Rearwin: Story of Men, Planes, Aircraft Manufacturing During the Great Depression

There was never a better time to design and build a new flying machine than the spring of 1928 -- or so it must have seemed to those who did. The Air Commerce Act of 1926, through the licensing of pilots and the airworthiness certification of aircraft, had ushered in an era of growing public confidence in aviation. It was also a time for Rae Rearwin, a successful businessman from Salina, Kansas, to cast about for a fresh source of income -- "diversification." And so it was that Rearwin decided to build and sell aircraft. The chronicle of Raymond Andrew Rearwin, the founder of the various firms and aircraft bearing his name, is one typical of the brave businessmen who devoted their energies to, and risked their resources in, aviation enterprise from the historic stock market crash of 1929 through the start of World War II. -- Over 385 period photos and illustrations.