At the beginning of the 20th century, during the Age of Flight when airplanes were biplanes, Willard Custer, a young car mechanic in Maryland, was caught up in the exciting new field. Having never completed high school, he used his observations of nature, his mechanical mind, and dogged determination to develop and build aircraft that demonstrated how airflow over the wing could create lift, even when the aircraft was stationary. He built four aircraft, negotiated support from some of the top leaders in business and aeronautics, and, despite huge challenges and multiple setbacks, devoted his life to his dream of revolutionizing the aviation industry.

Willard Custer faced many challenges as the developer of the Custer Channel Wing. Despite his lifetime of effort, in the end, he was unsuccessful in getting the necessary FAA Type Certificate to mass produce his aircraft, and therefore, the Custer Channel Wing was never built for uses other than experimentation and demonstration. Two of the five Custer Channel Wing aircraft are still in existence. One is in the Smithsonian Collection but not on display. The second is in the collection at the Mid Atlantic Air Museum in Reading, PA.

Willard Custer is the grandfather of the first author, Joel Custer.

Joel explains: Being related provided my introduction to Willard Custer’s story. But this book is not a memoir nor a tribute. Unfortunately, my grandfather and I were not close and memories contributed very little to the writing of this book. As I delved deeper into the story of his invention, I saw how remarkable he was and I believe that others will find it an interesting story of challenge and perseverance.

As you will read in the book, my co-author Robert Englar shared my commitment to the ingenuity of my grandfather’s aircraft design and encouraged me to tell his story. Mr. Englar’s technical expertise and gracious support of my endeavor is much appreciated.

There are two overarching themes in the story of Willard Custer and the Custer Channel Wing. First is the theme of trusting in yourself. His story inspires me to think for myself and not be deterred. If Willard had listened to everyone else, he would have stuck to car mechanics. But he followed his own reasoning, his own evidence, and believed in his own experience to the point that he was nearly alone in rowing against the tide of professional aeronautical opinion. Secondly, this is a story of perseverance despite numerous and onerous challenges. We, too, need to see setbacks as challenges, to have a vision that focuses our efforts, and to persist toward our goals.

A Channel Wing aircraft is stored today by the Smithsonian Institution’s Air and Space Museum (Suitland, MD), and another is on display at the Mid Atlantic Air Museum (Reading, PA).

Willard Custer earned the title “father of powered lift” by virtue of his successful demonstration of his first full-size Channel Wing aircraft (the “Bumblebee”) at the research center airfield in Beltsville, MD in 1943.

Willard built the “Bumblebee” in his backyard to specifications offered by Dr. Louis Crook, the Dean of the Department of Aeronautical Engineering of The Catholic University.

A full-size Channel Wing testbed successfully lifted off from a standstill in front of assembled media representatives on December 6, 1951 in Pittsburgh, PA.

H.J. (“Jack”) Heinz of the H.J. Heinz Company (Pittsburgh, PA) funded the Channel Wing prototype in 1953.

The Channel Wing prototype crawled through the sky at 11 MPH in Oxnard, CA on August 24, 1954, as reported by assembled media representatives.

The Channel Wing prototype landed “gear-up” with no more than a scratch on August 22, 1959.

C.G. Taylor, creator of the Piper Cub and famous for Taylorcraft airplanes, licensed the Channel Wing concept and designed, modeled, and built a Channel Wing aircraft intended as a flying car in 1960.

Custer had a bonafide order for twenty Channel Wing aircraft, with the down payment in the bank, in 1960.

NASA has shown a great deal of interest in the Channel Wing concept, conducting studies in 1953 and again in the 1990s.