The Nelson Aircraft Corporation was founded in 1945 by sailplane pilot and sailplane designer William Hawley Bowlus in San Fernando, California. Bowlus and Nelson formed the Nelson Aircraft Corporation to build a two-seat, motor glider version of the popular Bowlus BA-100 Baby Albatross. The designers nicknamed this design the Bumblebee but they sold the powered glider under the official moniker, Dragonfly.