| CR-4 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| CR-4 displayed at the EAA Airventure Museum | |
| Role | Racing aircraft |
| National origin | United States |
| Designer | Harry Crosby |
| First flight | April 1938 |
| Number built | 1 |
| Developed from | Crosby CR-3 |
The Crosby CR-4 is a racing aircraft developed in the late 1930s
The Crosby CR-4 is the follow-on of the Menasco C6S-4 powered Crosby CR-3 (a.k.a. C6R-3) designed to be powered by a twelve-cylinder Ranger V-770 engine [1] The aircraft was designed while Crosby was recovering with a broken back and fractured skull from the 1936 crash of his all metal CR-3. Despite a prior failure causing a crash, money shortages prompted Crosby to reuse the Menasco C6S-4 engine from his former racer. Funding for construction came from fellow racer Kieth Rider. Students from the Curtiss-Wright Technical Institute in Glendale, California assembled the aircraft. [2]
The CR-4 is a low-wing monoplane with conventional landing gear. The construction is all-metal stressed skin. The triangular wings featured a straight leading edge with a long chord tapering to a point at the wingtips. The left cowling held a combination oil tank and surface cooler. The seat and canopy adjusted up six inched in travel for take off and landing visibility. The landing gear used compressed air from a Lux air bottle rather than mechanical or hydraulic mechanism. [3] Copper filings found later in the line, combined with wind resistance prevented one leg from locking. [4]
The first flight was performed in April 1938 at Mines Field with severe aileron flutter and a wheel collapse on landing.
In late 1939, the CR-4 was filmed for use in the movie Tail Spin . In 1945, Crosby died while bailing out of a XP-79B. The CR-4 was sold by his wife to be restored by its new owner. The aircraft was placed in storage in a school bus until purchased by Morton Lester. Lester donated the airframe to the EAA Airventure museum in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, where it was restored and placed on display. [6]
Data from Sport Aviation
General characteristics
Performance
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