Entering World War I, the United States had only 109 aircraft, one dirigible and 83 pilots. The military importance of the airplane during World War I led Cleveland, and the rest of the country, to realize its commercial value. The Steel Products Company (later Thompson Products, Inc.) successfully transferred the complex valve technology of the automobile engine to the airplane. Thereafter, as other local companies made this transition, Cleveland became known as a major producer of aircraft engine parts. Eight Cleveland industrialists, recognizing the potential of the aircraft industry, joined together to finance a new company. These included Charles Thompson whose Steel Products Company built the engine valves which powered Lindbergh's trans-Atlantic flight, and his assistant Frederick Crawford. At a time when no one in Cleveland knew a thing about airplanes, Thompson purchased a cow pasture and built an airplane hangar on it. He then coaxed the eccentric airplane designer, Glenn L. Martin, away from the West Coast. The new company built the city's first aircraft factory at 16800 St. Clair Avenue. Many of Martin's former California employees flocked to the new venture in Cleveland:
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