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Aviation History
1931
1931 - 0014.PDF
FLIGHT, JANUARY 2, 1931 AIR TRANSPORT THE BELLANCA "AIRBUS" IN our issue for September 12, 1930, we published a photo-graph of what we called an unorthodox machine—theBellanca Sesquiplane—and this week we give an illus- tration and some brief particulars of a recent development ofthis machine produced for commercial work by the Bellanca Aircraft Corp, of New Castle, Del., U.S.A. The Bellanca " Airbus "—the machine in question—wasdesigned to fill the apparent need for a transport 'plane which would enable air line operators to earn profits at farescomparable to the cost of rail transportation. It is a single- engined machine—hardly a monoplane nor yet a sesquiplane—suitable for passenger carrying and for combined mail and passenger work. Carrying an unusually large payload behind a single motorof moderate horse-power, the " Airbus " has proved in an exhaustive series of flight tests to fill this need to perfection.It has a high speed of 147 miles per hour and cruises at 125 miles per hour at two-thirds full power. In take-off, climband general all-around performance it compares very favour- ably with any of the heavy-duty transport machines on themarket or known today. It accommodates 11 passengers with baggage and 500 to 1,000 lb. of mail. As will be seen, the " Airbus " is what may be described as ahigh-wing monoplane with additional lifting surfaces formed by the landing gear and wing-bracing struts.The design of the " Airbus " concentrates the load near the centre of gravity so that the stability of the machine issatisfactory under any of the widely varying load conditions between empty and full. The mail load, which may be any-where from 500 to 1,000 lbs. according to the cruising range required by operators, is placed in pits in the lower stub(chassis strut) wings approximately directly on the centre of gravity. The passengers' baggage goes in compartmentsunder the seats and well up forward, thus permitting the increasingly heavy loads of baggage met with in service to behandled without any sacrifice of stability and with increased safety. In the event of rough landings on unsuitable fieldsthere is no unfixed weight behind the passengers that might shift forward on to them. Probably the most unique feature of the " Airbus " is itswings. The upper wings are similar to that of a conventional braced wing monoplane, with the exception that each wing isdivided into two panels. The inner or centre section panels of the upper wings, in conjunction with the lower stub wings,form the inner bay, being joined together by struts of round chrome molybdenum steel tubing faired with Balsa wood andbraced by streamline wires similar to conventional bi-plane design. From the outer end of each stub wing another liftingsurface called the auxiliary wing goes up to meet the outer panel of the upper wing, thus acting at the same time as a bracing strut in addition to a lifting surface. These auxiliarywings taper both in plan and thickness from their widest part, where they join the stub wing to the rear spar of theupper wing. The upper wings, both inner and outer bay, are builtentirely of wood. The lower stub wings and auxiliary wings are built of chrome molybdenum steel, spars, ribs and com-pression members being welded solidly into one piece. The lower stub wings in particular fulfill a number of purposes.They act as lifting surfaces, form part of the landing gear structure, and, as mentioned above, also contain the water-proof metal-lined mail compartments, which have approxi- mately 60 cubic feet of space. The fuselage of the " Airbus " also is built throughout ofchrome molybdenum steel tubing and is of conventional Bellanca design, being proof against weaving or twisting andcalculated to withstand collapse in the event of a crash. The engine mount is hung on ball joints of very large size,which prevent the development of any wear or play. Being detachable, either a Curtiss Conqueror 600-h.p. water-cooledmotor, a Wright Cyclone 575-h.p. air-cooled motor, or a Pratt and Whitney Hornet B 575-h.p. air-cooled motor maybe installed. All are geared 2 to 1. The landing gear of the " Airbus " represents a completedeparture from conventional practice. The lower stub wings form part of the landing gear structure. The wheels go intorecesses at the ends of these stub wings where the auxiliary wings join. Goodyear air wheels, size 37 by 16, are used.These are mounted on forks attached to the front part of these recesses in the stub wings and are easily removable by takingoff one nut and withdrawing the wheel spindle. The wheels are further cushioned and kept in their proper position byoleo struts. An oleo strut is placed on each side of each wheel and these struts are attached about midway to beams runningfrom front to rear of the landing gear recesses. The struts have a 3 in. travel and an additional cushioning movement of8 in. is allowed by the wheels themselves. Being faired almost completely into the lower wing the drag of the landinggear as a separate unit, a serious consideration in other ships, is eliminated and the benefits of retractable wheels obtainedwithout mechanism of any sort. Plans have been made to make the " Airbus " availableas either a landplane or a seaplane, and by a combination of wheel and pontoon gear, now under development, as anamphibian. The control system is as simple as possible. All controlsare operated by the usual steel cables running over ball- bearing micarta pulleys. The cables to the tail surfacesrun down the centre of the cabin under the floor, and doors in the floor for the entire length of the cabin permit easy V.-UNORTHODOXY -ONLY MORE SO: The Bellanca "Airbus," a 'development of the sesquiplane. illustrated in our issue of September 12, 1930. It carries 10 passengers, baggage and 500 lb. of mail •••;. ''." at a cruising speed of 125 m.p.h. The engine is a Curtiss 600 h.p. "Conqueror." 16
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