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first in the United States. This plane was successfully flown, but nothing came of the venture.

During mid-1920 Conover returned to Dayton-Wright where he assisted in the construction of the Rinehart-Baumann Gordon Bennett race plane, then was included in the group that went to France that fall for the race event. Conover remained with Dayton-Wright on experimental and development work through 1923.

In 1924 he joined the Johnson Aeroplane and Supply Company, Dayton, with Ivan H. Driggs where he assisted in building the Driggs-Johnson light plane, called the "Bumble-Bee", for the light plane race events of the National Air Races that fall in Dayton. This outstanding full cantilever, high wing, enclosed cabin monoplane was powered by a 4-cylinder Henderson motorcycle engine, and was flown by Johnson pilot James Johnson. It easily carried away all honors in the light plane events. Conover was mechanic there and contributed toward the success of the venture. While there Driggs and Conover also designed and built and OX-powered three place biplane for passenger hopping, called the "Canary".

In 1925 Driggs formed the Driggs Aircraft Corporation at Dayton and Conover became his Shop Superintendent. In rented shop space they started a re-design of the Johnson "Bumble Bee" which they called the "Drigg Dart". Of the same general configuration it embodyed [[embodied]] many improvements and was powered by a Wright-Morehouse 2-cylinder opposed aircraft engine.

In May, 1926 Driggs sold a "Dart" plane to the Air Service with a special wing equipped with leading edge slots and flaps for research test work at McCook Field. Following this a special commercial monoplane was designed and built for Captain Eddie Rickenbacher of Detroit. Know as the "Rickenbacher Coupe", it was a two-place side-by-side cabin machine with a folding high wing arrangement, powered by the new Rickenbacher 5-cylinder 65 H.P. AIR CAT radial engine. After brief tests in Dayton the plane was flown to Detroit by Driggs pilot Jack Iaass in September. A Second Driggs "Dart" monoplane was flown by Iaass in the Air Tours and National Air Races that year. Late that year Driggs decided to make a light 2-seat tandem dual control training biplane. Called the "Dart II" it was powered by a 3-cylinder 35 H.P. Anzani engine. It proved successful and two of

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