone! It is no wonder why the now incredibly popular “Waco Boys” achieved these results. Their Waco 10 had a 37 gallon fuel capacity which offered 5½ hours of flying, a useful load of 825 pounds, a maximum speed of 97 miles per hour, a range of 385 miles, and an option for Edo pontoons for an extra $1,000. Because of the Waco 10’s desirable features, the aircraft’s operators found it extremely versatile and used it in numerous capacities including carrying passengers, flight instruction, cargo operations, and all around barnstorming. All of which could be done successfully due to its ability to operate off rather rugged terrain with the help of a tested and proven powerplant in the Curtiss OX-5. The Waco 10 with this engine was sold until 1933 when other aviation engines of higher power, lighter weight, and easier maintenance were being flown on a wide variety of airplanes, although Waco’s own stock of OX-5s were finally running thin to assist in this transition.

Across America the Waco 10 was proving its mettle with all types of pilots who sat in the rear cockpit of its sturdy fuselage. In the final years of the roaring twenties it found itself continuously entered into air races and derbies and was seemingly attracting more popularity to itself and the Advance Aircraft Company by the day. The big, beautiful airplane was being manufactured at a pace of two machines per day by 1928 but Brukner, president and manager of the company, knew his supply of surplus OX-5 engines would not last forever. Although the GXE, as the “10” was dubbed, was still being produced, he knew he must not settle into complacency because of the airplane’s rapid success. The team at Waco Aircraft wisely chose the 10’s excellently designed airframe as the standard platform for further aeronautical design and with this, they experimented with different engines to compliment the airframe. One of these engines was the Ryan-Siemens radial engine which the “Waco Boys” installed on a Model 10 in 1927, the aircraft being labeled the “Waco 125” or “Siemens-Waco” and gaining A.T.C. #26. Although the engine proved quite reliable and truly satisfactory, only 31 were manufactured across 1927 and 1928 due to difficulty in acquiring parts for the engine. Another more popular engine installed by Waco on their Model 10’s increasingly triumphant airframe was the widely renowned Hispano-Suiza V-8 with an option for a 150hp conversion, the “Model A”, or the “Model E” of 180hp. Although the “Hisso” shared the spotlight in popularity with the OX-5 at the time, it was not as easy to maintain as the OX-5 under the conditions in which most of the Waco 10 flyers were operating and therefore approximately 45 were built, mostly in 1928. This aircraft gained A.T.C. #42 in June of that year. The Wright- Whirlwind J5 was another engine selected for use on the Model 10, installation beginning also in 1927. This aircraft was one of the most visually appealing and had one of the most outstanding performance profiles of the Model 10 series so it is so secret why it became so widely popular. The engine that faithfully carried young Charles Lindbergh across the Atlantic Ocean was attractive to pilots nationwide and became legendary when coupled with the straight wing performance of the 10’s airframe. Sturdy landing gear, rugged and proven construction, a reliable and massive and powerful engine up front; the “Whirlwind-Waco”, also known as the “10-W” or “Waco Sport”, didn’t leave much to be desired when it rolled out of the factory hangar in Troy, Ohio. Engine modifications on the Waco 10 weren't the only thing considered by Brukner and his engineering staff, for in early 1927 chief pilot Charlie Meyers suggested they attempt to modify their Model 10 with a taperwing design and, although reluctant due to the possible expense of the venture, Brukner approved of the suggestion and chief engineer Ed Green set out to work. The taperwing design, using an M-6 airfoil section, was produced and tested on a Waco 10 as early as March of 1927 and proved to be a highly successful design. The unexpected success of the wings prompted the Waco team to remove them from the Waco 10 and install them on the J5 powered Waco and, with test pilot Freddie Lund at the controls, the wings were found to be extremely satisfactory in almost all regards when paired with that engine. Three of these “Taperwing Wacos” were entered into the 1928 New York to Los Angeles Transcontinental Air Derby and finished in an impressive order of Johnnie Livingston first, John P. Wood second, and Charlie Meyers third, proving the airplane’s capabilities and Waco’s victorious design to the public. Soon after this race however, Charlie Meyers and Clayton Brukner would have a disagreement that would result in Meyers’ departure from the company and subsequent employment at the Great Lakes Aircraft Company.

Despite these different models being created by Waco, the original Model 10 was still a fixture in the minds and flying fields of the general public. It was constantly featured in popular magazines of the time such as in Aviation when Tex LaGrone took his Model 10 to first place in both the 3,000ft climb race and 30mi distance race during the Kansas City Air Circus in 1928. This was a common article to see in aviation magazines, even past the turn of the decade. With a steadily growing fleet of numerous engines paired with two different shapes of wings on the same style of fuselage, it was decided that a structure of model designation was necessary and in 1927 such a system was devised. Generally, each model of aircraft had three letters associated with it: the first letter was the type of engine (A-D), the second letter was the style of wing design (T or S), and the third letter indicated the series of aircraft (O for Waco 10). The Wright J5-9 was ‘A’, J6-5 was ‘B’, J6-7 was ‘C’, Hispano-Suiza was ‘D’. As wings went, the ‘S’ was for aircraft with the straight wing and ‘T’ designated a tapered wing. Airplanes such as the ASO, ATO, CTO, BSO, CSO, and DSO were being produced under this new system of designation, however there was a structure of lesser official status that people used to identify Waco aircraft as well. It mostly consisted of the name of the company paired with just the horsepower of the engine, examples being: Waco 10 as the Waco 90 (GXE); Waco 220 (ASO); Waco 125 (Ryan-Siemens); Waco 150 or 180 (DSO). Although these aircraft all used the Model 10’s fuselage as a base, they all differed slightly such as slight improvements in the landing gear design, optional collector rings for the different radial engines, and metal coverings that could be installed over the front cockpit for air racing and mail carrying. Other models eventually made their way off the drawing board and into the sky such as the HTO powered by a Packard diesel engine, the PSO powered by a Jacobs LA-1, QSO powered by a Continental A-70, KSO, JYO, RSO, CRG, and a Whirlwind-powered taperwing known as the JYM (to name a few…). The Waco JYM was a model specifically manufactured for the purpose of air mail flying and was the typical model 10 fuselage with a 14 inch extension and a mail carrying compartment built into the fuselage. The engine was an R-975 and the aircraft came with the option of straight wings as well, looking almost indistinguishable from an ASO in this configuration. Waco’s popularity rose to a level that even expanded beyond the United States and as political uprisings increased at an alarming rate in Central and South America, the Waco Aircraft Company produced for the different governments converted models of their airplanes to carry .30 calibre machine guns where the front cockpit would be and bomb racks under the center section of the lower wing. The CTO and CSO Wacos were the machines of choice for Brazil, Argentina, and Guatemala and as a rule Waco assembled and test flew these airplanes before disassembling them and shipping them off to their respective countries.

The Waco Aircraft Company’s role in the development of aviation is the stuff of legend. Never before had the country, or perhaps even the world, seen a machine quite like the Waco 10 until two friends decided to permanently change the direction of aviation with a single aircraft. The Waco 10 and the aircraft developed from it paved a path for the progression of commercial and recreational aviation with characteristics that made their name so desirable such as the famous taperwing design and their split-axle landing gear. There is no doubt that these aircraft, the men that created them, and the pilots that flew them will go down in history as the most important beings and machines in the history of flying. Names such as “Sam” Junkin, “Clayt” Brukner, Freddie Lund, “Buck” Weaver, Ed Green, and Charlie Meyers in small town Troy, Ohio are as important today as they were 100 years ago. The Waco 10 and its successors led the ushering in of a new brand of commercial and recreational flying, and if you ever look up and see a Waco 10 flying overhead when near an old airfield, you can look up and smile and understand this fact.

Resources:
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-Deniis Parks. “Spokane Air Derbies a Big Hit in 1927,” November 8, 2015.
 https://generalaviationnews.com/
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22Waco%22.
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-Juptner, Joseph P. U.S. Civil Aircraft Series. Vol. 1. 9 vols. Blue Ridge Summit, PA: TAB Books, 1993.
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Advance's Waco 10

Advance's Waco 10

By: Carson Hawkins