Cessna Aircraft Co. - Aviation Specimen Stock Certificate

Specimen Stock printed by Northern Bank Note Co., Chicago.

The Cessna Aircraft Company, an American general aviation aircraft manufacturing corporation headquartered in Wichita, Kansas, produced small, piston-powered aircraft and business jets. For much of the mid-to-late 20th century, Cessna was one of the world’s leading producers of general aviation aircraft. Founded in 1927, the company underwent several ownership changes: it was purchased by General Dynamics in 1985 and later by Textron, Inc., in 1992. In March 2014, when Textron acquired the Beechcraft and Hawker Aircraft corporations, Cessna ceased operations as a subsidiary and joined the others as one of the three distinct brands produced by Textron Aviation.

Clyde Cessna, a farmer from Rago, Kansas, made history in June 1911 when he built and flew his own aircraft, becoming the first person to cross the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains by air. Cessna’s journey began in Enid, Oklahoma, where he established his wood-and-fabric aircraft ventures and tested many of his early planes on the salt flats. However, when bankers in Enid refused to provide him with additional funding for his aircraft projects, he relocated to Wichita.

In 1927, Clyde Cessna and Victor Roos formed the Cessna-Roos Aircraft Company, which later became Cessna Aircraft. However, Roos’s involvement was short-lived, as he resigned just one month into the partnership and sold back his interest to Cessna. Consequently, Roos’s name was removed from the company’s name.