Born in 1899 in West Virginia, Willard R. Custer at an early age became interested in the concept of flying. Custer’s work began in 1927 with test models and continued until 1964 with the completion of the Custer Channel Wing N-5855. While living in Hagerstown, Maryland and working as an automobile mechanic, Custer, with the assistance of his business partner Frank Kelley, worked on the theory of vertical flight. Custer decided to concentrate on his concept of the channel wing, whereby the air was pulled through the wing by the props and combined with forward motion for short takeoffs and landing rolls. Due to various problems, Custer’s aircrafts were never financially successful. Custer, called the Father of STOL (Short Take Off and Landing aircraft), died in 1985. Custer’s CCW-1 is located at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.