Luscombe Phantom

Last updated
Phantom
Luscombe Phantom 1 (4540981129).jpg
RoleTwo-seat cabin monoplane
National originUnited States
Manufacturer Luscombe Aircraft Engineering Company
First flight1934
Number built25

The Luscombe Phantom was a 1930s American two-seat cabin monoplane and the first product of the Luscombe Aircraft Engineering Company.

Contents

Design and development

Donald A. Luscombe formed the Luscombe Aircraft Engineering Company in 1933 at Kansas City, Missouri. The Phantom or Model 1 was the first aircraft built by the company, and first flew in 1934. It was a high-wing braced monoplane with conventional fixed tail-wheel landing gear, and was powered by a nose-mounted 145 hp (108 kW) Warner Super Scarab radial engine. The fully enclosed engine cowling, with individual air vents for each cylinder, was unusual for a US radial engine light aircraft. Apart from the fabric wing surfaces, the aircraft was all-metal, and had a luxury interior with two side-by-side seats in an enclosed cabin. All compound curves were formed by one employee, Nick Nordyke. [1] As a luxury aircraft, it failed to sell in the economical climate of 1930s America, and the company went on to develop cheaper and simpler aircraft.

Variants

D1L
Brazilian Navy designation for the Luscombe Phantom. [2]

Specifications

Data from Air Progress

General characteristics

Performance

See also

Related development

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

References

Notes

  1. Gene Smith. "Phantom!". Air Progress: 45.
  2. "Brazilian Military Aircraft Designations". designation-systems.net. Retrieved 2025-03-16.

Bibliography

  • Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions.
  • The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985). Orbis Publishing.
  • Johnson, Caroline. "Pat the Pilot: American Aviatrix, WAFS Member and Allied Liaison". Air & Space Smithsonian. Retrieved 4 April 2020. (World War II story of female US aviator, with pictures of Luscombe Phantom)