Chase Aircraft The Chase Aircraft Company , founded in 1943 , was an aircraft manufacturer of the United States of America , primarily constructing gliders and military transport aircraft . Lacking space for expansion , the company was purchased by Henry J . Kaiser in 1951 . Plans to produce the C - 123 transport for the United States Air Force collapsed amid scandal , and the company closed in 1953 . A successor company , Stroukoff Aircraft , continued experimental work for several years before closing in 1959 . Early products . Founded in New York , New York in 1943 with Michael Stroukoff , a Russian emigré , as president and chief designer , Chase ' s first aircraft design was the XCG - 14 assault glider , produced for the U . S . Army Air Forces and first flying in January 1945 . Development of improved , enlarged versions of the aircraft continued over the next two years , with the company moving to Trenton , New Jersey in 1946 , before the XCG - 14 was superseded by the XG - 18 , an even larger and heavier aircraft that was the world ' s first all - metal transport glider . By 1949 , the United States Air Force had determined that the glider was no longer a viable weapon on the battlefield , and the XG - 18 was modified , being fitted with a pair of radial engines . Redesignated as the YC - 122 Avitruc , three prototype and one pre - production aircraft were produced , and despite favorable evaluations , the Air Force had reconsidered its requirement for small transports , and decided not to proceed with full production of the design . One YC - 122 , however , would later be modified into the Hiller X - 18 , an experimental tiltwing VTOL aircraft . XG - 20 and the first jet transport . Meanwhile , a third , still larger , assault glider had been designed by Stroukoff , the XG - 20 , the largest glider ever built in the United States and also the last combat glider to be constructed for the U . S . military . By the time the XG - 20 was ready for flight testing , gliders had been determined to be obsolete as weapons of war , and so the two aircraft were taken aside for modification . The first prototype XG - 20 was fitted with twin radial engines of a larger , more powerful type than those fitted to the YC - 122 , and was redesignated the XC - 123 . The second prototype XG - 20 , following public display in early 1950 at Pope AFB during Exercise Swarmer , was taken aside for a more radical transformation , being fitted with two twin bomber engine pods containing J47 turbojets , and flying in early 1951 as the XC - 123A , the United States ' first jet - powered transport aircraft . Kaiser and the pricing scandal . While the XC - 123A proved too uneconomical for production , the XC - 123 had greatly impressed the Air Force , which issued an order for five pre - production aircraft , designated C - 123B . The prospect of large follow - up orders , however , raised an issue of capacity , as Chase ' s factory lacked sufficient space to construct large numbers of aircraft . Therefore , in 1951 , 49 percent of Chase was purchased by Kaiser - Frazer , who received a contract for 300 C - 123B aircraft to be constructed at Kaiser ' s Willow Run factory in Ann Arbor , Michigan . Chase became an engineering shop for the company , with Stroukoff remaining with the facility as its chief engineer . However , even as the first eight aircraft were under construction by Kaiser , the United States Senate was conducting a series of hearings regarding the company , concerns having been raised over subcontracting work Kaiser - Frazer was performing for Fairchild Aircraft . Kaiser had been awarded an earlier contract as a second source for construction of Fairchild ' s C - 119 , and the aircraft produced by Kaiser were proving to be significantly more expensive than those produced by Fairchild . The result of the hearings was the cancellation of Kaiser ' s contracts for both the C - 119 and the C - 123 in June 1953 , despite the Air Force having already spent $ 30 million USD on preparation for production of the C - 123 , with another $ 40 million having been earmarked for use by Chase Aircraft directly for production of parts . The C - 123 contract was put out for re - bid , with Fairchild proving to be the winning contractor ; under Fairchild ' s name , the C - 123 went on to see a large production run and extensive service in the Vietnam War . Dissolution . Kaiser - Frazer , meanwhile , had bought out the remaining 51 % of Chase Aircraft ' s shares , intending to operate the company as a wholly owned subsidiary of Willys Motors ; the sale closed on September 2 , 1953 , after the cancellation of the Air Force ' s contracts . Without the C - 123 contract , the new acquisition was no longer considered an asset by Kaiser - Frazer ; and it announced that the company would be closed down on January 31 , 1954 . Stroukoff , however , acquired the buildings and remaining assests of Chase , starting his own aircraft company , Stroukoff Aircraft , to conduct further work on experimental versions of the C - 123 .