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1886
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Born in Sciacca, Sicily
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1909
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Built first airplane. It completed the first flight of an Italian-designed, Italian-built, aircraft on
December 8, 1909.
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1911
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Immigrated to America, settled in Brooklyn, NY.
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1912
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Completed construction of parasol monoplane. Successfully learned to fly this aircraft at Mineola, Long Island, NY.
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1912 - 1916
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Taught others to fly the parasol monoplane, including Fiorello LaGuardia.
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1917 - 1920
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Employed as a consulting engineer for Maryland Pressed Steel Company of Hagerstown, MD. While there, Bellanca
designed and built the Bellanca CD and CE tractor biplanes.
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1921 - 1922
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Moved to Omaha, NE, and with Victor Roos, formed the Roos-Bellanca Aircraft Company. Bellanca designed and
built the Bellanca CF.
Married Dorothy Brown on November 18, 1922, in Omaha, NE.
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1923
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Moved back to New York, and designed and built new sets of wings for the Post Office Department's DH-4 mailplanes.
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1925
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Employed by the Wright Aeronautical Corporation of Paterson, NJ, designing an aircraft around their new
"Whirlwind" engine. The Wright-Bellanca 1, or WB-1, was the result, and was first flown in the latter part
of that year.
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1926
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First flight of the WB-2.
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1927
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Wright decided not to enter into quantity production of the WB-2. Bellanca entered into a partnership with
Charles A. Levine, and together, they formed the Columbia Aircraft Corporation. From Tuesday, April 12 to
Thursday, April 14, Clarence Chamberlin and Bert Acosta set a new world's non-refueled endurance record in
the WB-2, which was shortly thereafter, renamed the "Columbia". On June 4th, the Columbia set off across
the Atlantic, and landed in Eisleben, Germany.
Bellanca started the Bellanca Aircraft Corporation of America, on Staten Island, NY.
Bellanca established the Bellanca Aircraft Corporation of New Castle, DE.
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1941 - 1943
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Head of the aviation department at Higgins Industries, Inc., in New Orleans, designing large cargo aircraft
for troop movement during the war.
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1954
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Formed the Bellanca Development Company, to conduct research in lightweight aircraft construction materials.
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1960
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Died of leukemia in New York, December 26.
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