SWALLOW DESIGNER

 

	FIRST LAIRD SWALLOW, 1919 Spread 36 FT. Weight 1075 lbs. Speed 86 MPH Climb, 4000 ft. in 10 minutes with two passengers, pilot and fuel for 2 1/2 hrs. Climb, pilot alone, 3000 ft. in 4 1/2 minutes. A wonderful stunting outfit. A money maker for passenger carrying, etc. Distributors wanted. Photo and text from collection of Lester Bishop Courtesy of David Balanky

 

DESIGNER OF "SWALLOW" E. M. Laird of Boca Raton, Florida, one of the pioneer pilots and designer of many aircraft, stopped at the Harold Warp Pioneer Village on his way to a national meeting of "The Early Bird Flyers Reunion" being held in Denver.      In 1910 Mr. Laird saw his first airplane __ A Wright Brothers -- near Chicago. Even though he was working days as a clerk in the 1st National Bank downtown, all his spare time and thoughts were directed toward flying. From 1915 till World War I he "barnstormed" the midwest to encourage cities to create airports and publicize flying. During World War I he was a civilian flying instructor until he had an accident and was hospitalized for nine months. During this convalescence in 1918, he designed the first airplane to be sold in the commercial market. Laird Swallow Manufacturing Company was formed in Wichita, Kansas, and the first "Swallow" was built and flown in 1920. For three years he ran this company and sold out to other interests so he could devote his time to developing designs for other airplanes which developed into "Airmail" as well as forming the nucleus for our present day airlines. His airplanes won the 1st Thompson Air Race in 1930 and Jimmy Doolittle won the Bendix Race in one of his airplanes. He continued to manufacture sub assemblies for aircraft through World War II and then he retired.

 

HAROLD WARP PIONEER VILLAGE After spending several hours in the Harold Warp Pioneer Village, Mr. Laird said, "It has been my privilege to visit most of the important museums. Mr. Warp has a most interesting collection of airplanes and aircraft engines all properly displayed and placarded with pertinent information. Airplanes are my first love, but other exhibits are equally well done in "The Village." It gave me a thrill to see a "Swallow" here and I am proud that Mr. Warp's first airplane he flew and owned was another "Swallow." This from The EARLY BIRDS CHIRP January 1972, Number 78   PIONEER VILLAGE AVIATION MUSEUM Here you may view a listing of the planes and engines on display in the museum, including Matty Laird's Swallow. Simply click on either Planes or Engines.   Editor's Note:      I spoke this morning (3-19-00) with a representative of the Harold Warp Pioneer Village in Minden, Nebraska. She knew the name "Matty" Laird and assured me that his Swallow was still on exhibit in the Airplane Collection, along with 19 other planes, a number of engines and other memorabilia.      I invite you to click on the name Harold Warp Pioneer Village, and follow the "MUSEUM" link where you will find a general description of the airplane collection.   This from The EARLY BIRDS CHIRP March 1976, Number 82

 

MATTY LAIRD ON THE AeroFiles WEBSITE You will find a whole page devoted to his planes, many with pictures, on the AEROFILES website. You can visit that reference by clicking on: E. M. "Matty" Laird Plan to spend some time on this wonderful site.

 

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