Bendix Aeriet/Air Devices Corporation (ADCO), Chicago, Illinois 1929 to 1942

[Mike Kearns]

1929 - Vincent Hugo Bendix was born in Moline, Illinois. He was eldest of three children born to Methodist clergyman, Reverend Jann Bengtsson, a native of Angermanland, Sweden, and his wife Anna Danielson, also an immigrant from Sweden. While in Moline the family name was changed to "Bendix". They later moved to Chicago, Illinois. In 1907 Vincent Bendix founded the Bendix Corporation of Chicago to manufacture automobiles, called "Bendix Motor Buggies". After two years and producing 7,000 vehicles the company failed. In 1910 however, Bendix invented and patented the "Bendix drive", a gear that could engage an engine at zero rotational speed and then (through the aid of a spring and the higher speed of the running engine) pull back and disengage automatically at higher speed (nominally the engine's running speed). This drive made the electric starter practical for automobile engines and later for engines in aircraft and other motorized vehicles.
                                                                                                                       
In 1922 his father was killed when he was hit by a car with drum brakes; his father's death inspired him to study braking systems. He found a French braking system that he considered to be superior to any braking systems available in the United States market. In 1923, Bendix founded the Bendix Brake Company, which acquired the rights to French engineer Henri Perrot's patents for brake drum/shoe design a year later.
                                                                    
In 1929, he started the Bendix Aviation Corporation and founded the Transcontinental Bendix Air Race  in 1931. In 1942, Bendix started Bendix Helicopters, Incorporated. Bendix Aviation and Bendix Brake would later be renamed Bendix Corporation. - Wikipedia.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

Edited June 29, 2023 by Mike Kearns

[Mike Kearns]

1930 - With unbridled success comes the rewards; purchased the Palmer Mansion in 1930, for $3,000,000 from the sons of the original owner and builder Potter Palmer and his socialite wife, Bertha. Palmer was a prominent Chicago businessman who was responsible for much of the development of State Street. A collection of paintings, collected by Bertha Palmer, adorned the mansion's grand ballroom, 75-feet long. The room's murals in the frieze above them were by Gabriel Ferrier. The mansion's exterior included many turrets and minarets, and on the interior, a spiral staircase without a center support, rising 80 feet into the central tower.Two elevators also served the building. The Palmer's constructed their mansion's outside doors specifically without locks and knobs so that the only way to get in was to be admitted from the inside. Bendix renamed the property "The Bendix Galleries," after adding paintings by Rembrandt and Howard Chandler Christy to Bertha Palmer's former art collection. While residing within the mansion, he modernized the elevator, and installed a barber's chair for his own use. With legal issues we will read of, the property was sold to back to Potter Palmer's son in 1933 for $2,000,000,the amount of the building's mortgage. Tragically,  The mansion stood vacant for years until it was demolished in 1950, to be replaced by two 22-story high-rise apartment buildings housing 740 families (welfare public housing). The mansion's painting gallery, including works by French painters Monet, Renoir, and Degas that were collected by Bertha Palmer, were transferred to the Art Institute of Chicago, and the furniture and other furnishings were sold.                    

Edited September 4, 2022 by Mike Kearns

[Mike Kearns]

1932 -                                                                           
Then, a short time after the divorce, this happened:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        That's gotta hurt, right? If you ask me, I'd say Bendix's two-million dollar divorce was a bargain. And don't worry, Vincent Bendix was just fine with it all. He got free of all claims, and went on to bigger and better things, enjoying all of the benefits that come with being a rich bachelor, such as many philanthropies and gifts to the people and city of Chicago, racing planes, cars, speed boats and acquiring while simultaneously growing his business empire even larger....

Edited September 4, 2022 by Mike Kearns

[Mike Kearns]

1935 - May 19, 1935:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Wednesday, at 11:30:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        July 16, 1935 -                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             July 16, 1935 -                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       July 16, 1935 -                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       August 13, 1935                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              August 8, 1935 - The Aeriet Fan, made by Bendix and marketed by ADCO, is first being sold.                                                                                                

Edited September 4, 2022 by Mike Kearns

[Mike Kearns]

1936 - It's hard to keep on track, but Vincent Bendix had a fascinating life in so many aspects.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                The Bendix National Air Race was internationally renowned as a show palace of the cutting edge of aeronautical advancements, winners of which were later Medal of Honor winner Jimmy Doolittle and distinguished pilot, actor and adventurer Roscoe Turner, to name only a few. Vincent Bendix made the races accessible to anyone who wanted to participate, including a special race strictly for women to compete in.
                                                                         
4 September 1936: Louise Thaden was the first woman to win the Bendix Trophy Race when she and her co-pilot, Blanche Noyes, flew a Beechcraft C17R “Staggerwing,” NR15835, from Floyd Bennett Field, Brooklyn, New York, to Mines Field, Los Angeles, California, in 14 hours, 55 minutes, 1.0 seconds. With one fuel stop at Wichita, Kansas, Thaden and Noyes had averaged 165.35 miles per hour (266.11 kilometers per hour).
In addition to the trophy, Mrs. Thaden won a prize of $2,500.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         On June 8, 1936, an aeronautical engineer noted for his patents on propeller design and transmission dyamometers working for Bendix, applies for a mechanical novelty patent for a ventilating fan, the assignee being Air Devices Corporation, Chicago, Illinois, the company also referred to as ADCO.:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Reverse view and motor mounted decal of an Air Devices Corporation of Chicago, Illinois (ADCO) - Hackman Collection                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          And another example from the Harrison Picard Collection:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  July 31, 1936 -   July 31, 1936 -                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                July 31, 1936 -                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         November 7, 1936 - A diversification to meet the seasonal demand, the ADCO heater fan:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           On January 13, 1936, H.W. Chapman, an industrial designer and inventor based in Detroit, Michigan, noted for patenting train freight cars and cargo bracing, is contracted by ADCO to design a new Bendix fan design. The production fan will be run off of a friction-drived wheel, which in turn rotates the fan blade shaft:  

Edited September 4, 2022 by Mike Kearns

[Mike Kearns]

1937 - February 27, 1937:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

Edited September 4, 2022 by Mike Kearns

[Mike Kearns]

1938 -                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Edited September 4, 2022 by Mike Kearns

[Mike Kearns]

1939 -                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

Edited September 4, 2022 by Mike Kearns

[Mike Kearns]

                                                                               1940 -                                                  

Edited September 4, 2022 by Mike Kearns

[Mike Kearns]

1941 - A factory Aeriet by Bendix box - Courtesy of Russ Huber:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      And another example:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       
                                                                        Another example image - Courtesy of Andy Hackman:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Tear-down images courtesy of Steve Hilty: The rubber idler wheel in these fans often develop flat spots during extended disuse, as well as chemical breakdown due to oil residue, and embrittlement from cold and heat in storage. The motor rotates the idler wheel, which bears up against and drives the bearing surface of the back of the fan blade, rotating the blade only, the silver disc over the center fan hub remains stationary. Replacement of the factory wheel with a like sized/shaped rubber grommet was found to be a satisfactory repair, if needed:

                                                            

 

                                                                  

 

Edited September 4, 2022 by Mike Kearns

[Mike Kearns]

                                                                               1942 - March 26, 1942:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                The Aeriet built by Bendix fan production and marketing seems to have at this point ceased, with leftover stock being dispersed through the various company outlets until they were gone.

Edited September 4, 2022 by Mike Kearns