Ercoupe Memorabilia
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Ercoupe Keychain
I purchased these Ercoupe keychains on eBay. They have the Ercoupe emblem on the front and the serial number of a particular 'Coupe on the back. It appears they were given to new owners with their airplanes. The ones I purchased on eBay look like rejects since the left side of the "E" in "Ercoupe" is cut off.
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Ercoupe Matchbook - Front
I purchased this unused book of paper matches on eBay. Based on the Sanders reference this matchbook would have been made around the late 1940s or early 1950s. (The Club-Air was introduced as a 1949 model.)
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Ercoupe Matchbook - Back
I purchased this unused book of paper matches on eBay.
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Ercoupe Matchbook - Inside
I purchased this unused book of paper matches on eBay.
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American Advances in Aviation postage stamps
The United States Postal Service introduced this set of "American Advances in Aviation" postage stamps at the 2005 EAA Airventure Oshkosh fly-in. The set included "ten classic American aircraft" from the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s and included "Boeing's 247 and B-29 Superfortress; Consolidated's PBY Catalina and B-24 Liberator; Lockheed's P-80 Shooting Star; Grumman's F6F Hellcat; Republic's P-47 Thunderbolt; Northrop's YB-49 Flying Wing; Engineering and Research Corporation's Ercoupe 415; and Beechcraft's 35 Bonanza." A USPS Press release on the stamps described the reasons for including the Ercoupe: "Designed in the mid-1930s, the Ercoupe 415 introduced safe, practical technologies for general aviation. The linked control system made it spin-proof; tricycle landing gear with a steerable nose wheel simplified landing and taxiing."
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Brown & Williamson Trading Card
In the 1940s the Brown & Williamson Tobacco Company issued a series of trading cards which they included in packs of their Wings brand cigarettes. The Series B, titled "Modern American Airplanes," consisted of fifty cards. The second card in the series claims to be a 415C Ercoupe; however, Harry Francis points out that, it like the picture is of the original 415 with the Erco IL-116 in-line engine installed. (Erco had to replace the faired cowling for the Erco engine with the wide cowling to accomodate the flat-four when they switched to the Continental C-65 late in the design process.) Harry suggests that the picture "is of s/n #1 NC15692 or possible NX15692 -- the only Il-116 Ercoupe ever produced." I bought this example on eBay.
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Hallmark Ercoupe Christmas Ornament
In 2008, Hallmark Keepsake released a Christmas Ornament of an Ercoupe 415-D. (Although it is curious that they chose a 1947 "D" model.) Oddly, the N-number (N61846) is assigned to a Cessna 172. The ornament sports a single-fork nose gear and sunshade. The fuselage gas cap is a bit misplaced (it is too far off center) and there is excessive riveting on the horizontal tail, but it is a nice keepsake for any Ecoupe aficiando. They can frequently be found on eBay.
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Hallmark Ercoupe Christmas Ornament
This is the front and back of the box for the 2008 Hallmark Keepsake Christmas Ornament of the Ercoupe 415-D. The back text reads: "A classic yet modern flier, the Ercoupe is still a favorite among sport pilots. The 1947 monoplane was advanced for its time, featuring an ingenious, interlinked control system. The result is a spin-proof, stall-proof, perfectly coordinated aircraft. Flying the unique Ercoupe is said to be as fun and easy as driving a car."
