05/31/2007. Remarks by Jack
McKillop: "This is the one and only CF built and it made its
first flight on June 8, 1922. One week later, the Bellanca CF flew at
the Midwestern Flying Meet at Monmouth, Illinois, where it won all
four events of speed, time to climb, and gliding endurance. It went
on to win several other races including the National Air Races of
1923.
The Yellow Aircab Company of New York purchased the CF in 1924, with
plans for an aerial taxi service, and added a 110 hp Anzani engine
along with a new forward fuselage, a steel-tube landing gear, and
more windows in the fuselage. Yellow Aircab went out of business and
Continental Aircraft Corporation bought the aircraft in 1925, but it
too went bankrupt.
After passing through several owners, the CF was displayed and flown
at the Roosevelt Field Air Museum on Long Island, New York, with a
Curtiss D Headless Pusher, the Thomas-Morse S-4C Scout and other
early aircraft. The Roosevelt Field museum deteriorated and the CF
returned to the Bellanca family, then living in Maryland.
Following Giuseppe Bellanca's death in 1960, the family donated the
aircraft to the National Air and Space Museum (NASM), and it arrived
at the Silver Hill, Maryland, facility. From January 1979 to May
1980, NASM craftsmen repaired, replaced, or rebuilt significant
portions of the aircraft, including the mahogany fuselage, tail
section, landing gear, and engine mount and cowling. New Grade A
cotton fabric and a restored 110 hp Anzani engine completed the
restoration. As of this date, the aircraft is on display (David Horn Collection) at the
NASM's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia, USA."
