American Gyro AG-4 Crusader

Last updated
AG-4 Crusader
General information
National origin United States
Manufacturer American Gyro Company
Designer
Thomas M. Shelton
History
Introduction date1935
First flight1935

The American Gyro AG-4 Crusader is a small twin engine aircraft. The aircraft was designed as the Shelton Flying Wing in 1933 by Thomas Miles Shelton. [1]

Contents

Design

The AG-4 was developed using wind tunnel tests. The American Gyro AG-4 Crusader is an aluminum skinned four place low-wing twin engine aircraft with fixed conventional landing gear, twin tail booms with individual rudders, and a teardrop shaped fuselage. The wing uses trailing edge flaps and 25 gallon fuel tanks are mounted in each wing root. Retractable landing gear were also tested on the model. [2]

Operational history

The prototype was painted a copper color with green leather seats. It was tested in 1935 at Denver Colorado. [3] The aircraft was funded from stock issued in the Crusader Aircraft Corporation, a parent of the American Gyro Company. The company folded in 1938 under securities fraud investigations before the Crusader could go into production [4]

Tootsietoy came out with a die-cast metal toy of the plane, No. 719 in its catalogue. [5] Hubley and Wyandotte also made toys based on the Shelton Flying Wing.

Variants

American Gyro AG-4 Crusader
American Gyro AG-6 Buccaneer
A six place variant design powered by Menasco engines [6]

Specifications (AG-4 Crusader)

Data from AAHS Journal

General characteristics

Performance

References

  1. "The CRUSADER NX14429 Page of the Davis-Monthan Airfield Register Website". Archived from the original on 2013-10-21. Retrieved 2013-10-10.
  2. AAHS Journal: 42. Spring 2004.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: untitled periodical (link)
  3. E Stanton Brown (August 1935). "The American Gyro Crusader". Popular Science.
  4. The Journal of Air Law, Volume 8. p. 71.
  5. "Pre-War Tootsietoys - article by Clint Seeley".
  6. Aerospace yearbook, Volume 18. Manufacturers Aircraft Association, Manufacturers Aircraft Association, Inc., New York, Aerospace Industries Association of America. p. 268.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Aero Digest April 1935, p. 52.

Bibliography