Alexander Eaglerock

After World War I, general aviation–aircraft owned by everyday civilians–really took off (no pun intended). What spurred this explosion of privately owned aircraft was the large number of war surplus aircraft that were available postwar, namely the Curtiss JN-4 Jenny. Hundreds of these aircraft were snapped up by former wartime flyers and brand new ones. By 1925, however, the Jennies and other wartime aircraft were simply worn out–spare parts were becoming scarce, and the planes had been flown to pieces. Moreover, they were obsolete: the 1920s was a time period when aviation moved forward faster than many companies could keep up.

In 1925, the Alexander Aircraft Company of Denver, Colorado stepped into the general aviation market, offering its Eaglerock as a Jenny replacement. The Eaglerock offered innovations such as a tail wheel rather than a skid, more powerful engines, and folding wings for easy storage. Customers were a little unsure about the latter, so in 1926, with sales flat, the Eaglerocks were offered without the folding wings.

With a capacity for two passengers (if cramped ones) and a variety of engines, all at an attainable price for owners, the Eaglerock proved to be hugely successful, with 893 built. For a short time in 1928-1929, Alexander was actually producing more aircraft than any other company in the world. The Depression would wipe out the company, though some of its designers eventually went on to found the Mooney Aircraft Company, but the Eaglerock is considered one of the first truly successful general aviation designs.

Though there are about 24 Eaglerocks known to be around today, this aircraft is the oldest. Built in 1926, NC2568 was one of the original types with folding wings. It was in rather bad shape when the Wings Over the Rockies acquired it in 1988, and took five years of restoration to get it back to display status. (That left the Wings Over the Rockies with two Eaglerocks; the other was donated to the Pueblo Weisbrod Museum in 2013.)

Considering I’d never even heard of the Eaglerock before this year, I can now say I’ve seen two of them!