| Phaeton | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Wright R-540 powered Phaeton | |
| Role | Three seat sports aircraft |
| National origin | United States |
| Manufacturer | American Eagle |
| Designer | Robert T. McCrum |
| First flight | 1929 |
| Number built | 34 |
The American Eagle Phaeton was an American three seat, single engine sports biplane produced from 1929 until American Eagle failed financially in 1932. About 34 were built.
The Phaeton was designed for the sports pilot [1] rather than for commercial use but was able to carry two passengers. It was an equal span, single bay biplane with interchangeable upper and lower wings joined by N-form interplane struts. Shorter N-struts from the upper fuselage provided a central cabane. The wings were strongly staggered by about half chord They were built around twin spars, with plywood covering from the forward spar forming a torsion-resistant D-box. There were externally interconnected slotted ailerons on both wings. [1] [2]
The first batch of eight Phaetons, produced in 1929, had 165 hp (123 kW) Wright R-540 Whirlwind five cylinder radial engines in the nose with cylinders exposed for cooling. Behind the engine mounting the fuselage was a chrome-molybdenum steel tube structure with fabric covering. The passengers sat side by side in an open cockpit midway over the lower wing, with the pilot well behind the upper trailing edge. Dual controls could be rapidly fitted in the forward cockpit. [1]
Its blunted tip, triangular tailplane was mounted at mid-fuselage height and was in-flight adjustable, with rounded rectangular elevators separated by a gap for rudder movement. The tailplane was strut-braced to a low, ground-adjustable fin with a curved leading edge that carried a blunted rectangular, balanced rudder. [1] [2]
The Phaeton's fixed, split axle undercarriage was conventional with wheels on V-struts from the lower fuselage longerons. long, specially made Rosco ring type shock absorber legs reached from the wheels to the upper longerons. [1]
The Phaeton's engine mountings were designed to accept a variety of engines including the newer nine cylinder, 200–220 hp (150–160 kW) Wright R-790 Whirlwind and the old but cheap, water-cooled Hispano A and B. In 1929 one clipped-wing Phaeton was tested as a racer, then fitted with 200–220 hp (150–160 kW) nine cylinder R-790 Whirlwind engine. Piloted by Jack Foster, this competed in the 1930 National Air Races, resulting in the sale of another 24 similarly-powered, though full span, Phaetons. [3]
American Eagle ceased trading in 1932. [4]
Data from aerofiles [3]
Data from Aero Digest August 1929 [1] except where noted
General characteristics
Performance
The Surrey Flying Services AL.1 was a single-engined side-by-side two-seat training biplane, built at a UK flying club in 1929. Only one was built, but it was flying until the outbreak of war in 1939 and remains in storage.
The Nakajima P-1 was a 1930s Japanese single engine, single seat biplane intended for night mail flights, derived from the Nakajima E4N3 Naval reconnaissance seaplane. Nine were built.
The Caudron C.251 Et-2 was a French tandem seat, open cockpit biplane designed as an intermediate trainer and built in 1931. It did not go into production.
The Caudron C.67 was a simple single seat biplane with a low powered engine. It was built and flown in France in 1922.
The Heinkel HD 20 was a twin engine, three seat German biplane built in 1926 for civil survey work.
The Volland V-10 was a French two seat, low-powered biplane notable for its extreme stagger. It first flew in 1936 and appeared at the Paris Aero Salon that year.
The Caproni Ca.66 was an Italian night bomber designed to reequip the post-World War I Italian Air Force. Only two examples of the four-engined biplane were built.
The Caproni Ca.66 and Caproni Ca.67 were Italian night bomber aircraft designed to re-equip the post-World War I Regia Aeronautica.
The Laird LC-B was a three seat, single-engined biplane, built for private owners in the U.S. in the late 1920s and offering a variety of engines. About 35 had been built before production ceased in the mid-1930s. Two have been restored to flight.
The Pacer Monoplane was a parasol wing, four seat, light aircraft, flown and produced in the US in the late 1920s.
The Simplex Red Arrow was a US single-engined monoplane produced in the late 1920s and early 1930s and intended as club machine or mail transport. Most used radial engines in the 90–110 hp (67–82 kW) range. They carried one or two passengers whose seats could be open or enclosed. One variant, the Red Arrow Dual Plane, was easily converted from monoplane to biplane and was available with two versions of the much more powerful Wright Whirlwind engines. In all about 20 were built.
The Miami Maid was a US three passenger amphibian first flown in 1929. Despite ambitious production plans, only two were built.
The Inland Sport series of parasol wing, sport and training side-by-side two seaters, introduced between 1928 and 1930, differed chiefly in their engines. They used three different radial engines, more than doubling the Sport's power over two years of development. 34 examples were built and frequently re-engined.
The Neilson NC-1 Golden Bear, aka Neilson Coach was an American, three-place, high wing cabin aircraft, flown in 1929. It did not go into production.
The Wallace Touroplane was a late 1920s U.S. three seat, high wing cabin monoplane. About 20 were built.
The Franklin Sport is a two seat sport and training biplane built in the U.S. in 1930. Several different engines, in the power range 55–90 hp (41–67 kW), were fitted. Two remained airworthy in 2011.
The Lincoln AP was a U.S., single engine, high wing, general purpose civil cabin aircraft first flown in 1930. Only four were built.
The Zenith Z-6 is a single engine biplane U.S. airliner built in the late 1920s. Its cabin, in the fuselage immediately behind its radial engine, holds five or six passengers depending on engine power. It is flown from an open cockpit further aft. Nine were completed and one has been restored to flight.
The Nicholson Junior KN-2 was a low power, high wing, two seat, cabin monoplane intended for sport or flight training in the United States in the late 1920s. Only one was built.
The Vought Corsair Junior or Vought V-100 Corsair Junior was an attempt to produce a cheaper, multi-purpose, export version of the Vought O2U/O3U observation aircraft it had produced for the U.S. Navy. It did not sell and only the prototype was built.