Move to Buffalo (1924–1935)

In the mid-1920s, Consolidated Aircraft moved its manufacturing operations to Buffalo, New York, marking the company’s first major expansion and the beginning of its transformation into a national aviation powerhouse. This chapter of Consolidated’s history is often overlooked, yet Buffalo played a crucial role in shaping the company’s engineering culture, workforce, and early production successes.

Why Buffalo?

Buffalo offered several advantages that aligned perfectly with Reuben H. Fleet’s long-term strategy:

Established industrial infrastructure with machine shops, foundries, and skilled labor.
Rail and shipping connections that simplified transport of aircraft parts and materials.
Large available factory spaces suited for aviation manufacturing.
Proximity to East Coast military officials and Washington, D.C. decision-makers.

The move allowed Fleet to scale production beyond anything possible at the earlier Dayton-Wright or Gallaudet facilities.

Consolidated’s First Major Factory

The Buffalo plant became Consolidated’s first true manufacturing center — a place where design, engineering, and production came together. It was here that the company refined its methods for:

standardized assembly
quality control
metal and wood fuselage construction
workforce specialization
early testing of mass-production aircraft techniques

This period laid the groundwork for the company’s later ability to produce aircraft by the thousands during World War II.

The PT-Series Takes Shape

Buffalo was the birthplace of many of Consolidated’s early trainers. The PT-1 “Trusty,” one of the first modern and dependable primary trainers used by the U.S. Army Air Service, was produced and refined here.

Several traits that would become hallmarks of Consolidated’s training aircraft were perfected in Buffalo:

stable flight characteristics
strong, forgiving landing gear
durability under repetitive student use
simplified maintenance procedures

These characteristics made Consolidated trainers stand out during a period when many early aircraft were fragile or unreliable.

Seaplane Innovations Begin

Although the company’s most famous flying boats were still years away, Buffalo is where Consolidated first began serious studies into:

hull design
wing bracing for maritime aircraft
long-range fuel capacities
structural reinforcement for ocean operations

These foundational ideas would eventually evolve into the XPY-1 Admiral and later the P2Y and PBY series. Buffalo was the workshop where these concepts took shape.

Challenges and Growth

Buffalo’s harsh winters and unpredictable weather posed operational challenges — especially for test flights. Engineers and pilots often worked under difficult conditions, reinforcing Consolidated’s culture of resilience and adaptability.

Despite the challenges, the Buffalo years saw steady growth in workforce, output, and reputation. Consolidated Aircraft became known not only for safe and reliable trainers but also for engineering ambition and structural innovation.

Preparing for the Next Era

By the early 1930s, Fleet knew the company had outgrown Buffalo. He needed:

a warmer climate for year-round flight testing
space to build a next-generation manufacturing center
proximity to coastal waters for flying boat development
larger facilities to support the company’s expanding programs

These needs led to one of the most consequential decisions in American aviation history: the move to San Diego, California, where Consolidated would eventually employ more than 40,000 workers and help turn the city into a global aviation hub.

The Buffalo era was the bridge between Consolidated’s pioneering beginnings and its rise as a world leader in aircraft manufacturing.