Rearwin Junior

Last updated
Rearwin Junior
Rearwin Junior.jpg
Rearwin Junior sideview
RoleSport aircraft
National originUnited States
Manufacturer Rearwin Airplanes
DesignerDouglas Webber
First flight1931
Number builtca 30

The Rearwin Junior was a 1930s two-seat high-winged ultra-light monoplane sport aircraft produced in the United States by Rearwin Airplanes Inc. [1] [2] It was part of a trend of extremely low-cost aircraft as manufacturers attempted to survive the Great Depression.

Contents

Rearwin Junior 4000 (OK-WAO) and Walter Polaris II Rearwin Junior 4000 (OK-WAO) a Walter Polaris II.jpg
Rearwin Junior 4000 (OK-WAO) and Walter Polaris II

Development

The Aeronca C-2 had successfully debuted in 1930 as a low-cost two-seat ultra-light sportplane, setting a trend for aircraft manufacturers trying to survive the Great Depression. Douglas Webber and Noel Hockaday at the American Eagle Aircraft Corporation, based at the Fairfax Airport near Rearwin, had followed with the similarly-targeted American Eagle Eaglet. Douglas Webber eventually left American Eagle and started advertising a complete design of another similar aircraft and his services as an engineer—Rearwin bought the design, hired Webber and Hockaday, and completed the prototype in 6 months. The first flight was in April 1931. [3] :101–102

The Junior was tested with an experimental engine by Guy Poyer (a business acquaintance of the company's main investor) built in the Rearwin factory, but that project failed. An alternative engine was also certified. [3] :105

Rearwin Junior 4000 (OK-WAO) and Walter Polaris II Walter Polaris II a Rearwin Junior 4000 (OK-WAO).jpg
Rearwin Junior 4000 (OK-WAO) and Walter Polaris II

Design

The Junior was a conventional, high-wing monoplane with two seats in tandem in an open cockpit and fixed, tailskid undercarriage. [4] An optional enclosed canopy was also available. [5] [ page needed ] The wings were of wooden construction while the fuselage and empennage were built from welded steel tube, with the whole aircraft skinned in fabric. [5]

While the Junior resembled Webber and Hockaday's preceding Eaglet, it was longer, wider, and had wider landing gear. It was heavier than the Eaglet but also more capable. [3] :103

Operational history

Although the Rearwin Junior was designed to meet the lowest possible sale price, the onset of the Great Depression severely limited the size of the market for sport aircraft, and only a small number were built. [4]

Variants

Surviving aircraft

The Junior prototype survived in the private collection of Oscar Cooke until it was auctioned in 1998. [6]

Specifications (3000)

Data from [7]

General characteristics

Performance

See also

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bowers Fly Baby</span> American homebuilt aircraft

The Bowers Fly Baby is a homebuilt, single-seat, open-cockpit, wood and fabric low-wing monoplane that was designed by famed United States aircraft designer and Boeing historian, Peter M. Bowers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ace Baby Ace</span> Homebuilt aircraft design by Orland Corben

The Ace Baby Ace, a single-seat, single-engine, parasol wing, fixed-gear light airplane, was marketed as a homebuilt aircraft when its plans were first offered for sale in 1929 — one of the first homebuilt aircraft plans available in the United States. Plans are still available and Baby Aces are still being built. Orland Corben designed a series of aircraft for the Ace Aircraft Manufacturing Company, the Baby Ace, Junior Ace, and Super Ace. Corben's name was associated with the aircraft, and it is commonly known as the Corben Baby Ace.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aeronca C-2</span> American light aircraft

The Aeronca C-2 is an American light monoplane designed by Jean A. Roche and built by Aeronca Aircraft.

<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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buhl Bull Pup</span>

The Buhl LA-1 Bull Pup was a light sports airplane developed in the United States in 1930. It was a mid-wing wire-braced monoplane with fixed tailskid undercarriage and an open cockpit for the pilot. Buhl developed the Bull Pup as a cheap aircraft through which the company hoped to remain in business as the onset of the Great Depression was felt. However, as the economic situation worsened, it became evident that there was no demand for even such a basic aircraft; when production ceased in 1932, all aircraft still in stock were sold off at half price as the company folded.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Commonwealth Skyranger</span> Type of aircraft

The Commonwealth Skyranger, first produced as the Rearwin Skyranger, was the last design of Rearwin Aircraft before the company was purchased by a new owner and renamed Commonwealth Aircraft. It was a side-by-side, two-seat, high-wing taildragger.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Szekely SR-3</span>

Szekely aircraft engines were three-cylinder radial engines built in Holland, Michigan in the 1920s and 30s. They were used to power small aircraft such as the Rearwin Junior, Taylor H-2 and American Eagle Eaglet. Often criticized for reliability issues and design flaws, many were replaced with better engines in their original airframes. Few examples still exist but a museum quality example is on display in the Holland Museum in Holland, Michigan.

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

The Curtiss-Wright CW-1 Junior, originally named the Curtiss-Robertson CR-1 Skeeter is a light sports aircraft produced in the United States in the 1930s. It had been intended to sell it for the price of a mid-range automobile.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Porterfield 35</span> Type of aircraft

The Porterfield Model 35 Flyabout was an American two-seat cabin monoplane built by the Porterfield Aircraft Corporation of Kansas City.

The Welch OW-5M were a family of American two-seat light cabin monoplanes designed by Orin Welch based on his first cabin monoplane design, the ACA Falcon. Welch's goal was to design cheap and functional light aircraft. The aircraft is a strut-braced high-wing monoplane with an enclosed cabin with side-by-side seats for two. It is similar in appearance to the Aeronca C-3, save for the wing struts. It had a steerable tailwheel landing gear and a nose-mounted engine. The fuselage was constructed with fabric covered welded steel tubing with a triangular cross section. The controls were mounted overhead with an adjustable control wheel that could be positioned for either pilot. Welch developed their own low-pressure wheels and tires for suspension.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grumman Kitten</span> Type of aircraft

The Grumman Kitten was a 1940s American cabin monoplane designed and built by Grumman. Two versions were built; the G-63 Kitten I with a retractable tailwheel landing gear, and G-72 Kitten II with a retractable nosewheel landing gear.

<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">Rearwin Cloudster</span> Type of aircraft

The Rearwin Cloudster was a two or three-seat civil utility aircraft produced by the Rearwin Aircraft & Engines Company of Kansas City, Missouri beginning in 1939. It was a strut-braced, high-wing monoplane of conventional design with an enclosed cabin and fixed, taildragger undercarriage. One specialized version was produced as a trainer for Pan American Airways.

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

The Rearwin Speedster was a two-seat, high-wing, sport aircraft produced by Rearwin Airplanes Inc. in the United States in the 1930s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Eagle Eaglet</span> Type of aircraft

The Eaglet 31 is a United States two-seat tandem ultra-light high-winged monoplane of the early 1930s. Intended as a low-cost aircraft, its limited production run relegated it to a footnote in aviation history.

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

The Aeronca C-1 Cadet was a high performance version of the Aeronca C-2 developed by Aeronca and first flown in 1931.

The Airpower Museum is a 20,000-square-foot (1,900 m2) aviation museum located near Blakesburg, Iowa on Antique Airfield. The Airpower Museum was founded by Robert L. Taylor and the Antique Airplane Association in 1965 and features various periods of aviation through models, engines, propellers, photos and original art. Approximately 25 aircraft are on display, including warbirds from World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spartan C2</span> Type of aircraft

The Spartan C2 is a light aircraft produced in the United States in the early 1930s as a low-cost sport machine that would sell during the Great Depression.

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

The Rearwin Ken-Royce was an American three-seat sport/touring biplane built by Rearwin Airplanes first in Salina, Kansas then Kansas City. It was the first airplane built by the company.

The Nicholson Junior KN-2 was a low power, high wing, two seat, cabin monoplane intended for sport or flight training in the United States in the late 1920s. Only one was built.

References

  1. Taylor 1989, p. 757.
  2. Simpson 2001, p. 41.
  3. 1 2 3 Wright, Bill (1997). Rearwin: A Story of Men, Planes, and Manufacturing During the Great Depression . Manhattan, Kansas: Sunflower University Press. ISBN   0-89745-207-0.
  4. 1 2 Mondey, Dave (1985). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft. London: Orbis: Aerospace Publishing. p. 2792.
  5. 1 2 Aero Digest, April 1935.
  6. Cioffi, Chris (14 March 2015). "Oscar's Dreamland a Town That Always Is". Billings Gazette. Billings Gazette. Archived from the original on June 5, 2017. Retrieved 24 December 2018.
  7. Rearwin, Eric. "Rearwin Junior". Rearwin Airplanes. Archived from the original on 20 November 2008. Retrieved 24 December 2018.