Clyde Vernon Cessna Biography

Clyde Vernon Cessna

A pioneer in aviation, he built and flew his first plane in 1911 before organizing the Travel Air Company in 1925. After building the first cantilever plane in the U.S., he founded Cessna Aircraft in 1928 to manufacture them. Operations were suspended in 1931 due to the Depression, resuming in 1934, when Cessna retired.