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Ace Aircraft Registrations - 1927 to World War II | Aces in Other Museums

The Man and the Aircraft That Started the Homebuilt Revolution

Before Piper, Cessna, Kitfox, and Vans, before AOPA, CAP, EAA, and the FAA, there was Ace. Two decades after the Wright Brothers' first flight, flying had become a rich man's luxury. Mr. Orland G. "Ace" Corben saw the need for an aircraft that was safe, easy to fly, and inexpensive for the average person to build and operate.

In 1923, Mr. Orland G. Corben began designing airplanes. Five years later, he created the first kitbuilt airplane, the Baby Ace, and a year later the two-seat Junior Ace. These aircraft became the first popular homebuilt aircraft. Today, Ace aircraft are the only kitbuilt aircraft still being built and flown that can claim a heritage going back to the 1920s.

The Corben Sport Planes Museum was established to tell the amazing story of Mr. Corben, these remarkable aircraft, and those that followed Mr. Corben and kept his dream of safe, easy, and inexpensive flying alive.

MUSEUM

This page last updated on Sunday, November 20, 2011