Velie built planes, too

File From the Velie buggy to the Velie automobile to the Velie monocoupe, Willard Velie and his son Willard Jr. were instrumental in the early days of transportation. Their factory turned out the Monocoupe near what is now John Deere Commons along River Drive. This photo was taken at the Moline airport around 1927.

Photo courtesy of the Rock Island County Historical Society

Photo courtesy of the Rock Island County Historical Society

File In 1929 Phoebe Omlie set an altitude record above the Moline airport in a Velie Monocoupe manufactured in Moline.

Photo courtesy of the Rock Island County Historical Society The Velie Monocoupe Airplane Co. in Moline couldn't keep up with orders for its award-winning airplane and engines.

His curiousity begot carriages, cars, and eventually, the Velie Monocoupe. In a 1972 article in The Dispatch, Joe Kimmel Jr., of the Quad City Airmen's Association, discussed the history of the only planes built in the Quad-Cities:

``In 1919 the Velie Motor Corp. designed and built the first six-cylinder valve-in-head motor. Velie later developed the famous five-cylinder radial aircraft engine which powered his renowned two-place Monocoupe. The first motors were rated at 62 hp. at 2,000 rpm.

``The first Monocoupe was flown by Rusty Campbell on April 1, 1927. Word of the Monocoupe closed-cabin comfort, responsive controls, speed and economy spread throughout the country.

``The first Velie M-5 engine was almost an exact copy of the Air Cat engine. It was rumored that the early Velie engines dropped so much cast iron on Moline's airport that Campbell, the manager, said he was ruining his mowers, and it was then that an improved Velie engine was introduced featuring aluminum cylinder heads and sodium valves.

``In 1928 at the National Air Races in Los Angeles, the Velie Monocoupe scored its first victory in close-course racing, and Verne Roberts and C.A. LaJotte won a number of speed events averaging just over 100 mph against competition flying aircraft with 90 to 100 hp. engines. Dealerships for the Monocoupe were in great demand, and planes were shipped from Moline by the carload.

``While things were going great with a new four-place Mono Coach planned, the Quad-Cities' great future in aircraft production came to an end with the sudden death of Velie. The family sold out the Velie firm to Allied Aviation Industries in St. Louis, and production was moved to that city in 1929.''