Happy New Year!

Called "the father of STOL (Short Take Off and Landing) aircraft", Willard
R. Custer worked for nearly 40 years to see Custer Channel Wing
Corporation's serial #1 CCW-5 (5 for five passenger) become a reality.
Unfortunately, lack of financial support prevented further development of
the concept, and only CCW-5, awaiting restoration at the Mid Atlantic Air
Museum, and CCW-2, at the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum's Paul
Garber facility, survive.

Custer's approach was based on the idea that it is the speed of the air over
the wing, and not the wing through the air, which generates lift. In the
channel wing, air pulled through the wing by the props combined with forward
motion generated double that of standard wing design, giving the aircraft
very short takeoff and landing roll.

Interesting some of the photos on the Net if you look for them.

George Myers