| Condor | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Role | 18 seat airliner |
| National origin | US |
| Manufacturer | Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company |
| First flight | 21 July 1929 |
| Number built | 6 |
| Developed from | Curtiss B-2 Condor |
The 1929 Curtiss Model 53 Condor, also known as the Curtiss Model 53 Condor 18 or the Curtiss CO Condor, was a civil passenger version of the Model 52 Condor bomber. A twin-engined biplane, it carried 18 passengers.
The Model 53 was an airliner version of the Model 52 Condor B-2 bomber, also introduced in 1929. It was a large, equal span, three bay biplane with parallel pairs of interplane struts. Its wings had a rectangular plan out to rounded tips. Like the rest of the aircraft, they had an all-metal structure and were fabric covered. The first three Model 53s were modified B-2s on which only the lower wing was set with dihedral (5°); the three built from scratch had dihedral on both wings. There were ailerons on both upper and lower wings, externally connected. [1] [2]
Its two 635 hp (474 kW) Curtiss Conqueror pressurized water-cooled V-12 engines were mounted on top of the lower wing in long cowlings. Geared down from an engine optimum 2,400 rpm by a factor of two, they drove three-bladed propellers. They were cooled by longitudinally oriented, rectangular profile radiators proud above each cowling. Their nacelles were long, extending beyond the trailing edges, containing the fuel tanks behind the engines and, unusually, baggage holds at their rears. [1]
The Condor had a rectangular section fuselage. The flight crew of two sat side-by-side in an enclosed cabin entered by built-in ladder and floor hatch. The normal arrangement in the passenger cabin behind them, high enough for a tall passenger to stand upright, was six rows of three seats accessed by a side aisle. These could be subdivided by screens for privacy or modified to contain a sleeper cabin with berths for four; for night flights a twelve berth all sleeper configuration was proposed. Particular attention was given to sound insulation and to ventilation; the Condor was the first airliner to feature cabin steam heating. The flight attendant had a space at the rear, where there was also a toilet. [1]
The lower tailplane of the Condor's biplane tail unit was mounted on top of the fuselage with the upper one held above it by the twin fins and central struts. Its rudders were generous and balanced. [1]
The Condor had a fixed, conventional, wide track landing gear Its independent wheels, equipped with brakes, were on short vertical legs and had trailing drag struts from the engine mountings and transverse struts to the central fuselage underside. Its tailskid was tall and sprung. [1]
The first civil Condor, converted from a military Model 52, flew for the first time on 21 July 1929. Including the prototype, six were built. Of these, the first three were converted from bomber model 52s. [2] They operated with TAT and Eastern Air Line, though only for about a year. The Conqueror's development was never quite completed and in 1932 the US Army, after spending large sums on it, withdrew support and turned to air-cooled engines. [3]
Data from Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1931, [4] Aero Digest : Curtiss Condor [1]
General characteristics
Performance
The Aero A.23 was a Czechoslovakian airliner of the 1920s. Aero Vodochody had produced the first Czech airliner, the A.10, four of which had served with ČSA, the national airline. The A.23, another biplane, was bigger, more powerful, and could carry more passengers.
The Stearman LT-1 was a late 1920s American biplane, carrying four passengers plus mail.
The Burnelli CB-16, also known as the Uppercu-Burnelli CB-300, was a passenger aircraft designed by the American company Burnelli in 1928. It was the first twin-engined aircraft to have retractable landing gear. Only one was built.
The Burnelli RB-1 was a US twin engine biplane airliner prototype from 1920, incorporating a lifting body fuselage.
The Hatz Classic is an American homebuilt biplane, designed by Billy Dawson and produced by the Makelan Corporation of New Braunfels, Texas. The aircraft is supplied as a kit or, alternatively, in the form of plans for amateur construction.
The SkyDancer SD-260 was an American aerobatic homebuilt biplane that was designed and produced by SkyDancer Aviation of Louisville, Kentucky, introduced in the mid-1990s. When it was available the aircraft was supplied as a kit.
The Theiss Speedster is an American Homebuilt ultralight biplane that was designed and produced by Theiss Aviation of Salem, Ohio. When it was available the aircraft was supplied as a quick-build kit for amateur construction.
The Caudron C.33 "Landaulet Monsieur-Madame" was a French twin engined biplane with four seats, two in open cockpits and two in an enclosed cabin.
The Latham HB.5 was a French biplane flying boat with four engines in push-pull configuration pairs. Ten were used by the French Navy.
The Curtiss-Reid Courier was designed in Canada in 1931 as a specialist, non-passenger carrying, mailplane capable of maintaining services in Canada's hard winters. The 1930s depression led to the end of government subsidised airmail contracts and only one prototype flew. It was lost in 1933 during preparations for a private, long distance flight.
The Aerial Engineering Corporation Standard 6W-3 was a commercial transport modification of the US Standard J-1 biplane military trainer aircraft, with new wings, engine and accommodation for four passengers. First flown in 1925, it was built in small numbers.
The Johnson Twin-60 was a small, two seat biplane intended for private owners. It had twin engines for safety and the performance and undercarriage designed for short and rough field use. Despite its refinements only one was definitely built
The Western Airplane King Bird, named after the tyrant flycatcher (Western) Kingbird, was a 1920s US civil transport accommodating three passengers in open cockpits. Only one was built.
The NAS Air King was a US light biplane transport aircraft designed in 1926 to carry three passengers in two open cockpits. Only one was built but in 1928 it was revised to carry two passengers and was more successful, with over twenty produced.
The Hess H-2 Blue Bird was a small US transport biplane, built in the 1920s and carrying two or four passengers according to engine power.
The Brown 1926 parasol monoplane was a 1920s US, three seat, parasol wing civil aircraft developed from a biplane wartime scout. It was intended for either the private or commercial passenger markets, though one was used as a crop-duster.
The Thunderbird W-14 was a small, three seat American passenger transport, first flown in 1926, entering production, significantly improved, in 1927 with several different engine options. About 40-50 were built before the financial collapse of the company in 1929.
The Wallace Touroplane was a late 1920s U.S. three seat, high wing cabin monoplane. About 20 were built.
The Ireland Neptune was a four or five place pusher configuration biplane sold in flying boat and amphibian versions. Designed in the U.S. and first flown in 1927, well over 50 were built.
The Swanson-Fahlin SF-1 was a high wing, two seat cabin aircraft with a small radial engine, designed in the United States and first flown in 1934. Only one was built.