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Aviation History
1931
1931 - 0027.PDF
FLIGHT, JANUARY 9, 1931 THE CURTISS "KINGBIRD An American Twm-Engined Cabin Transport THE CURTISS Two Wright WE give below a brief description of the first 1930 de-velopment in aircraft design of the Curtiss-WrightCorporation—the " Kingbird," produced by the CurtLss-Robertson Airplane Mfg. Co., of St. Louis. The Curtiss " Kingbird " has been developed as a pas-senger carrying aeroplane of medium size, economical in , first cost and operation, buthaving all the advantages of the larger transports incomfort and multi-engined safety. Such a machine isexactly what is needed today for feeder lines, for sight-seeing, and for transport lines on which the trafficdoes not justify the use of the larger ships. From a design standpoint,the history of the " King- bird " really goes back to thefamous " Curtis Robin," the " Robm," the new six-place"Thrush," and now the twin-engined " Kingbird,"all high-wing cabin mono- planes, are similar in theirgeneral plan of construction. In developing this line ofships the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company hasspent over $500,000 in en- gineering and research at itslaboratories and experi- mental factory at GardenCity, Long Island. This ex- penditure of time and moneyby the Curtiss engineering staff has given the " King-bird " that degree of aero- dynamic and structural KINGBIRD Length o.a. Wing Span Height o.a. Wing area Tare weight Fuel and oil Useful load Pay Load Gross Weight Wing Loading Power Loading Maximum Speed . Cruising Speed Landing Speed- Rate of Climb Service Ceiling Range (cruising,100 gal.) Whirlwind '' J-6 Engines 34 //. 9 in. (10-6 m.\. 54 ft. 6 in. (11-6 »;.). 10//. (3w.). 405 sq.ft. (37-6 .«/. m.). . . 3,855 Ib. (1,748-6 *£.)• 690 Ib. (313 kg.). 2,260 Ib. (1,025-1 kg.). 1,400 Ib. (635 kg.). 6,115 Ib. (2,773-7 kg.). 15-1 Ib.[sq.ft. (73-76 kg. jsq. m.). 13-6 Ib.lh.p. (6-1 kg.I c.v.). 135 m.p.h. (217 km.jhr.). 115 m.p.h. (185 km.jhr.). 54 m.p.h. (86-8 km.jhr.). 850 ft.Imin. (4 m.jsec). 15,500//. (4,724 m.) 450 miles. (724 km.). Ever ling Quantities. High Speed Figure " .. .. 15-8 Distance Figure " . . . . 4-8 A Ititude Figure " . . . . 7-5quality that has always been maintained in Curtiss aero-planes. ! Briefly described, the" Kingbird " is a high-wing, externally-braced monoplane powered by two Wright Whirlwind air-cooled engines,J-6 series, mounted in outboard nacelles beneath the wings. Since there is no engine in the nose of the fuselage, vibration,noise and petrol fumes are kept away from the cabin. Another advantage resulting from this power plant arrange-ment is that the pilot has unobstructed vision. The two Wright Whirlwind engines of 225 h.p. each give the" Kingbird " an ample reserve of dependable power and a fine performance. With full load, the ship can cruise atbetter than 115 m.p.h.. has a service ceiling of 14,700ft., and climbs 900 ft. per minute ; it can fly on eitherengine, thus reducing the hazard of having to makea forced landing to a minimum. While primarily designedfor passenger carrying, the " Kingbird," with a modifiedcabin interior, is ideal for several other types of service.Because of the reliability ot its two-engined power plant,this ship is the logical one to use for photographicwork, and also for mail and express carrying overregions in which a forced landing would be extremelyhazardous. The cabin has been de-signed to give the utmost in comfort and convenience ;the pilot sits forward on the left, with the auxiliary pilotor a passenger beside him. Since the control column isof the single-wheel type, which can be passed overfrom one pilot to the other, it is entirely out of the wayof the person occupying the right-hand front seat. Tomake this seat available for a passenger, it is necessaryonly to disconnect the auxiliary pilot's rudderpedals. Behind the pilot's compartment are seats for six passen-gers, arranged in two rows with an aisle between. Further aft is a baggage compartment and a lavatory equippedwith toilet and wash basin. The passengers' seats are reclining chairs artistically upholstered in leather, with The Gurtiss " Kingbird " : An American 8-place twin-engined cabin monoplane, fitted with two 225 h.p. Wright " Whirlwind " engines. . «; 29
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