Dallas Engineering Corporation 1925 to 1939 Airplane Circulator Fan

[Mike Kearns]

On May 22, 1919, Raymond Orteig of New York City offered a prize of $25,000 "to be awarded to the first aviator who shall cross the Atlantic in a land or water aircraft (heavier-than-air) from Paris or the shores of France to New York, or from New York to Paris or the shores of France, without stop."
Besides Lindbergh, there were four serious contenders for the Orteig prize, one of which was Commander Richard Byrd, the first man to reach the South Pole.  Lindbergh's courage and enthusiasm for such a flight were not enough; he needed financial backing.  Lindbergh found his financial answer in Harry H. Knight, a young aviator who could usually be found bumming around the Lambert Field in St. Louis.  This was the beginning of the Knight-Lindbergh partnership that would soon change the course of aviation history. 

After being denied any financial assistance by several of St. Louis's businessmen, Lindbergh made an appointment with Knight at his brokerage office.  Knight, the president of the St. Louis Air Club, was fascinated with Lindbergh's plan and called his friend, Harold M. Bixby, president of the St. Louis Chamber of Commerce.  Bixby also displayed a strong interest in the obscure stunt flyer and mail pilot.  Together Knight and Bixby formed an organization called "the Spirit of St. Louis", which was dedicated to gathering funds for the flight.  More than $10,000 was needed in order to build a single engine plane and acquire the proper equipment.

Knight went to his father, Harry F. Knight, who was a major power in the realm of finance and an equal partner in the firm Dysart, Gamble & Knight Brokerage Company.  Like his son, the senior Knight was interested in the aviation field and backed every effort to make America conscious of airplane transportation.

Edited April 22, 2022 by Mike Kearns

[Mike Kearns]

1926 - In December 1926, Lindbergh presented his plan to stockbroker Harry H. Knight, another of his contacts from Lambert Field and president of the St. Louis Flying Club. Knight was rather enthusiastic and told Lindbergh to concentrate on organizing the flight rather than raising the estimated $15,000 needed to fund it. Knight then called banker Harold Bixby, who set up a meeting for the following week.

Bixby and Knight told Lindbergh that the plan was feasible—if he could keep the costs within his estimate. They also enlisted Knight’s father, Harry F. Knight; Bill Robertson’s brother, Frank; Albert Bond Lambert’s brother, J. D. Wooster Lambert; and E. Lansing Ray, publisher of the St. Louis Globe-Democrat newspaper, and borrowed $10,500 to add to the amounts already committed by Lindbergh, Thompson, Lambert, and Robertson.

Edited April 22, 2022 by Mike Kearns

[Mike Kearns]

1927 - Harry H. Knight, patent holder for the airplane fan design , see standing to the left of his wife:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Lindbergh makes it, and the world goes nuts over everything Lindbergh:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

Edited April 22, 2022 by Mike Kearns

[Mike Kearns]

1928 - Knight, a nature lover, spent much of his time at this ranch.  It was a haven for sportsmen and adventure seekers, and Lindbergh was a natural for these two categories.  One of the largest and best airstrips in the west was added to the Knight Ranch in order to accommodate the owner and his guests.  Besides the airstrip, the ranch boasted a miniature golf course, a 28 room estate, a private guest cabin, a good selection of livestock and an array of entertainment that would suit all.  It was a sanctuary for the affluent.   The early emphasis north of Granby was tourism and mining. When the mines were exhausted in the early eighties, some of the locals turned to ranching. Henry Lehman was one of these ranchers on the upper Grand (Colorado). He homesteaded and built a ranch on the South Fork of the river where the family took in guests, travelers and fishermen. Henry died in 1919 and the ranch was purchased by the Knight family of St. Louis. In its first claim to notoriety, the Harry F. Knight House boasts a spectacularly renowned architect: Harrie T. Lindeberg. Known for designing the remarkable country houses of the American elite, including the DuPont, Vanderbilt, Armor, Astor, and Pillsbury families, the famed architect was nationally regarded for his fresh take on traditionally influenced estates and his deep consideration of a property’s surroundings. His appreciation for the long, unbroken rooflines and rhythmic groupings of windows of the English Tudor style is seen plainly in the design of the Harry F. Knight House. Lindeberg reportedly selected the positioning of the Tudor Revival style estate from the passenger seat of Harry Knight’s airplane. Using the aerial vantage point, Lindeberg dropped markers on the spot with the best view and highest peak. It would be there where the main house was to be erected.Pennsylvania trap rock makes up the exterior walls in varying darkened shades. The tiled roof is made of 1-inch thick slates quarried in Vermont—a signature of Lindeberg’s that here mandated the use of 100 10-x-12 inch oak support beams. The interior holds a total of 27 rooms, sized for entertaining. The wide corridors were paneled in chestnut, all five bedrooms were complete with adjoining dressing rooms, the parquet floors were made of pegged oak or marble, and an Adam fireplace, reportedly the first in America, warmed one of the bedrooms. The staff quarters of the estate were similarly substantial; a series of servants’ rooms sat above the estate’s kitchen while a six-room apartment for the chauffeur rested above the garage. Additional features of the house included a walled garden, a gatehouse, and a Prohibition-era wine cellar hidden behind a panel in the telephone room and closed off with a vault door. When the construction was completed in about 1925, the palatial home racked up a building cost of a staggering $1,000,000.
The first historical reference of Harry Knight was the gift to the Grand Lake Yacht Club of a cup for racing competition known as the Knight Cup. It was one of many coveted trophies sought after the winning of the famous Lipton Cup.
Knight's most important place in local history was his friendship with Charles Lindbergh. When Harry Knight was president of the St. Louis Flying Club he developed great respect for the "ace pilot". Lindbergh had pioneered the airmail route between St Louis and Chicago. Because of his skills Knight chose Lindbergh as his personal flight instructor. Harry convinced the head of the St Louis Chamber of Commerce to have them help Charles by sponsoring his famous flight with a check for $15,000.
Upon completion of the New York to Paris flight in 1927, Knight built an airport on the ranch. Writings of the period indicate that Harry built the airport just for Lindbergh. However, Harry also was a pilot in his own right. Lindbergh would fly over the divide and onto the ranch mostly for weekend visits.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

Edited April 22, 2022 by Mike Kearns

[Mike Kearns]

1929 - the Knight's start to jump on the Lindbergh Trans-Atlantic Flight marketing bandwagon. Dallas Engineering Co., Dallas, Texas, an aviation fabrication shop, is contracted by the Knights to build the fans for market:                                                                                  

Edited April 22, 2022 by Mike Kearns

[Mike Kearns]

1930 -                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Early fans are advertised as having Century motors:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
  Here is an example with a Century motor. I apologize for the poor quality of the images, sometimes we have to use what we can get, until I can get better images:                                                                                                                                                

Edited October 29, 2023 by Mike Kearns

[Mike Kearns]

1931 -                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               July 1931 -                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Original porcelain two-speed pull switch:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

Edited October 29, 2023 by Mike Kearns

[Mike Kearns]

1932 -                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Courtesy of Russ Huber: Telephony, Harry B. McMeal - ‎1932 Harry H. Knight, who heads the company (Harry H. Knight Co., Dallas, Texas), is a pioneer in the manufacture of propeller type fans and the patentee of the airplane body design. The company also manufactures an exhaust type fan.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

 

Edited October 29, 2022 by Mike Kearns

[Mike Kearns]

1933 - Harry F. Knight, father of Harry E. Knight and Charles Lindbergh, passes away:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

Edited April 23, 2022 by Mike Kearns

[Mike Kearns]

1934 - Six lines down to the right:

Edited April 23, 2022 by Mike Kearns

[Mike Kearns]

1935 - "Finish - Antique copper plated"                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

Edited April 23, 2022 by Mike Kearns

[Mike Kearns]

1936 - Dallas Engineering Company July 1936 edition of trade journal "Southwest Business":                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Wall bracket model courtesy of the Chuck Abernathy Collection: Another proof they exist example from the Phillip Hargrove Collection -                             Another view, showing details of the motor suspension curved pipe and mounting means to the wall mount plaque:                                                                      

Edited October 29, 2023 by Mike Kearns

[Mike Kearns]

1937 -                                                                                                              

Edited April 23, 2022 by Mike Kearns

[Mike Kearns]

1938 -                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

Edited October 29, 2023 by Mike Kearns

[Mike Kearns]

1939 - Refrigeration Sales Inc. claims to own Dallas Airplane since 1929, more to research here.

Edited April 23, 2022 by Mike Kearns

[Mike Kearns]

More to come on this Knight circulator, just getting my information in order:                                                                                                                       Same fan, incorrect blade, note Century motor and cast deco hanger details                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           A pedestal version, note Century motor and cast deco hanger design details:                                                                                                                                                                                            

 

Edited April 23, 2022 by Mike Kearns

[Mike Kearns]

Ask the man who owns one: July 1986                                                                                                                              

Edited April 23, 2022 by Mike Kearns

[Mike Kearns]

A busy Saturday night at Tony's Tavern, 31st and Federal street on the South Side of Chicago in 1941, an early Roto-Beam pedestal to the left corner, and a Dallas Airplane ceiling-hung circulator fan to the right. :

                                                                                                                     The other half of this image:

                                                                                                                             A close up of the band on stage:

                                                                                                                                               And lastly, to the left of the band, some folks at the bar, enjoying cold beer, hot food, good company and music, on the same night, in original B&W, and colorized. has anyone noticed the Disney Snow White images : painted on the walls of this place?

Edited October 29, 2022 by Mike Kearns