The Aeromarine 39 was an American two-seat trainer type seaplane, which was ordered by the US Navy in 1917. It was built by the Aeromarine Plane and Motor Company of Keyport, New Jersey. It was of conventional biplane configuration and construction. However, the aircraft was designed so its pontoons could be speedily detached and replaced…
The Aeronca Model 7 Champion, commonly known as the Champ or “Airknocker,” is a single-engine, two-seat, light airplane. It sports a high wing and fixed conventional landing gear. The Champ was designed for flight training and civilian use, and specifically developed to compete with the Piper Cub. It entered production in the United States in 1945,…
The Aeronca C-2 is an American ultralight monoplane that was designed by Jean A. Roche, and then built by Aeronca Aircraft. Jean A. Roche was a U.S. Army engineer at McCook Field airfield in Dayton, Ohio. The Aeronca C-2 was powered by a tiny two-cylinder engine. The C2 made its first flight in October 1929,…
The Aeronautical Corporation of America built the Aeronca C-3 as a light plane in the United States during the 1930s. The C-3’s design was a derivative of the Aeronca C-2. It was introduced in 1931 and featured side-by-side seating. The seating made flight instruction much easier, so often Aeronca pilots soloed with only five hours of…
The two-seat Aeronca C-3 was dubbed the “flying bathtub” because of its unusual fuselage shape. Following the successful C-2 Scout model, the C-3 Master was marketed as an all weather convertible, with removable door and fold-down window. The Master, inexpensive to own and operate, was popular with sportsman pilots and required only 70 feet of…
The Aeronca K was introduced in 1937, making its formal debut on the east coast at the New York Aircraft Show held in January and on the west coast at the Los Angeles Air Show in March. The plane was an immediate hit and dealers all over the country were filing orders. By November, Aeronca…
The Aeronca L was a 1930s American designed cabin type monoplane. It was built in limited numbers by Aeronca Aircraft Company. It differed significantly from other Aeronca airplane designs in that it used a radial engine powerplant, streamlining, and a cantilevered low wing. The Model L was the designation for cantilever (no external struts for…
The Beechcraft Model 18 (Twin Beech) is a 6- to 11-seat, twin-engine, low-wing, tailwheel aircraft. It was manufactured by the Beech Aircraft Corporation of Wichita, Kansas. It was produced for over 32 years, from 1937 to November 1969. Over 9,000 were built. Beechcraft sold it worldwide as a civilian executive, utility, cargo aircraft, and…
In 1935, Boeing designed a four-engine airliner based on its B-17 heavy bomber (Boeing Model 299), then in development, calling it the Model 307. It combined the wings, tail, rudder, landing gear, and engines from their production B-17C with a new, circular cross-section fuselage that allowed pressurization. The Boeing Model 307 Stratoliner was a commercial…
The Cessna 120 was an economy version of the 140 produced, which was produced simultaneously. It had the same engine as the 140, but lacked wing flaps. The rear-cabin D side windows and electrical system (radios, lights, battery and starter) were optional. A 120 outfitted with every factory option would be nearly equivalent to a…
The Curtiss Models F made up a family of early flying boats developed in the USA prior to World War I. Model Fs saw service in the United States Navy under the designations C-2 thru C-5, later reclassified to AB-2 through AB-5. These were biplane flying boats powered by a single engine in pusher configuration….
The Douglas O-2 was a 1920s American observation aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company. The Douglas O-2 was a conventional but reliable biplane, which attracted orders for 25 more aircraft: 18 O-2A equipped for night flying and six O-2B dual-control command aircraft for the US Army. Plus, there was one civil O-2BS modified for…
The Douglas O-2 was a 1920s American observation aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company. The Douglas O-2 was a conventional but reliable biplane, which attracted orders for 25 more aircraft: 18 O-2A equipped for night flying and six O-2B dual-control command aircraft for the US Army. Plus, there was one civil O-2BS modified for…
The Douglas O-38 was designed as an observation airplane and used by the United States Army Air Corps. Between 1931 and 1934, Douglas built 156 O-38s for the Air Corps, eight of which were O-38Fs. Some were still in service at the time of the Pearl Harbor Attack in 1941. The O-38 is a modernized…
The Etrich Taube, also known by the names of the various manufacturers, such as the Rumpler Taube, was a pre-World War I monoplane aircraft. It was the first military aircraft to be mass-produced in Germany. The Taube was very popular prior to the First World War, and was used by the air forces of Italy…
The Fairchild FC-1 and its derivatives were a family of light, single-engine-powered, high-wing utility monoplanes produced in the United States in the 1920s and 1930s. The FC-1 was originally designed to provide a camera platform for Sherman Fairchild s aerial photography and survey business, Fairchild Aerial Surveys. Fairchild had approached a number of aircraft builders…