Edward Porterfield was running a flying school at the Fairfax Airport outside Kansas City.

[6][7] With the start of World War II, however, light aircraft production for civilian use came to a stop.

[8][9] In an attempt to take advantage of the large growth in training due to the war, the company founded a technical school in December and purchased another in 1941.

The final straw for the company came in 1942, when it failed to secure a contract to build liaison aircraft for the U.S.

[11] Portfield was succeeded by the Columbia Aircraft Company, which was created when the firm Auchincloss, Parker & Redpath took over the former.