Pitcairn Aviation

    Pitcairn Aviation was formed by Stephen Pitcairn's father, Harold Pitcairn.  In 1924 Harold Pitcairn had decided to enter the  aviation business, and formed one of the early FBO's. Finding a need for a sightseeing aircraft that could carry more than 2 passengers, he designed and built the PA1 "Fleetwing" with the help of his friend and aeronautical engineer, Agnew Larson. Later, in 1928 he bid on and won the contract for "C.A.M. 19", one of the early contract air mail routes.  His calculations showed that the aircraft of the day were all too large and slow to be profitable in the early years, so he and Larson, designed and built the Mailwing series of aircraft. The "PA" series of Mailwings started with the PA5 and ran up through to the largest designated the PA8, which could cruise at 130 MPH and carry 1000 pounds of mail. When Harold sold the airmail routes to the C.M. Keys conglomerate in 1929 to concentrate on rotary wing development, the line continued as Eastern Air Transport and eventually became Eastern Airlines.

    Harold Pitcairn and Agnew Larsen continued experimenting with rotary wing flight, something that had held their attention since they had met at the Glenn Curtis flying school in 1916. This eventually led them to acquire the rights to the technology developed by Juan de La Cierva used in the Cierva autogiro. Pitcairn and his team dramatically refined and improved on the Cierva autogiro technology, developing the Pitcairn line of Autogiros from the early PCA1 to the huge five place PA19 luxury Autogiro. During this "pioneer" period Pitcairn and his group applied for and were awarded many patents, among these were key patents  necessary for the development of the modern helicopter.

    Today, Pitcairn Aviation is operated by one of Harold Pitcairn's sons, Stephen Pitcairn. Stephen has devoted much of his time to restoring the aircraft built by his father. He currently flies a treasure trove of wonderful antiques which include a PA5, PA6, PA7, and a PA8. He also flies regularly the only airworthy PCA2 Autogiro in the world.

9/2005  The PCA2 has been enshrined at the EAA museum and can be seen in the "Pitcairn Aviation" hanger at Pioneer field in Oshkosh Wisconsin.

    For an excellent treatise on Harold Pitcairn's accomplishments, get a copy of "Legacy of Wings - The Harold F. Pitcairn Story" by Frank Kingston Smith.