SimplePlanes | ACME Co. History (1894-present)

A little history on my company. Probably useless, but nonetheless somewhat fun.

The Akazawa-Chittori Manufacturing Enterprise has a long running history of trial and error. The company was founded in 1894 in the town of Kyoto, Japan. Two best friends had started a company that made desks. No reason why, they just really liked desks. The duo moved to the States in 1905, and by then they had become fascinated with airplanes, as the Wright Brothers, only 2 years earlier, had flown their Wright Flyer near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. The two of them moved to sunny California, where they set up their desk manufacturing company once again. They could never shake the aircraft bug off, and in the early 1910's, they started experimenting with planes.

Their first few attempts proved to be a failure, and they worked tirelessly, sometimes going with out sleep for a few days. Their desk manufacturing enterprise had given then a hefty amount of money, so they were able to get parts for aircraft. Their first working attempt was very crude, but it flew nonetheless. They tested it at the Grand Central Airport, after getting permission from Lesile Coombs Brand, the owner of the airstrip. The plane took off on August 5, 1916. It proved a success, and on February 15, 1917, the men changed the name of the company to the Akazawa-Chittori Manufacturing Enterprise. Their main focus was on aircraft now.

They made several different types of planes, some from bi-planes to experimental aircraft. By the late 1930's, the company had over 600 people. The company made aircraft for the U.S. Air Force as well as airlines, some such as United and Delta, as well as foreign airlines such as KLM and Qantas. Their name became well-known across the world, and they were well-trusted. They had to close down the company due to WWII, and production stopped in the summer of 1943. The two men were able to restart the company after the war, but they could not get back the money lost over the 3 year period from 1943-1946. Such fighters as the T-55 Roadrunner proved to be useful in the Korean and Vietnam Wars.

The duo were always fond of propeller-driven aircraft, so they produced very little jets. The company made a steady proving in the years following 1956. Mr. Akazawa passed away on December 16, 1956, and Mr. Chittori on April 26, 1957. Mr. Akazawa's son took over as the head of the company in 1978, and has been ever since. The company was able to produce such aircraft as the ACME Co. Coyote Trainer Aircraft, the ACME Co. T-74 Scout, and the ACME Co. T-86 Topiary III. In recent years, ACME has been dabbling in different aircraft, including jets. The ACME Co. F-45 "Nagareboshi" is one of their most successful jet aircraft. A new airliner is expected to be released anytime soon. Plans are being made to release several new aircraft anytime soon. The company has two locations: one in Los Angeles and one in Kyoto. The company, as of today, is still well-known as it was in the 1930's.

Here's a link to all of the ACME aircraft:

ACME Co. K-263 'Sahara'

ACME Co. T-90 Roadrunner

T-55 Roadrunner

ACME Co. T-27 'Norwegian'

ACME Co. T-36 'Carryon'

ACME Co. T-39 'Jug'

ACME Co. X-50

ACME Co. T-69 Sparrow

ACME Co. T-74 Scout

ACME Co. T-86 Topiary III

ACME Co. T-140 'Zeus'