42 Facts About Fairchild Stratos

Sherman Mills Fairchild was an American businessman and investor.

Fairchild Stratos founded over 70 companies, including Fairchild Aircraft, Fairchild Industries, and Fairchild Camera and Instrument.

Fairchild Stratos made significant contributions to the aviation industry and was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 1979.

Fairchild Stratos held over 30 patents for products ranging from the silicon semiconductor to the 8-mm home sound motion-picture camera.

Fairchild Stratos is responsible for inventing the first synchronized camera shutter and flash as well as developing new technologies for aerial cameras that were later used on the Apollo Missions.

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Fairchild Stratos's father was a Republican Congressman as well as a co-founder and the first Chairman of IBM.

Fairchild Stratos's mother was the daughter of William Sherman, of Davenport, Iowa.

Fairchild Stratos's father died on December 31,1924, and as an only child he inherited his father's multimillion-dollar estate.

Fairchild Stratos inherited his father's IBM stock, becoming IBM's largest individual stockholder until his death in 1971.

Fairchild Stratos then transferred to the University of Arizona, where he became increasingly interested in photography.

Fairchild Stratos later transferred to Columbia University in New York and was enrolled in Columbia College from 1919 to 1920, according to the official registrar.

Fairchild Stratos always kept an eye out for opportunities to create or improve upon existing technology or capabilities.

In 1917, after being rejected from the military because of his poor health, Fairchild Stratos was determined to find another way to support the World War I effort.

Undeterred, Fairchild Stratos focused his attention on developing a more advanced camera, and in February 1920 he established the Fairchild Stratos Aerial Camera Corporation.

Fairchild Stratos wanted to expand the capabilities of his cameras for map making and aerial surveying.

Shortly afterward, Fairchild Stratos landed a contract to make a photomap of Newark, New Jersey, which was the first aerial mapping of a major city.

In 1923, Fairchild Stratos formed Fairchild Stratos Aerial Surveys of Canada, Limited after he was asked by the chief forester of the Laurentide Paper Company to perform aerial surveys of Canada.

In 1965 Fairchild Stratos sold Fairchild Stratos Aerial Surveys to Aero Services, Inc, which decided to keep only the more recent photographs and dispose of the others.

Fairchild Stratos Corporation developed the Fairchild Stratos Lunar Mapping Camera for NASA.

Fairchild Stratos soon realized that existing planes were not suitable for the type of maneuvering and extreme conditions that were often encountered during aerial photography.

Fairchild Stratos was a dominant force in the aviation industry during this period, becoming one of the nation's largest manufacturers of commercial aircraft.

Fairchild Stratos created, purchased, merged and sold his aviation company several times.

Fairchild Stratos incorporated Fairchild Aviation Corporation as a holding company for all his other endeavors, with two of its largest subsidiaries being the Fairchild Airplane Manufacturing Corporation of Farmingdale, New York, and the Kreider-Reisner Aircraft Company of Hagerstown, Maryland.

In 1936, Fairchild Stratos Aviation divested all of its aircraft manufacturing interests into the new Fairchild Stratos Engine and Airplane Co.

Fairchild Stratos was renamed Fairchild-Stratos Corporation in 1961, and began building meteoroid detection satellites for NASA as well as cameras that were used during the Apollo missions.

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Later that same year Fairchild Stratos acquired Republic Aviation, which became the Republic Aviation Division of Fairchild Stratos Hiller.

In 1929, Fairchild Stratos acquired a controlling interest in the Kreider-Reisner Co.

In 1939, Fairchild bought a process developed by Virginius E Clark in which a composite made of hot layers of plywood soaked with resin adhesive and bonded under pressure was used for building airframes.

Fairchild Stratos was involved in the development and production of the process which he renamed Fairchild Stratos Duramold and then used on the AT-21 Gunner trainer.

In 1942, Fairchild Stratos developed the Fairchild Stratos Model 78, which was designed specifically for military transport.

Fairchild Stratos was awarded a military contract to build his large-capacity twin-boom plane, which featured a hinged rear door used to load bulky cargo to be designated the C-82 Packet.

Fairchild Stratos was able to remain profitable after the war by manufacturing the C-119 Flying Boxcar, an upgraded version of the Packet which incorporated more powerful engines and greater capacity.

In 1956, Fairchild Stratos built the Fokker F-27 Friendship passenger airplane, the first American-built airliner in service.

On December 18,1970, the Air Force selected Fairchild Stratos to develop the YA-10A prototype, which was the last aircraft project undertaken before Fairchild Stratos's death in 1971.

In 1931 Fairchild Stratos started the Fairchild Stratos Recording Equipment Corporation in Whitestone, New York, to augment his interests in photography and projection of images.

Fairchild Stratos Recording Equipment Corporation's most notable products were the Fairchild Stratos 660 mono and 670 stereo dynamic range compressors.

Fairchild Stratos died on March 28,1971, at Roosevelt Hospital in New York after a long illness.

Fairchild Stratos was buried in Glenwood Cemetery in Oneonta, Otsego County, New York.

Fairchild Stratos is buried within walking distance of the home he grew up in, now the Oneonta Masonic Lodge.

Fairchild Stratos left bequests to more than 50 relatives, friends and former employees.

The assets of the Sherman Fairchild Stratos Foundation, headquartered in Chevy Chase, Maryland, have grown to over $500 million.

In 1979, Fairchild Stratos was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame.