Velie M-5

The Velie company was started by Willard Lamb Velie in 1902.  Willard’s mother was Emma Deere, daughter of John Deere (of plow and tractor fame).  Willard started his career by working as secretary to the Deere and Company Board of Directors.  He went on to found his own company called the Velie Carriage Company that made horse drawn buggies and automobiles.  The company had its first great success in 1908 with a popular, affordable and reliable car called the Velie 30 (a.k.a. “Old Maud”). Four short years later the company had $1.5 million in company assets.  In 1920 the company produced 9,000 cars.

In 1927, the year that Lindbergh crossed the Atlantic , W.L. Velie named his son (W.L. Jr.) a company vice-president.  The younger Velie felt that there was a great future in aviation and that the company should set their sights in that direction. Velie partnered with Central States Aircraft Corp. of Davenport , and started production of the Monocoupe.  The U.S. Department of Commerce gave the Velie aircraft engine its highest rating. 

Shortly afterwards W.L. Sr. passed away from an embolism complicated by a heart problem.  Four months later W.L. Velie Jr. died reportedly of a heart attack and the Velie airplane Company was sold.

The Aerodrome’s example

The Aerodrome’s Velie came from the Anthony Fokker apprentice shop when he had his factory in New Jersey .  It was most likely used to teach apprentices to learn how to assemble and disassemble aircraft engines.  Anthony Fokker had a mansion in Nyack , NY down by the waterfront (he operated his boat along the Hudson ).  When the factory closed down he brought some of the items from his shop to one of the barns on his property.  Jane King, (wife of Aerodrome pilot, Bill King) knew a lady whose family ran the Fokker mansion.  In her later years she learned that they were cleaning out the barn and she contacted Jane to see if Bill was interested in anything that had been in storage there.  In addition to the Velie there were a few propellers, and some printing blocks with views of the Fokker factory.

Bill talked about the value of the engine with Cole Palen and then he purchased it for about $350 in the early 1980s.  Bill felt it would make a nice display for our museum and Cole had a Gipsy engine that Bill needed for his Tiger Moth. They made the trade and the Velie became part of the Aerodrome collection. 

The Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome is also home to an example of a complete Monocoupe 113 aircraft, equipped with an identical Velie engine.  The Monocoupe participated in weekend airshows at the Aerodrome for a few years in the 1980s before it was retired to the Rhinebeck Aerodrome Museum for static display.