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1970s to Present - Ace Aircraft Today

September 22, 1973 – Mr. Baird writes to Mr. Poberenzy concerning Mechanix Illustrated reprinting the 1955 articles about building a Baby Ace. Baird writes that he purchased the Ace Aircraft Manufacturing Company including all rights to the Baby Ace and Junior Ace—past, present, and future—and also claims to have obtained Mr. Corben’s permission to use the Corben name. Baird feels that the Mechanix Illustrated article does not mention his company yet states that the EAA is still selling Baby Ace plans. Baird also sends a copy of this letter to Mechanix Illustrated. [Letter]

September 26, 1973Mechanix Illustrated Editor Robert G. Beason sends a letter to Mr. Baird stating that his magazine is only reprinting their original 1955 articles. [Letter]

September 26, 1973 – Mr. Poberenzy sends a letter to Mr. Baird stating that he called Baird on June 15, 1973, telling Baird that he had retained the rights to the Baby Ace Model C. Poberenzy states that he incorrectly assumed that Mechanix Illustrated was going to publish an updated article which would include the Baby Ace Model D and the Junior Ace. Poberenzy goes on to write that he has renamed his Baby Ace the Pober Baby Ace C admitting that his design was changed greatly from the original. Poberenzy states that he has no interest in offering plans for the Baby Ace Model D or the Junior Ace Model E. [Letter]

September 27, 1973 – Mr. Poberenzy sends a follow-up letter to Mr. Baird stating that he does not plan to use the name Corben Baby Ace or Junior Ace, so there should be no confusion between Baird’s aircraft and Poberenzy's designs. [Letter]

October 1973Mechanix Illustrated reprints their 1955 article about building a Baby Ace. The cover states that the Baby Ace is "The Most-Famous, Most-Built, Safest Homebuilt Plane in History." The article is titled, "King of the Homebuilts." It includes the original EAA address for ordering plans. [1]

October 10, 1973 – As Mr. Baird had feared, due to the old EAA address being listed in the Mechanix Illustrated article, orders for Baby Ace plans start flooding into EAA Headquarters. Mr. Poberenzy, EAA President, instructs his staff to forward all orders to Mr. Baird. [Letter]

October 1973 – Mr. Baird composes a form letter to send to everyone that has requested Baby Ace plans from EAA. [Letter]

October 31, 1973 – Mr. Poberenzy sends a letter to Mr. Baird stating that to date EAA has forwarded 63 letters to him requesting Baby Ace plans. [Letter]

November 28, 1973 – Mrs. Millie Reidenbach, Mr. Poberenzy’s secretary, sends a letter to Mr. Baird acknowledging receipt of Baird’s letter to Poberenzy on November 22. She states Poberenzy has not read the letter yet as he is out of town. [Letter]

January 3, 1974 – Mr. Poberenzy responds to Mr. Baird’s letter of November 22, 1973. Poberenzy writes that he did sell the Baby Ace Model C drawings to Mr. Cliff DuCharme for the reasons Baird had stated in his letter. [Letter]

1975 – The Baby Ace Model D and Junior Ace Model E appear for the last time in the 1975-76 edition of Jane’s All The World’s Aircraft. [2]

Oshkosh 1981 - Mr. and Mrs. Ted and Sharron Travis of Flushing, MI win an Honorable Mention Award for their Junior Ace Model E, "Rag Rose." The aircraft is registered as NX74702 and is featured in an article of Sport Aviation. [3]

March 1986 - Mr. Denny Meadows of Chesapeake, WV buys the assets of Ace Aircraft Manufacturing Company from Mr. Baird's estate.

January 12, 1989 - Ace Aircraft, Inc. [of Wisconsin] is dissolved. [Dissolved]

1992 – The Baby Ace Model D and Junior Ace Model E reappear one last time in the 1992-93 edition of Jane’s All The World’s Aircraft. [4]

1992 – EAA Chapter 93 builds a Corben Super Ace to display in the Madison Airport Terminal. [5]

July 11, 1998 - Mr. William "Bill" Wood of Toccoa, GA buys the assets of Ace Aircraft Manufacturing Company from Mr. Meadows and founds Ace Aircraft, Inc.

2006 – Mr. Marc Pfister of London, Ontario, Canada receives a Bronze Lindy Award for workmanship at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2006 for a Baby Ace aircraft he began building at the age of 14. The aircraft is registered as C-FXMP and appears on the front cover of Sport Aviation. [6]

For current updates on Ace Aircraft, please visit the Press Releases section of the Ace Aircraft, Inc. web site.


1 "King of the Homebuilts," Mechanix Illustrated, October 1973. pp. 11-13, 86-87, 129.
2 Jane’s All The World’s Aircraft, 1975-76
3 Cox, J. "Rag Rose," Sport Aviation, May 1982, pp. 11-13.
4 Jane’s All The World’s Aircraft, 1992-93, p. 494
5 Gribble, R. Wisconsin State Journal, “Hobbyist Finish Replica of Sport Plane.” June 28, 1992
6 Laslo, G., “Baby Ace,” Sport Aviation, June 2007, pp. 26-32, 34

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Page last updated: Thursday, November 24, 2011