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Golden Oldie of the Month
(Meyers Aircraft Company Photo)
NX-34358, the prototype for the Meyers 145 series. Pow ered by a 125 Continental.
THE MEYERS 145 by
Gar W. Williams
9 S. 135 Aero Dr., Rt. 1
Naperville, Illinois 60540
If a real airplane buff was asked to list his choices for "Classics" among the bevy of aircraft types produced during the years associated with our EAA Antique Classic Division, the name Meyers undoubtedly would appear. If that same buff happened to ~ave .been fort.un ate enough to have time in a Meyers bUIlt flyIng machine, the name Meyers most likely would be at the top of the list. The author's interest in the Meyers 145 goes back a number of years to the summer of 1956. Interest in be coming an aircraft mechanic led to hiring on the staff of Ravenswood (lllinois) Airport aircraft repair shop. Since the employer, Abe Marmol, also needed someone to pump gas in the evenings, my hours were 11:00 A.M. until dark. One warm August day, a beautiful, brand new MAC 145 arrived on its way from the factory to its new owner's home. The owner saw the obvious envy for after many min utes of drooling and questions he allowed me to climb in and "sit, but don't touch". Short was my dreaming - the ship was there for gas and I was the gasser - so back to work and within minutes the tanks were full with 49 gal lons of 80 octane. The take off was going to be of great interest for the wind was favoring the 1700' SW runway. This runway was a legend in itself for it was downhill from both ends to the center. The near center being marked by the site of a wooden plank bridge over a small creek. Combinations of asphalt, gravel and the wooden bridge made for interest ing gyrations right at the time most heavier airplanes were ready to fly. The Meyers was no exception - down the hill ... into the gravel ... bump ... over the bridge
and it was launched. Launched and barely flying; even I, a new private pilot, recognized the problem. Running out of options, with trees and runway end rapidly approach ing, the Meyers pilot pulled the power and allowed the ship to drift off the runway. Watch out, Aeronca 11AC! The still flying, out of control MAC-145, instantly sent a parked Chief to the classic happy hunting grounds. After the emotion of the moment cleared, it was amazing to see how well the Meyers survived - to fly again - the acci dent that literally dismembered the Aeronca. This introduction to the strength of the MAC-145 made its impact some years later when the opportunity came to purchase a damaged 145 - one that practically flew into the side of a small hill after fuel starvation on take off. Hesitant about rebuilding such a badly damaged airplane, the thoughts were there from time past about the structural integrity of the design. Hesitancy was re placed by action and soon the Meyers was mine. Considering the reputation of the aircraft produced by the Meyers Aircraft Company, one might easily imag ine that the company had been quite prolific over the thirty some years that they were in existance as an air craft manufacturer. In reality, the production numbrs are quite low - 102 OTW biplanes, 20 145s and slightly over 50 200s. The OTWs (Out To Win) were probably the closest to production airplanes in that over 100 were made in a six or seven year time span. The OTW story is unique on its own and certainly would be an interesting one for these pages at a later date. The second production type turned out by AI Meyers and his skilled crew from the small factory located on the airport at Tecumseh, Michigan started life as the Meyers 125. The prototype as shown (N-34358) was a rather un gainly looking side-by-side two place all metal mono plane. The Meyers family heritage is apparent in the de sign of the aft section of the fuselage - the fin in par ticular could be right off an OTW. Power for this first prototype was the six cylinder 125 horsepower Conti nental.