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Aviation History
1943
1943 - 1033.PDF
APRIL 22ND, 1943 heir Characteristics VULTEE VIGILANT (O-49A) BLUNT NOSE LOW TAILPLANE FIXED. UNFAIRED UNDERCARRIACE ROUNDED TIPS DIMENSIONS Span Length Height Wing area .. 50ft. II in. .. 34ft. .. 10ft. ton. .. 329 sq.ft. AMONG the lighter types of American aircraft in servicewith the R.A.F., the Vultee Vigilant may be com-L pared operationally with the Fieseler Storch,. though it has an appreciably higher top speed at 122 m.p.h. than has its German rival. Known in the U.S. Army Air Force as the O-49A, the Vigilant—a Stinson design—is definitely outside the Grass hopper class (although it also has a'very low landing speed of 31 m.p.h.) inasmuch as it is powered by a Lycoming air- cooled radial engine rated at 280 h.p., with 295 h.p. at 2,300 r.p.m. for take-off. Actually its weight is some three times that of a Grasshopper and its overall dimen- sions are very much greater. Designed to a specification for a two-seater short-range- Army Co-operation aircraft for contact work with infantry, the Vigilant is fitted with high-lift slots along the entire leading-edge of the wing and plain hinged trailing-edge flaps. The high, strut-braced wings are built up of alumin- ium alloy spars and ribs and covered from the leading-edge to the front spar with light aluminium alloy skin, the rest being fabric covered. The fuselage. which provides excellent visibility in almost every direction* is constructed of welded steel and is fabric covered, the same system being also applied to the tail- plane. It has a cruising speed of 108 m.p.h., climbs at 1,160ft./min., has a range of 350 miles and a service ceiling of 20,000ft. In common with its smaller relative, the Grasshopper, no armament is carried, as it is only intended for rearward communications where it is pre- sumed the sky will be free from enemy aircraft. Its speed range is excellent, and it can take off with a 75 yd. run, clear a 50ft. obstacle in 130 yds., and has a landing run of less than 50 yds. First produced in 1940 for the U.S. Army Air Force, the Vigilant was the first Stinson design for military purposes, so it is not surprising that it bears many of the character- istics of the long line of Stinson civil monoplanes in its design. The first Vigilants for the R.A.F. reached this country in the autumn of 1941, and to these have been added those with the U.S. Army squadrons over here, so that altogether there is a considerable number of the type flying about Gieat Britain at the present time.
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