| 14-7 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Model 14-9 | |
| Role | Civil utility aircraft |
| Manufacturer | Bellanca |
| Designer | Giuseppe Mario Bellanca |
| First flight | December 1937 |
| Introduction | 1939 |
| Number built | ca. 59 |
| Variants | Bellanca 14-13 |
The Bellanca 14-7 Junior and its successors were a family of light aircraft manufactured in the United States by Bellanca Aircraft Corporation shortly before World War II. [1] They were followed post-war by the Bellanca 14-13 and its derivatives.
Bellanca had already established itself in the market for aircraft in the 6–8 seat size, but believed that it could also successfully sell smaller (3–4 seats) aircraft. The first example flew in 1937. [2] The 14-7 was a modern, low-wing cantilever monoplane with a fuselage intended to contribute lift to the design. Although the prototype flew with fixed tailwheel undercarriage, the 14-9 production version was the first US light aircraft to be mass-produced with retractable undercarriage; the main wheels rotated aft, up into wells in the wings.
In February 1938 the prototype 14-7 crashed during high speed dive tests, killing Bellanca test pilot Cecil Hoffman (age 32), possibly due to wing flutter. This led to the wing being redesigned from being largely fabric covered to the hallmark Bellanca plywood covered wing. The second prototype, a 14-9 flown by Bellanca test pilot Holger Hoiriis, did not recover well from spins. The addition of the iconic stabilizer end-plates resolved the spin recovery issue. Bert "Fish" Hassell took the 14-9 prototype to the 1938 Chicago air show and the difficulty people had boarding the aircraft resulted in the cabin door upper fuselage cut-out modification. [3] [4]
The 14-7 was initially branded as the Junior. In 1939, when production began, the 14-9 was re-branded as the Cruisair. [5] 1946 onward, the 14-13 was branded as the Cruisair Senior. [6]
In 1940, Bellanca Aircraft loaned the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) two 14-9s, purportedly for handling evaluations. One was at NACA in late-June and another in early July, each one staying for 2-3 weeks. [7]
Development culminated in the 1941 14-12-F3 [8] , at which point production ceased to allow Bellanca to work as a military subcontractor for the duration of the war when an attempt to market a militarized version as a trainer was unsuccessful. After the war, Bellanca returned to the design to create the Bellanca 14-13 and its successors. [1]
The last 14-12-F3 recorded in the Smithsonian archives is serial number 1059. [9]
Data fromFlying Equipment: Bellanca 14-9. [26]
General characteristics
Performance
The Hawker Fury is a British biplane fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force in the 1930s. It was a fast, agile aircraft, and the first interceptor in RAF service capable of speed higher than 200 mph. It was the fighter counterpart to the Hawker Hart light bomber.
The Bellanca 14-7 Cruisair and its successors were a family of single-engined light aircraft manufactured in the United States from the mid-1930s onwards.
The Bellanca Viking and Super Viking are a series of single-engine, four-seat, high performance, retractable gear aircraft manufactured in the USA during the 1960s and 1970s. The aircraft developed through modifications of classic designs by the aviation pioneer Giuseppe Bellanca. A total of 1,356 Vikings have been produced with most production between 1968 and 1975.
The Nakajima Ki-34 was a Japanese light transport of World War II. It was a twin-engine, low-wing monoplane; the undercarriage was of tailwheel type with retractable main units. During the Pacific War, the Allies assigned the type the reporting name Thora.
The Bartel BM.4 was a Polish biplane primary trainer aircraft used from 1929 to 1939 by the Polish Air Force and Polish civilian aviation, manufactured in the Samolot factory in Poznań. It was the first plane of Polish design put into production.
The Bellanca CH-400 Skyrocket is a six-seat utility aircraft built in the United States in the 1930s, a continuation of the design lineage that had started with the Bellanca WB-2. Retaining the same basic airframe of the preceding CH-200 and CH-300, the CH-400 was fitted with a more powerful Pratt & Whitney Wasp radial engine.
The Bellanca 31-40 Senior Pacemaker and its derivatives were a family of a six- and eight-seat utility aircraft built in the United States in the late 1930s. They were the final revision of the original late 1920s Wright-Bellanca WB-2 design. The model numbers used by Bellanca in this period reflected the wing area and engine horsepower, each divided by ten. Like their predecessors, these were high-wing braced monoplanes with conventional tailwheel undercarriage.
The Bellanca 28-92 Trimotor was a racing aircraft built to compete in the Istres-Damascus-Paris Air Race of 1937, and was paid for by popular subscription in Romania. Christened Alba Julia it was piloted by Captain Alexander Papana of the Romanian Air Force.
The Bellanca 14-13 Cruisair Senior and its successors were a family of light aircraft that were manufactured in the United States by AviaBellanca Aircraft after World War II. They were a follow-up to the prewar Bellanca 14-7 and its derivatives.
The Curtiss Model 55 Kingbird was an airliner built in small numbers in the United States in the early 1930s. It was a twin-engine aircraft with a fuselage derived from the single-engine Curtiss Thrush. The Kingbird had two engine nacelles mounted on the struts on either side of the fuselage that braced the wing and the outrigger undercarriage. A distinctive design feature was the aircraft's blunt nose, located behind the propeller arcs. This allowed the engines to be mounted closer to each other and to the aircraft's centerline, therefore minimising asymmetrical thrust in case of an engine failure. For the same reason, the Thrush's single tailfin was replaced by twin tails on the Kingbird, and the main production model, the D-2 fitted a second horizontal stabilizer and elevator between these fins.
The Indraéro Aéro 101 was a light training biplane developed in France in the 1950s.
The SNCASE SE.100 was a French two-seat, twin-engined fighter that first flew in 1939. Mass production was planned to begin late in 1940 but the Fall of France prevented this.
The Siebel Si 202 Hummel ("Bumble-bee") was a German light sportsplane of the late 1930s. It was an angular low-wing monoplane, which could be powered by a variety of small engines.
The Eagle DW.1 is an American-built single-seat agricultural biplane of the late 1970s.
The PWS-6, was a Polish liaison aircraft, developed in 1930 by the PWS, that remained a prototype.
The PWS-11 was a Polish aerobatic and trainer aircraft, developed in 1928-1929 by PWS, which remained a prototype.
The PWS 3 was a Polish sport aircraft, developed in 1927 by PWS, which remained a prototype.
P.Z.L. P.8 was a fighter designed by Ing. Zygmunt Puławski and constructed by P.Z.L. from 1930.
The Aeronca K series, Aeronca Chief, Aeronca Super Chief, Aeronca Tandem, Aeronca Scout, Aeronca Sea Scout, Aeronca Champion and Aeronca Defender were a family of American high-winged light touring aircraft, designed and built starting in the late 1930s by Aeronca Aircraft.
The Curtiss/Curtiss-Robertson Model 56 Thrush was a 1929 six passenger high-wing fixed undercarriage single-engine cabin monoplane airliner and utility transport powered by either a Curtiss Challenger or a Wright Whirlwind radial engine and built as an enlargement of the earlier Curtiss Robin. Several were used for record breaking endurance flights by female pilots during the early 1930s including one in which the aircraft stayed aloft for almost ten days.
Media related to Bellanca 14-9 at Wikimedia Commons