M-1 and M-2 | |
---|---|
Original Ryan M-1 NC2073 in Pacific Air Transport markings in the Historic Aircraft Restoration Museum, Creve Coeur airport, Missouri. | |
Role | Mailplane |
National origin | United States |
Manufacturer | Ryan |
Designer | Hawley Bowlus, W A Mankey, John Northrop [1] |
First flight | 14 February 1926 |
Status | two airworthy in 2009 |
Number built | 36 |
The Ryan M-1 was a mail plane produced in the United States in the 1920s, the first original design built by Ryan. [2] It was a conventional gear parasol-wing monoplane with two open cockpits in tandem and fixed, tailskid undercarriage. [3]
The follow-on M-2 was substantially the same as the M-1. [2] The prototype M-1 was originally powered by a Hispano-Suiza 8A, but production examples featured a variety of engines in the same general power range, with the Wright J-4B chosen for nine of the sixteen M-1s built, [2] and the prototype later refitted with this engine. [4]
According to Cassagneres, "Dimensions allowed for a front cockpit that could accommodate two passengers side by side, or one passenger and a sack of mail, or just mail sacks and no passenger. Dual controls were provided, so a passenger flying up front could get in some 'stick time' if he wished. The M-1 cowling had a feature that was to become almost a trademark on all subsequent Ryan models up to the ST. This was the distinctive 'engine-turning' or 'jeweling' effect achieved by burnishing the aluminum. [5]
A M-1 was flown in the 1926 Ford National Reliability Air Tour. [6]
Pacific Air Transport operated J-4B-powered M-1s and M-2s on their demanding Seattle–San Francisco–Los Angeles mail route, [7] while Hispano-Suiza-powered machines flew with Colorado Airways between Cheyenne and Pueblo [2] and Yukon Airways between Whitehorse and Dawson City. [7]
One M-2 (named Bluebird) was built with a fully enclosed cabin for the pilot and four passengers, foreshadowing Ryan's highly successful Brougham series. [7] The standard M-2, meanwhile, was Charles Lindbergh's first choice for his transatlantic flight. [8] His list of requirements for the aircraft soon made it apparent, however, that rather than modifying an M-2, it would be more effective to build an all-new design along the same general lines, which resulted in the Ryan NYP Spirit of St Louis. [8]
The M-1 prototype was restored to flying condition between 1980 and 1984 and is preserved in the Museum of Flight in Seattle. [3] The seventh aircraft is preserved in airworthy condition in Pacific Air Transport markings at the Historic Aircraft Restoration Museum at Creve Coeur airport, Missouri. [9] A replica of an M-1 using a small number of parts from serial number 11 was built by Andy King in 2001, powered by a Lycoming R-680 and also painted in Pacific Air Transport #7's scheme. [10] Serial number 11 is owned and faces a full restoration by John Norman, who crafted the most accurate reproduction of the Spirit of St. Louis ever built. [11] [12] A replica M-1 is exhibited in the San Diego Air & Space Museum. [13]
Data from "Ryan M-1"
General characteristics
Performance
The Spirit of St. Louis is the custom-built, single-engine, single-seat, high-wing monoplane that was flown by Charles Lindbergh on May 20–21, 1927, on the first solo nonstop transatlantic flight from Long Island, New York, to Paris, France, for which Lindbergh won the $25,000 Orteig Prize.
The Ryan Aeronautical Company was founded by T. Claude Ryan in San Diego, California, in 1934. It became part of Teledyne in 1969, and of Northrop Grumman when the latter company purchased Ryan in 1999. Ryan built several historically and technically significant aircraft, including four innovative V/STOL designs, but its most successful production aircraft was the Ryan Firebee line of unmanned drones used as target drones and unmanned air vehicles.
The Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.8 is a British two-seat biplane reconnaissance and bomber aircraft of the First World War that was designed and produced at the Royal Aircraft Factory. It was also built under contract by Austin Motors, Daimler, Standard Motors, Siddeley-Deasy and the Coventry Ordnance Works.
The Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5 is a British biplane fighter aircraft of the First World War. It was developed at the Royal Aircraft Factory by a team consisting of Henry Folland, John Kenworthy and Major Frank Goodden. It was one of the fastest aircraft of the war, while being both stable and relatively manoeuvrable. According to aviation author Robert Jackson, the S.E.5 was: "the nimble fighter that has since been described as the 'Spitfire of World War One'".
The Hispano-Suiza 8 is a water-cooled V8 SOHC aero engine introduced by Hispano-Suiza in 1914 that went on to become the most commonly used liquid-cooled engine in the aircraft of the Entente Powers during the First World War. The original Hispano-Suiza 8A was rated at 140 hp (100 kW) and the later, larger displacement Hispano-Suiza 8F reached 330 hp (250 kW).
The Breguet 19 was a sesquiplane bomber and reconnaissance aircraft which was also used for long-distance flights and was designed by the French Breguet company and produced from 1924.
The Dassault M.D.450 Ouragan is a French fighter-bomber developed and produced by Dassault Aviation. It has its origins in a private venture by Dassault to produce an all-French aircraft which would make use of jet propulsion, which subsequently would receive orders from the French Air Force.
Tubal Claude Ryan was an American aviator born in Parsons, Kansas. Ryan was best known for founding several airlines and aviation factories.
The Farman F.220 and its derivatives were thick-sectioned, high-winged, four engined French monoplanes from Farman Aviation Works. Based on the push-pull configuration proven by the F.211, design started in August 1925 and the first flight of the prototype was on 26 May 1932. The largest bomber to serve in France between the two world wars was the final F.222 variant. One variation was intended to be an airliner.
Potez 25 was a French twin-seat, single-engine sesquiplane designed during the 1920s. A multi-purpose fighter-bomber, it was designed as a line aircraft and used in a variety of roles, including fighter and escort missions, tactical bombing and reconnaissance missions. In the late 1920s and early 1930s, Potez 25 was the standard multi-purpose aircraft of over 20 air forces, including French and Polish. It was also popular among private operators, notably mail transport companies.
The CAMS 58 was a transport flying boat built in France in the early 1930s intended as a successor to the highly successful CAMS 53. Compared to the earlier design, the CAMS 58 featured a newly designed Biplane wing cellule and an all-metal hull in place of its predecessor's wooden hull. Work was slow, with three years passing from the start of design work to the prototype's first flight. When the newly formed Air France showed no interest in purchasing the type, CAMS redesigned it to be powered by two pairs of engines in tractor-pusher installations. Again, no interest was forthcoming. The final iteration of the design, reverting to a single pair of more powerful engines and a wooden hull, met with only slightly more success. Air France bought two machines and operated them briefly before declaring them uneconomical and removing them from service.
The FBA Type H was a French reconnaissance flying boat produced in large numbers in France and Italy during World War I by Franco-British Aviation.
The FBA 17 was a training flying boat produced in France in the 1920s.
The Standard J is a two-seat basic trainer two-bay biplane produced in the United States from 1916 to 1918, powered by a four-cylinder inline Hall-Scott A-7a engine. It was constructed from wood with wire bracing and fabric covering. The J-1 was built as a stopgap to supplement the Curtiss JN-4 in production.
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.
The Nieuport-Delage NiD.29 was a French single-seat biplane fighter designed and built by Nieuport-Delage for the French Air Force.
The Wright R-790 Whirlwind was a series of nine-cylinder air-cooled radial aircraft engines built by Wright Aeronautical Corporation, with a total displacement of about 790 cubic inches (12.9 L) and around 200 horsepower (150 kW). These engines were the earliest members of the Wright Whirlwind engine family.
The Lioré et Olivier LeO H-47 was a flying boat airliner built in France in 1936. It was designed to operate passenger services over the South Atlantic, but the outbreak of the Second World War caused the type to be used by the French Navy as a maritime patrol aircraft.
The Ryan Brougham was a small single-engine airliner produced in the United States in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Its design was reminiscent of the M-1 mailplane first produced by Ryan in 1926, and like it, was a high-wing, strut-braced monoplane of conventional design.
The Stearman C3 was an American-built civil biplane aircraft of the 1920s, designed by Stearman Aircraft of Wichita, Kansas. It was also the first Stearman aircraft to receive a type certificate.