American Eagle A-129 | |
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American Eagle A-129 with Kinner K-5 engine at Old Rhinebeck, NY, in June 2005 | |
Role | three seat open cockpit biplane |
National origin | United States |
Manufacturer | American Eagle Aircraft Corporation |
Designer | Giuseppe Bellanca |
First flight | 1929 |
Status | several still airworthy and displayed in museums |
Primary user | training, barnstorming and private owners |
Number built | more than 400 |
Developed from | American Eagle A-101 |
The American Eagle A-129 was an American biplane first flown in 1929.
The preceding American Eagle A-101 of 1926 had achieved some success, but its fierce spin characteristics had resulted in several crashes during training flights. Giuseppe Bellanca redesigned the biplane with a longer fuselage and narrower cowling to accommodate the five-cylinder Kinner K-5 100 h.p. radial engine, which had its cylinder heads exposed. To mark the year of its first appearance, the designation A-129 was applied. [1]
Initially designed to replace the Porterfield Flying Schools A-101s, the new biplane proved to have good flying characteristics and more than 400 were built. The aircraft were also flown by "barnstormers" and sports pilots.
Several A-129s remain airworthy and examples are preserved at the Rhinebeck Aerodrome Museum at Old Rhinebeck in New York state and in the Kansas Aviation Museum Wichita, Kansas. [2]
A range of engines was fitted to the A-129 without changing the type designation. They included the 90 hp (67 kW) Curtiss OX-5 straight engine and others up to the 200 h.p. Wright J-4.
The American Eagle A-229 was a two seat trainer version with a Curtiss OX-5 engine. [3]
Data from Aero Digest June 1929 [3]
General characteristics
Performance