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FROM THE
FLYING PIONEERS BIOGRAPHIES
OF HAROLD E. MOREHOUSE
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there Burnelli engineered the LINCOLN CRUISER tractor biplane. The firm operated a flying school and Burnelli took flight instruction and formally learned to fly.

Burnelli could not forget the Lawson experience. He had been disappointed with his design of the Lawson AIRLINER and when he first saw it assembled had the impression it was a "street car with wings" and he felt "street cars belonged on the ground". He envisioned an airliner fuselage in the shape of a wing to contribute lift, present less drag and have a much better appearance. This idea grew and Burnelli left Nebraska Aircraft Corporation in late 1920 and, together with Charles Cox, former Lawson pilot, took over the defunct Continental Aircraft Company factory at Amityville, Long Island and started work at once on an airliner to develop his ideas.

The project was backed by George C. T. Remington and in early April, 1921 the Airliner Engineer Company was incorporated, with Remington as President and General Manager; Cox, Vice-President and Treasurer; Burnelli, Chief Engineer and Designer, and John Carisi, Construction Supervisor. Known as the R-B-1, the first Remington-Burnelli airliner was completed and test flown by Bert Acosta at Curtiss field, Garden City, New York about July 1st. It was a 74 foot span biplane, powered by two Liberty-12 engines driving tractor propellers. The fuselage was wide enough to house the engines in the corners of the nose and provide propeller clearance, and was an airfoil designed for 25 passengers. By mid-August the plane had been extensively flown by test pilots Acosta, Bertaud, Page and Coombs, all of whom were highly pleased with its unusual performance. Tests of the plane continued for some time and 25 passengers were carried on various occasions.

During this period the factory was moved to Maspeth, Long Island where early in 1924 the B-B-2 was completed. The span had been increased to 84 feet and it was designed as a freight carrier, powered by two British-built Atlantic Galloway 500 H.P. 12-cylinder Vee-type engines. This plane later carried a Hudson-Essex automobile, some office furniture and several passengers. Developments continued and they later moved the business to Brainard Field, Hartford, Connecticut.

Following the termination of this venture in 1927 Burnelli became co-founder of the Uppercu-Burnelli Aircraft Corporation, using the former Aeromarine-Klemm