| UB-20 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 3-view drawing of the UB-20 from the September 1930 issue of Aero Digest | |
| Role | Civil transport |
| Manufacturer | Burnelli |
| Designer | Vincent Burnelli |
| First flight | 1930 |
| Number built | 1 |
The Burnelli UB-20 was a prototype lifting body airliner designed by Vincent Burnelli and built in the early 1930s.
The UB-20 was a high-wing monoplane with a fixed tail wheel landing gear. It is considered the first American construction to have a load-bearing fuselage skin covered with smooth sheet metal. The fuselage structure consisted of seven transverse frames and four T-side members made of duralumin as well as stringers with a U-section. The planking had a thickness of 0.8 mm (0.031 in) and was riveted to the substructure. The wings had a structure consisting of two metal box spars with special drawn T-shaped angle connections. The smooth sheet planking was 0.5 mm (0.020 in) thick. The tanks were in the wing root. The chassis and engine mounts were made from welded chrome-molybdenum steel tubes. [1]
The 20-passenger passenger cabin was 17 ft (5.2 m) x 12 ft 2 in (3.7 m) and was 5 ft 6 in (1.7 m) high. This allowed bulky loads to be transported as well as passengers. The passenger cabin was very comfortably furnished for this time. There were folding seats, a washroom and bunks for night flights. As with most other Burnelli aircraft, the engines were accessible in flight. The machine also had very good single-engine flight characteristics, so the flight altitude could be maintained even with a full payload. Similar to the Remington-Burnelli RB-2, which carried an automobile in the fuselage for advertising purposes, the UB-20 did so in 1934 by moving a Ford automobile under the fuselage between the legs on behalf of the Sun Oil Company. [1] [2]
General characteristics
Performance
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