W. Wallace Kellett

William Wallace Kellett (also W. Wallace Kellett) (December 20, 1891 – July 22, 1951) was an American aircraft executive and manufacturer, especially associated with rotary-wing aircraft. He was president of Kellett Autogiro Corporation and Republic Aviation Corporation. His company constructed the first successful wingless aircraft in the United States.

W. Wallace Kellett in 1941

Early life and education

Kellett was born in Boston, Massachusetts on December 20, 1891. His parents were William W. Kellett and Frances Revere (Flagler) Kellett. His family was wealthy.[1]

Kellett graduated from Princeton University with a bachelor of letters in 1913.[2][3]

Kellett attended Chestnut Hill Academy, then went to Princeton University. Upon graduation, he became associated with the Liquid Carbonic Company that manufactured soda fountains in Kansas City. During World War I he enlisted and first drove an ambulance in Europe for the American Field Service. Later he became a pilot in the French Air Force.[4] The flying experiences gave him an interest in aviation that would last the rest of his life.[1] Kellett earned a French Général de corps d'armée citation and an Italian Service Medal during World War I.[3]

Aviation career
1938 mail delivery demonstration by an autogyro at Washington D.C. capital lawn

Kellett became an aviation enthusiast after his Army service and he entered into the aircraft manufacturing business in 1919. He established an autogyro company under a license from Autogiro Company of America.[5] He made rotary-wing military aircraft for the United States Army Air Corps.[6][7] Kellett was known internationally in the aviation field as a pioneer in the development of autogyros and helicopters.[8] Through his company Kellett constructed the first successful wingless aircraft in the United States.[9][10] He also built the first fleet of rotary-wing military aircraft for the United States Army Air Corps.[10]

Kellett was the president of the Aero Club of Pennsylvania 1923–25.[11] In 1929 he founded the Kellett Autogiro Corporation with his brother Rodney and Charles Townsend Ludington and his brother Nicholas.[12] They licensed and further developed the seminal designs of Harold Frederick Pitcairn and Juan de la Cierva for an autogyro. He promoted his autogyro as being useful as that of an automobile.[13] Under the corporate umbrella, Kellett's company made some thirty-eight aircraft for military and civilian customers.[14]

Kellett started a campaign in Washington D.C. to get a government contract to carry mail for short distances after his KD-1B autogyro proved its airworthiness in 1935. A demonstration of mail delivery was made at the Capital in early of 1938 to get congressional approval for funding. It was decided to carry mail using an autogyro on an experimental basis and Congress passed laws accordingly.[15] The first autogyro used by the United States Post Office Department to carry mail was produced by Kellett.[16][17][18] It flew between the Camden Central Airport in New Jersey and the main post office at Philadelphia. The roof was 100,000 square feet and specially designed for autogyro landings. The Kellett vehicle flew same day delivery of mail, where it took overnight before.[16]

Later life and death
Main article: Kellett Autogiro Corporation

Kellett also served as president of Republic Aviation Corporation from 1939 and chairman of the board from 1943.[19][20][21] He resigned from Republic in 1945 and directed his attention to his Corporation. The Kellett Autogiro Corporation had changed its name in 1943 to Kellett Aircraft Corporation to reflect that they were also a manufacturer of helicopters. His company made several different prototype helicopters for the United States Army Air Corps, however never obtained permanent contracts from the government. Hughes Aircraft Company instead obtained many of these helicopter contracts. Kellett eventually went out of the aircraft business in 1949 and his company became a subcontractor of aircraft assemblies in 1950.[22] Kellett died in Hahnemann University Hospital in Philadelphia on July 22, 1951, after an illness of several months.[1][23]

References
  1. American Aeronautics 1922, p. 63.
  2. "Class of 1913 Bids Old Nassau Farwell". New York Tribune. New York City. June 11, 1913 – via Newspapers.com .
  3. Princeton Alumni 1951, p. 54.
  4. "Plant President Dies". Fitchburg Sintenel. Fitchburg, Massachusetts. July 23, 1951 – via Newspapers.com .
  5. Townson 1985, p. 88.
  6. "Allies May Use Autogiro Planes to combat Mines". Reading Times. Reading, Pennsylvania. December 1, 1939 – via Newspapers.com .
  7. Francis, Devon (April 10, 1938). "Sidewise Flying is Latest Stunt". The Zanesville Signal. Zanesville, Ohio – via Newspapers.com .
  8. "Autogiro Pioneer Dies". The Evening Sun. Hanover, Pennsylvania. July 23, 1951 – via Newspapers.com .
  9. "W.W. Kellett, 60, Autogiro Pioneer, Founder and Head of Company that Built First Wingless Aircraft in U.S. Dies". New York Times. July 23, 1951. p. 17. Retrieved August 8, 2016. (subscription required)
  10. "Helicopter Pioneer Dies in Philadelphia". The Eugene Guard. Eugene, Oregon. July 23, 1951 – via Newspapers.com . Ten years later he established the Kellett company of Philadelphia and proceeded to build the country's first wingless aircraft and the first fleet of rotary-wing military aircraft for the army air corp.
  11. "Past Presidents". Aero Club of Pennsylvania. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
  12. Charnov 2003, p. 67.
  13. "Park Your Plane in my Garage / Invitation to Autogiro Owners". The Ottawa Journal. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. December 29, 1934 – via newspapers.com .
  14. "Kellett Autogiro Corporation". Aircraft in Focus. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
  15. NASA 2005, p. 79.
  16. Pope, Nancy (2016). "HISTORIC AIRPLANES: Autogiros and Helicopters". National Postal Museum. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved August 9, 2016. In the U.S., W. Wallace Kellett, founder and president of the Kellett Aircraft Corporation (1929), built the first autogyro used by the U.S. Postal Service.
  17. "Autogiro pioneer dies". The Evening Sun. Hanover, Pennsylvania. July 23, 1951 – via Newspapers.com . Kellett's firm built the first autogyro to be used for daily mail delivery, which started on July 5, 1939.
  18. "Kellett KD-1B 1939". Aviastar. G.Townson "Autogiro. The Story of the Windmill Plane", 1985. 2016. Kellett was selected as the builder of the autogiro which was basically the same as the KD-1A except that a mail pit replaced the front cockpit. An enclosure covered the rear cockpit. All details of construction were the same as the KD-1A. A very high percentage of scheduled flights were completed. The pilot was Kellett's test pilot, John M. Miller. By act of Congress, all civil air regulations were waived and the operation left to Miller's discretion. The first scheduled flight was July 5, 1939 and the last flight, July 4, 1940. Three hundred pounds of mail could be carried per flight. Missing or empty |url= (help)
  19. Smith-Daugherty 2012, p. 168.
  20. "Republic Corp. Reports Better Results for '39 / Kellett, President, States Export Work is going ahead Satisfactorily". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, New York. May 10, 1940 – via Newspapers.com .
  21. "Kellett Aircraft Moving". Delaware County Daily Times. Chester, Pennsylvania. September 12, 1945 – via Newspapers.com .
  22. Bob, Petite (August–September 2012). "Stirring up innovation: although possibly best known for the 'egg-beater' designs it created in the 1940s, the Kellett Aircraft Corp. actually had a much larger influence on and history in Aviation than many people probably realize". Vertical Magazine: 92+. Retrieved August 10, 2016.
  23. "Aviation Pioneer Claimed by Death". Shamokin News-Dispatch. Shamokin, Pennsylvania. July 23, 1951 – via Newspapers.com .

Sources
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