Archmann Aeronautics

Archmann Aeronautics is an Aeroplane designing and producing corporation, founded in late 1897 by Hank Archmann. The Triumvirate has officially taken over control of production and developement of the Aeroplanes as of 1903.

Heavier-Than-Air Flight
The first Heavier-Than-Air flight was in 1884, it was made by Fanaglian inventors. The craft flew 20ft. at an altitude of 7ft. Due to the lack of successful results in a timely fashion, the Fanaglians wrote it off as a failed project, stateing "They had proved heavier than air flight too demanding for any real use." This explanation thus cemented the use of Airships across the world. In 1894, Hank Archmann came across the prototype craft in a warehouse while he was staying in Fanaglia. Intrigued, the Vitzburgian engineer bought the craft and spent a year working on it in Fanaglia. He brought the craft with him when he moved to The Greater Federal Empire of Servoth. There, he made his first few flights with the craft before crashing into a tree and destroying the prototype. It took him 3 years to design a new, better one, using the documents and research he had found with the old prototype. On April 5th, on the outskirts of Imperia, Archmann made his first flight using the new prototype. He was able to fly 3 mi at an altitude of 400ft. Archman contined his designing and soon had a working model that could fly from Imperia to NordStadt. It was at this time, the Servothian government had extended their reach to Archmann, giving him the funds to start a company to produce planes.

The first recorded use of Heavier-Than-Air craft in war is the Pirate War between the nations of the Imogen and the pirates of the Black Isles.

Archmann Aeronautics
Archmann Aeronautics had a rough start. Fanaglian Airship companies banded together, releasing propoganda detailing the dangers and liabilities of heavier-than-air craft. The public was quickly turned against the idea and the only money Archmann Aeronautics was recieving came from the Servothian government. They had no choice but to continue developing aerocraft, as there was no reason to start production of anything save prototypes. The years passed and the aerocraft quickly progressed, when in 1903, there were several designs that had been gathering dust, waiting to enter production. Archmann was ready to pull up shop and look for greener pastures elsewhere, when The Triumvirate entered the picture. Due to the need for an airforce, (Do in part to the fact that Vitzenburg has outlawed Airships and Cygnar is lagging behind in technology) they offered to buy Archmann Aeronautics. Archmann whole heartedly agreed and stayed on as cheif engineer for developing new craft.

Near bankruptcy, Triumvirate Defunct, and Buyout
In 1904, Vitzenburg, (in)famously left FIN, the grown alliance formerly called the Triumvirate. WIth this, Archmann Aeronautics lost much of its funding as the commanders of the Triumvirates fought amongst themselves. By January of 1905, the Federation of Imperial Nations became a defunct entity, all its resources and assests were surrendered to the Zweidrackenabkommen, Archmann Aeronautics was not part of the assests surrendered.

As such, with Archmann Aeronautic bankrupt, its main funding source defunct itself, and with few buyers of Archmann planes (as foreign competition had begun to develop their own), the small company almost failed.

For a duration of only a week, Archmann was unsure of his and his company's future, 7 Companies, Inc. being the second largest share holder (previously behind FIN), bought all remaining shares and sunk the into their conglomerate, all employees transfered. Hank Archmann was kept on as the head of the new division.

This ended the companies duration as an independent corporate being.

Prototype #1
This is a picture of the modified prototype. Archmann added upgraded engine from a motorcar and replaced the wings with lighter materials to achieve a higher altitude and longer flight. It crashed into a tree and was totaled after three flights.

Prototype #2
This is a picture of Archmann's second prototype. It uses old materials from a scrapped Airship along with a modified engine from one. Archmann declared it a huge success as he was able to fly from Imperia to NordStadt in it. It is currently being held in storage by the Servothian government.