Aviation plant was once in Lomax

For some unknown reason, the area in Illinois that bulges west of Peoria and Springfield has never really developed very much in terms of industry and population growth, The numerous towns that dot the area have remained small and with a very few exception, offer little in the way of development. This has therefore kept the entire area primarily agricultural in nature.

It almost turned out differently though. Nearly 100 years ago, Lomax, Ill., one of Lee County’s neighboring communities in this area, very briefly became famous as a possible center for the aviation manufacturing industry. Just how a small community in rural Illinois came to this point involves a rather interesting series of events.

It all started when Shukri Tannus, a Lebanese Born orphan, who had worked his way through Northwestern University by selling oriental rugs door-to-door took a job on the staff of the Keokuk Medical College. Tannus was ultimately forced to resign his position with the Medical College in 1919 because of poor eyesight. He then settled in the community of Lomax and established a small factory for the manufacture of brooms. While there he witnessed the feats of a barnstormer pilot doing stunt flying and offering rides to the local. He became so fascinated with airplanes he wanted to become a part of the flying business.

Seeking out someone who knew a bit about airplanes, he eventually got connected with Glen Romkey who had established a small flying service in Burlington. The two of them decided to start an airplane factory in a vacant building beside the Tannus broom factory in Lomax. They called their new venture the National Airways System, Inc.

Their first problem was how to train workers in the skill of building a light, fragile flying machine This was accomplished by buying some surplus, disassembled World War I airplanes for rebuilding and test flying. As this progressed, an aircraft engineer was hired to help with the design of their new airplane to be called the “Air King.”

The plane was a 3-passenger, 2-wing plane and in their first two years of production approximately 70 Air Kings were built in Lomax. During this period they also produced three experimental “proof of concept” airplanes, one smaller and two larger than the Air King. These plans were never put into large-scale production, but with a record of having already built and sold almost 70 airplanes by 1928, it was obvious that a larger factory was needed as well as an airport more suitable than the grass landing strip they were using.

On Sept. 25, 1928, it was announced that Air King production would be moving to a new factory. Since the majority of their new stockholders were located in the Peoria area, it was only logical that the new factory would be located there, with access to the larger Peoria airport.

Time were good in the “Roaring Twenties” and the future looked promising. What was not know at the time was that the big depression was just around the corner. With the onset of the financial downturn, promised financing dried up almost immediately, and sales of airplanes virtually stopped.

As a result, the doors of National Airways System were closed for the last time in March of 1930. Tannus went back to selling Oriental rugs, and Romkey returned to a hand-to-mouth existence in aviation at Burlington. With the closing of the plant and their departure, the dream of Lomax and Peoria becoming another Seattle of Wichita by building airplanes, disappeared forever.

- Source:  http://www.dailydem.com/opinion