Taylorcraft 15A Tourist           N6647N         (c/n    5-13047)


                                    

                                        With the exception of the Big Four (Aeronca, Cessna, Piper and Beech) just about all of the
                                        lightplane manufacturers which had sprung up after WW II filed for bankruptcy in the late 1940s-
                                        early 1950s.  Ostensibly formed to cater for the insatiable demand for personal aircraft, it became
                                        obvious that the market was fairly quickly sated, helped not in any small measure by the dumping
                                        of thousands of ex-military machines by the U.S. government.  Taylorcraft was no different and, like
                                        Taylorcraft, many of these concerns have, over the years, made efforts to reconstitute themselves,
                                        usually (but not always) with new management, and generally with new corporate titles.  Taylorcraft,
                                        following bankruptcy in 1947 was reformed in 1950 and produced this rather dowdy looking four
                                        seater.   The original Model 15 was designed before the company went under and was known as the
                                        'Foursome'.   After the company was restructured the Model was modified to be the 15A and these
                                        aircraft are generally known as the 'Tourist'.  Actually, only 31 of them were built anyway, so they are
                                        extremely rare.   This example was photographed at Cable-Claremont Airport in Southern California
                                        in 1962.   N1528A in the background is a Piper PA-20 Pacer, incidentally, without its wheel spats.