page_title: ERCO Ercoupe
section_title: Postwar sales
hierarchical_section_title: ERCO Ercoupe / Design and development / Postwar sales
caption_attribution_description: Also in 1946 ERCO placed this full page ad on Page 83 in the February issue of Skyways magazine (a competitor of Flying which billed itself as "The Magazine of Aircraft, Air Travel, Air Power").
context_page_description: The ERCO Ercoupe is an American low-wing monoplane aircraft that was first flown in 1937. It was first manufactured by the Engineering and Research Corporation shortly before World War II; several other manufacturers continued its production after the war. The final model, the Mooney M-10, first flew in 1968 and the last model year was 1970. It was designed to be the safest fixed-wing aircraft that aerospace engineering could provide at the time and the type continues to enjoy a faithful following.
context_section_description: Although World War II had interrupted production of the Ercoupe, general aviation manufacturers were enthusiastic about the prospects of a postwar aviation boom. Thousands of men and women were trained as pilots by the government, and the hope was that they would want to include flying in their civilian life. Production of the model 415-C resumed in 1945, and in 1946 alone 4,311 aircraft were produced and sold at a cost of US$2,665. This was the same price as in 1941. At its peak, ERCO was turning out 34 Ercoupes per day, operating three shifts per day. The aircraft was aggressively marketed through unconventional outlets such as the men's department of the Macy's department store chain.
  However, private aircraft sales slumped after the war and the bottom dropped out of the civil aircraft market in late 1946, ending prospects for a boom market for civil aircraft sales. A 30-day layoff at the factory in November resulted in rivets tossed around the factory and some aircraft sides and signs being painted. The year ended with an Ercoupe flown by a test pilot and mechanic breaking up in flight.
caption: A full-page Ercoupe advertisement, February 1946
exif: {}