- An Educational Website -
Aviation
1909
Does the first solo flight across the English Channel have a Chevrolet connection?
Edouard Alfred Chevrolet was the oldest of the Chevrolet Brothers, and the only family member not to immigrate to the U.S. According to historian Jacques Chevalley, Alfred worked for famed French aviator Louis Blériot in 1908.
(Indianapolis Motor Speedway)
July 25, 1909 Louis Blériot becomes
the first person to fly solo across the English Channel. Did Alfred Chevrolet have a role in this historic flight? Reports indicate that Blériot's personal archive was destroyed in 1940.
(Artcurial)
March 25, 1910 - Artenay, France
Alfred Chevrolet is awarded an aviation patent for a flight control stick. This document suggests that Alfred may have had a significant role in Louis Blériot's aircraft ventures.
(Birmingham Free Library)
July 1909 - Cliffs Near Dover Castle
Triumph of Aviation
Louis Blériot Crossing the Channel
(Christie's Auction House - London)
1927
Chevrolet Brothers Manufacturing Co., Inc.
Single Overhead Cam Aviation Engine
July 1927 - Indianapolis, Indiana
SOHC Aircraft Engine
being assembled in Chevrolet's Shop
(Indianapolis News)
August 1927 - Moundsville, WV
Chevrolet Brothers SOHC Engine
installed in Lone Eagle Aircraft
(Indianapolis Motor Speedway)
August 1927 - Moundsville, WV
Lone Eagle Aircraft
Chevrolet Brothers SOHC Engine
(Indianapolis Motor Speedway)
August 1927 - Moundsville, WV
Charles Lindbergh inspects engine of the Lone Eagle Aircraft
(Smithsonian Institute)
August 1927 - Moundsville, WV
Lone Eagle Aircraft
Charles Lindbergh inspecting engine
(Indianapolis Motor Speedway)
Today - Moundsville, WV
Historical Marker
Lindbergh's 1927 Tour of America
(pnoman -AdvRider.com)
1928
Chevrolet Brothers Manufacting Co., Inc.
DOHC Aviation Engine
Arthur Chevrolet Design
Fall 1928 - Indianapolis, Indiana
DOHC Aircraft Engine
Chevrolet Bros. Mfg Co., Inc.
(Aero Digest)
Fall 1928 - Indianapolis, Indiana
DOHC Aircraft Engine
Chevrolet Bros. Mfg Co., Inc.
(Indianapolis Motor Speedway)
Sept 1928 - Indianapolis, Indiana
Lone Eagle Aircraft
Chevrolet DOHC Engine
(Indianapolis Star)
October 1928 - Moundsville, WV
Lone Eagle Aircraft
Chevrolet DOHC Engine
(Aero Digest)
October 1928 - Moundsville, WV
Lone Eagle Aircraft
Chevrolet DOHC Engine
(Smithsonian Institute)
October 1928 - Moundsville, WV
Lone Eagle Aircraft
Chevrolet DOHC Engine
(Tom Heitzman Collection)
1929
Chevolair Aircraft Corporation
Inverted 4-Cylinder Aero Engine
Stagger Valve Design
Summer/Fall 1929 - Indianapolis, IN
4-Cylinder DOHC Aviation Engine
Stagger Valve Design - Arthur Chevrolet
(Chevolair Catalog)
Summer/Fall 1929 - Indianapolis, Stagger Valve Design - Arthur Chevrolet
4-Cylinder DOHC Aircraft Engine
(Chevolair Advertisement)
Summer/Fall 1929 - Indianapolis, IN
4-Cylinder DOHC Aviation Engine
Stagger Valve Design - Arthur Chevrolet
(Chevolair Catalog)
August 1929 - Washington, DC
Government Test of Chevolair Engine
Arthur Chevrolet (right)
(Washington Evening Star)
January 1930 - Louisville, Kentucky
Travel Air Biplane with Chevolair Mill
Arthur Chevrolet (standing on right)
(Louisville Courier-Journal)
January 1930 - Louisville, Kentucky
Travel Air Biplane
Close up view of Chevolair Engine
(Louisville Courier-Journal)
1929
Chevolair Aircraft Corporation
Inverted 6-Cylinder
Stagger Valve Aero Engine
Summer/Fall 1929 - Indianapolis, IN
6-Cylinder Chevolair Engine
Stagger Valve Design - Arthur Chevrolet
(National Air & Space Museum)
November 1929 - Indianapolis, IN
6-Cylinder Chevolair Engine
Stagger Valve Design - Arthur Chevrolet
(Aero Digest)
Summer 1929 - Cleveland, Ohio
Travel Air Mystery Ship
6-Cylinder Chevolair Engine
(Kenneth Wilson Collection)
Summer 1929 - Cleveland, Ohio
Travel Air Mystery Ship
6-Cylinder Chevolair Engine
(Kenneth Wilson Collection)
Summer 1929 - Cleveland, Ohio
Travel Air Mystery Ship
6-Cylinder Chevolair Engine
(Aero Digest)
Summer 1929 - Cleveland, Ohio
Travel Air Mystery Ship
6-Cylinder Chevolair Engine
(Peter Bowers Collection)
1930 to 1931
Chevrolet Aircraft Corporation
Louis Chevrolet Design
Inverted 4-Cylinder Aero Engine
1930 - Baltimore, Maryland
333 CID Inverted Engine with Air Scoop
Louis Chevrolet Design
(Zenith Carburetor Newsletter)
Today - Washington, DC
333 CID Inverted Engine (Survivor)
Louis Chevrolet Design
(National Air & Space Museum)
1930 - Baltimore, Maryland
333 CID Engine with Flat Cam Cover
Louis Chevrolet Design
(Indianapolis Motor Speedway)
1928 to 1931
Chevrolet Aircraft Corporation
Louis Chevrolet Designed
Straight 6 & V-8 Engines
1931 - Baltimore, Maryland
6-Cylinder 500 CID Inverted Engine
Louis Chevrolet Design
(Indianapolis Motor Speedway)
1931 - Baltimore, Maryland
6-Cylinder 500 CID Inverted Engine
Louis Chevrolet Design
(Indianapolis Motor Speedway)
1931 - Baltimore, Maryland
Inverted Engine in V-8 Configuration
Louis Chevrolet Design
(Indianapolis Motor Speedway)
1929 Doyle Oriole Aircraft
Chevrolet 333 CID Inverted Engine
1929 - Baltimore, Maryland
Doyle Oriole Aircraft
Chevrolet 333 Inverted Engine
(Dan Shumaker Collection)
1936 - Location Unknown
Doyle Oriole Airplane
Chevrolet 333 Inverted Engine
(American Aviation Historical Society)
1936 - Location Unknown
Doyle Oriole with Chevrolet 333 Engine
Pilot - Zip Franklin
(Franklin Family Collection)
1929 - Baltimore, Maryland
Doyle Oriole with Chevrolet 333 Engine
Pilot Gene Foster & Louis Chevrolet
(Indianapolis Motor Speedway)
1930 Waco ENF Aircraft
Chevrolet 333 CID Inverted Engine
1930 - Baltimore, Maryland
Chevrolet 333 Inverted Engine
Waco ENF Airplane
(Aviation Engineering)
1930 - Baltimore, Maryland
Waco ENF Aircraft
Chevrolet 333 Inverted Engine
(National Waco Club)
1930 - Baltimore, Maryland
Waco ENF Airplane
Chevrolet 333 Inverted Engine
(Aviation Engineering)
1930 - Baltimore, Maryland
Waco ENF Aircraft
Chevrolet 333 Inverted Engine
(Aviation Engineering)
1930 - Indianapolis, Indiana
Waco ENF Airplane
E.C. Burghduff & Suzanne Chevrolet
(Indianapolis Motor Speedway)
Circa 1930's - Baltimore, Maryland
Waco ENF Aircraft
Chevrolet 333 Inverted Engine
(National Waco Club)
1930 Granville Brothers
Gee Bee - Model A
Chevrolet 333 CID Inverted Engine
1930 - Springfield, Massachusetts
Gee Bee Model A Aircraft
Chevrolet 333 Inverted Engine
(Aeronautical Industries)
1930 - Springfield, Massachusetts
Official Program
New England Air Tour
(National Air and Space Museum)
1930 Elmer Yates
Yates Stiper
Chevrolet 333 CID Inverted Engine
1930 - Beaverton, Oregon
Yates Stiper Aircraft
Chevrolet 333 Inverted Engine
(Beaverton Public Library)
1930 - Beaverton, Oregon
Elmer Yates with Stiper Aircraft
Chevrolet 333 Inverted Engine
(Beaverton Public Library)
1930 - Beaverton, Oregon
Yates Stiper Aircraft
Chevrolet 333 Inverted Engine
(AeroFiles.com)
1931 Pitcairn Aircraft Corp
PAA-2 Autogiro
Chevrolet 333 CID Inverted Engine
February 1931 - Willow Grove, PA
Pitcairn Model PAA-2 Autogiro
Chevrolet 333 Inverted Engine
(Pitcairn Archives)
Spring 1931 - Willow Grove, PA
Pitcairn Model PAA-2 Autogiro
Chevrolet 333 Inverted Engine
(Pitcairn Archives)
Spring 1931 - Willow Grove, PA
6 Pitcairn Autogiros in Flight
PAA-2 at top (with tricycle landing gear)
(Fortune Magazine)
1931 Charles H. Day
Errant Aircraft
Chevrolet 333 CID Inverted Engine
Round the World Trip
Spring 1931 - Baltimore, Maryland
Mr. & Mrs. Charles H. Day
Errant Aircraft with Chevrolet 333 Mill
(Smithsonian Institute)
Spring 1931 - Baltimore, Maryland
Errant Aircraft with Chevrolet 333 Mill
Mr. & Mrs. Charles H. Day
(Smithsonian Institute)
Spring 1931 - Baltimore, Maryland
Mr. & Mrs. Charles H. Day
Errant Aircraft with Chevrolet 333 Mill
(Smithsonian Institute)
Spring 1931 - Baltimore, Maryland
Errant Aircraft with Chevrolet 333 Mill
Mr. & Mrs. Charles H. Day
(Smithsonian Institute)
June 1931 - Hestonfair Park, England
Mr. & Mrs. Day prepare Errant aircraft
for European leg of their journey
(The Ottawa Citizen)
July 1931 - Berlin, Germany
Mr. & Mrs. Day are photographed at the
Berlin Airport with Errant Aircraft
(Pottsville Republican)
Summer 1931 - Round the World Trip
Mr. & Mrs. Charles H. Day
Errant Aircraft with Chevrolet 333 Mill
(Smithsonian Institute)
September 1931 - Calcutta, India
Flight Flown Cover from global trip
Mr. & Mrs. Charles H. Day
(Smithsonian Institute)
December 1931 - Newark, New Jersey
Mr. & Mrs. Charles H. Day finish
their round the world adventure
(New York Daily News)
1931 Chevrolet/Martin
333 CID Inverted Engine
Redesigned Engineering Prototype
Summer/Fall 1931 - Baltimore, Md
Prototype 333 CID Inverted Engine
Note exhaust exits from side of cylinder
(Indianapolis Motor Speedway)
Summer/Fall 1931 - Baltimore, Md
Prototype 333 CID Inverted Engine
Note unique intake manifold design
(Indianapolis Motor Speedway)
Summer/Fall 1931 - Baltimore, Md
Prototype 333 CID Inverted Engine
Note mounting bosses on crankcase
(Indianapolis Motor Speedway)
1933 Cornelius Free Wing
Equipped With
Chevrolet 333 CID Inverted Engine
Circa 1933 - Los Angeles, California
Cornelius Free Wing
Chevrolet/Martin 333 Inverted Engine
(Popular Aviation)
1-30-34 - Los Angeles, California
Cornelius Free Wing
Chevrolet/Martin 333 Inverted Engine
(Stanford Daily)
June 1934 - Los Angeles, California
Cornelius Free Wing
Chevrolet/Martin 333 Inverted Engine
(Popular Aviation)
Circa 1934 - Los Angeles, California
Cornelius Free Wing
Chevrolet/Martin 333 Inverted Engine
(Dan Shumaker Collection)
10-31-34 - Los Angeles, California
George Cornelius writes Martin Co.,
Praises performance of 333 engine
(Indianapolis Motor Speedway)
Circa 1934 - Los Angeles, California
Cornelius Free Wing
Chevrolet/Martin 333 Inverted Engine
(Frank Rezich/Aerofiles.com)
1937 Martin Tadpole Clipper
Seaplane
Chevrolet 333 CID Inverted Engine
1937 - Baltimore, Maryland
Glenn L. Martin Co. - Tadpole Clipper
333 Engine Mounted in Fuselage
(GLM Maryland Museum of Aviation)
1937 - Baltimore, Maryland
Glenn L. Martin Co. - Tadpole Clipper
333 Engine Mounted in Fuselage
(GLM Maryland Museum of Aviation)
1937 - Baltimore, Maryland
Glenn L. Martin Co. - Tadpole Clipper
333 Engine Mounted in Fuselage
(GLM Maryland Museum of Aviation)
Restored Chevrolet/Martin 333 Engine
Glenn L. Martin Maryland Aviation Museum
Today - Baltimore, Maryland
333 mill has magnesium crankcase
barrel, and splined propeller shaft
(Billy Dunbar Photo)
Today - Baltimore, Maryland
Restored Chevrolet/Martin 333 engine,
serial number 96, at the GLM Museum
(Stan Piet Photo)
Today - Baltimore, Maryland
Magnesium timing chain cover, note
oil pump assembly at the bottom
(Billy Dunbar Photo)