Culver Dart

Last updated
Dart
UserKTrimble-Culver Dart w Smoke 911 scare.jpg
A restored 1939 Culver Dart GK equipped for aerobatics over PLK
General information
TypeTwo-seat Light Monoplane
Manufacturer Culver Aircraft Company
Designer

The Culver Dart was a 1930s American two-seat light monoplane aircraft produced by the Dart Aircraft Company (later the Culver Aircraft Company).

Contents

Design and development

In the early 1930s Al Mooney was working for the Lambert Aircraft Corporation, builders of the Monocoupe series aircraft. He designed a small two-seat monoplane, the Monosport G. [1] When the company ran into financial difficulties Mooney bought the rights to his design and with K.K. Culver formed the Dart Aircraft Company. [2] The aircraft was renamed the Dart Dart or Dart Model G. [3]

The aircraft was a low-wing monoplane designed to be light with clean lines to enable it to use low powered aero-engines. It had a fixed undercarriage and a tailwheel. The initial version was named the Dart G powered by a 90 hp (67 kW) Lambert R-266 radial engine. That engine was in short supply, so the aircraft was fitted with a Ken-Royce engine and designated the Dart GK. The final version was the Dart GW powered by a Warner Scarab Junior radial engine. Two special aircraft were built with larger engines. In 1939 the company was renamed the Culver Aircraft Company and the aircraft was renamed the Culver Dart.

Variants

Dart GC at the Frontiers of Flight Museum Frontiers of Flight Museum December 2015 066 (Culver Dart GC).jpg
Dart GC at the Frontiers of Flight Museum
Dart GW of 1939 at Lakeland, Florida in April 2009 Dart GW N20930 Lakeland FL 22.04.09R.jpg
Dart GW of 1939 at Lakeland, Florida in April 2009
Dart G
Initial production version powered by a 90 hp (67 kW) Lambert R-266 - ca. 50 built.
Dart GC
125 hp (93 kW) Continental O-200 - 10 built
Dart GK
Variant fitted with a 90 hp (67 kW) Ken-Royce 5G engine - 25 built.
Dart GW
Final production version powered by a 90 hp (67 kW) Warner Scarab Junior - 8 built.
Dart GW Special
Two aircraft fitted with larger Warner engines, one with a 125 hp (93 kW) Warner Scarab engine, and the other with 145 hp (108 kW) Warner Super Scarab SS-50A engine.
X-F 220 Super Dart
An experimental variant modified with a 220 hp (160 kW) Continental R-670, 8 foot wing reduction and a 188 mph (163 kn; 303 km/h) cruise speed. Used by Rodney Jocelyn in national aerobatics. [4]

Surviving aircraft

The Ohio History Connection holds a Culver Dart G, NC18449, in its permanent collection since 2000. The airplane currently resides in offsite storage. WAAAM Western Antique Aeroplane and Automobile Museum displays an operational Dart G, serial no. G-11, N20993. This airplane appeared in Tarnished Angels.

Specifications (Dart GW)

Data from Simpson, 2001, p.170

General characteristics

Performance

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Curtiss Robin</span>

The Curtiss Robin, introduced in 1928, is an American high-wing monoplane built by the Curtiss-Robertson Airplane Manufacturing Company. The J-1 version was flown by Wrongway Corrigan who crossed the Atlantic after being refused permission to do so.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monocoupe 90</span>

The Monocoupe 90 was a two-seat, light cabin airplane built by Donald A. Luscombe for Monocoupe Aircraft. The first Monocoupe was built in an abandoned church in Davenport, Iowa, and first flew on April 1, 1927. Various models were in production until the late 1940s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warner Scarab</span> American aircraft engine

The Warner Scarab is an American seven-cylinder radial aircraft engine, that was manufactured by the Warner Aircraft Corporation of Detroit, Michigan in 1928 through to the early 1940s. In military service the engine was designated R-420.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cessna Airmaster</span> Family of American Aircraft built by Cessna

The Cessna Airmaster, is a family of single-engined aircraft manufactured by the Cessna Aircraft Company. The Airmaster played an important role in the revitalization of Cessna in the 1930s after the crash of the aviation industry during the Great Depression.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aeronca L</span>

The Aeronca L is a 1930s American cabin monoplane designed and built, in small numbers, by Aeronca Aircraft. It differed significantly from other Aeronca planes by the use of radial engines, streamlining, and a cantilever low wing.

The Warner Scarab Junior was an American, five-cylinder, air-cooled, radial aero engine first produced in 1930. It was a scaled-down derivative of the seven-cylinder Warner Scarab, developing 90 hp (70 kW) against the Scarab's 110 hp (80 kW).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Culver Cadet</span>

The Culver Cadet is an American two-seat light monoplane aircraft, also as a radio-controlled drone, produced by the Culver Aircraft Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cessna Model A</span> 1920s American Touring Aircraft

The Cessna Model A is a 1920s American high-wing four-seat tourer built by the Cessna Aircraft Company, the first in a long line of high-wing single-engined monoplanes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fairchild KR-34</span> Type of aircraft

The Kreider-Reisner Challenger is an American utility biplane aircraft designed and produced by the Kreider-Reisner Aircraft Company, which was later taken over by the Fairchild Aircraft Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fairchild 22</span> Type of aircraft

The Fairchild 22 Model C7 was an American two-seat touring or training monoplane designed and built by the Kreider-Reisner division of the Fairchild Aircraft Corporation at Hagerstown, Maryland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ryan S-C</span> American light aircraft

The Ryan S-C (Sports-Coupe) was an American three-seat cabin monoplane designed and built by the Ryan Aeronautical Company. At least one was impressed into service with the United States Army Air Forces as the L-10.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rearwin Sportster</span> Type of aircraft

The Rearwin Sportster is a 1930s American two-seat, high-winged, cabin monoplane designed and built by Rearwin Aircraft & Engines for sport/touring use.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stinson Junior</span> Type of aircraft

The Stinson Junior was a high-winged American monoplane of the late 1920s, built for private owners, and was one of the first such designs to feature a fully enclosed cabin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waco A series</span> Type of aircraft

The Waco A series is a range of light American-built twin side-by-side seater sporting biplanes of the early 1930s.

The Curtiss-Wright CW-3 Duckling was an American two-seat amphibian flying-boat developed by Curtiss-Wright from the CW-1 Junior.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mohawk M-1-C</span> Type of aircraft

The Mohawk M1C was a 1920s American two or three-seat low-wing monoplane designed and built by Mohawk Aero Corporation of Minneapolis, Minnesota. One M1C was evaluated by the United States Army Air Corps in 1930 as the YPT-7 Pinto for use as a primary trainer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pasped Skylark</span> American aircraft

The Pasped W-1 Skylark is a 1930s American two-seat single-engined cabin monoplane designed and built by the Pasped Aircraft Company of Glendale, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Davis D-1</span> Two seat American parasol-winged monoplane

The Davis D-1 is an American light two-seat parasol-winged monoplane of the late 1920s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Howard DGA-18</span> Type of aircraft

The Howard DGA-18 was an American two-seat basic training aircraft designed and built by the Howard Aircraft Corporation for the United States Civil Pilot Training Program.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kari-Keen 90 Sioux Coupe</span> Type of aircraft

The Kari-Keen 90 Sioux coupe is a two-seat cabin monoplane.

References

Notes
  1. "Culver Dart GC". www.flightmuseum.com. Frontiers of Flight Museum. Archived from the original on 14 September 2018. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
  2. "Al Mooney Papers: Biographical Sketch". libtreasures.utdallas.edu. Eugene McDermott Library, University of Texas. Archived from the original on 9 September 2015. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
  3. Simpson, 2001, p. 170.
  4. "220 horse "Super Dart"". Experimenter: 4. January 1955.
Bibliography