Nicholas-Beazley Airplane Company


Nicholas-Beazley Airplane Company was an American aircraft manufacturer of the 1920s and 1930s

Company history

In 1921, the Nicholas-Beazley Airplane Company was founded by Russell B. Nicholas and Howard Beazley. Nicholas started Central Aviation Company reselling surplus propellers, and in 1924 renamed the company to reflect the addition of Howard Beazley as partner. Nicholas-Beazley Airplane Company started as a reseller of surplus Curtiss OX-5 parts through mail-order catalogs, expanding into a wide variety of airplane construction materials. Nicholas-Beazley resold 57 Armstrong-Siddeley Genet engines originally sold by Fairchild, becoming the US distributor. Surplus Standard J aircraft were modified and marketed by the company.
In 1927, Walter Barling was hired to engineer the first in-house aircraft, the Barling NB-3. The aircraft was advertised as being able to right itself from any position with the hands off the controls, and spin-proof. In 1929, Tom Kirkup was hired to design the NB-8G. 57 units were completed and sold. At its peak, the company produced as many as one aircraft per day. In 1937, production of aircraft ceased, after the great depression.
The Nicholas-Beazley Aircraft Company Museum resides at Marshall Memorial Municipal Airport in Marshall, Missouri, featuring a NB-3 on display.

Aircraft

Model nameFirst flightNumber builtType
NB-376Low wing monoplane
NB-48three place low wing monoplane
NB-8G57Parasol
Pobjoy Special1Racing aircraft