Spartan C3
| Spartan C3 | |
|---|---|
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| Role | Open cockpit biplane |
| National origin | United States |
| Manufacturer | Spartan Aircraft Company |
| Designer | Willis C. Brown[1] |
| First flight | 25 October 1926 |
| Introduction | 1928 |
| Status | retired |
| Number built | approx 122[2] |
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The Spartan C3 is an American three-seat open-cockpit utility biplane from the late 1920s.
Development
The privately developed prototype to the C3 series first flew on 25 October 1926, originally powered with a stationary radial engine modified in the US from a 120 hp (89 kW) le Rhône 9J rotary engine called a Super LeRhône.[3][4][5] The use of various engines was anticipated from the start, although the planned Hispano-Wright E-2 water-cooled V-8 engine was never used and only radial-engine powered versions were flown.
Despite the low power engine, the type showed sufficient promise to warrant the formation of the Mid-Continent Aircraft Company in Tulsa, Oklahoma to produce it, which would in turn be reorganized after being bought out as the Spartan Aircraft Company in 1928.[4][3]
The search for a suitable powerplant led to a number of different engines being installed. When production started, the Ryan-Siemens radial engine was chosen, however production of that engine stalled due to the worsening economic situation in Germany, where it was manufactured.[4] The next engine chosen, the Fairchild Caminez was found to be extremely unreliable, leading to the use of the more successful Walter NZ 120.[6]
The Axelson A, Comet 7-E and Curtiss Challenger were also offered, but they were not successful engines.
While the Walter was fitted to a significant number of the earlier airframes, it was never a popular engine in the United States and eventually the Wright Whirlwind supplanted it.
The C3s fuselage and empennage were built up from welded steel tubes, faired with wood battens. The wings were wood, and most of the airframe was covered in fabric. It had with two open cockpits which could accommodated three people.
The prototype had a conventional undercarriage similar to those used on most World War One aircraft, with a pair of vees braced from the lower longerons, connected with a spreader bar. This was replaced with a split axle undercarriage on the C3-1 and C3-2, which had the legs braced to opposite longerons. From the C3-3 onwards, each undercarriage leg was triangulated with two struts braced to a central keel in the bottom of the fuselage, and one to the upper longeron, providing a greater range of movement and reducing camber changes.[7]
The redesign of the undercarriage, and numerous other details coincided with the chief designer's visit to Europe to arrange for the use of the Siemens-Halske engine and had not been approved by him. He considered them unnecessary, and the fight over these changes led to his departure from the company.[7]
The keel used to brace the undercarriage on the C3-3 and later models coincided with a deepening of the fuselage, with additional fairing strips added, including to the underside of the fuselage. A headrest would also be added for the rear cockpit.
The ultimate variant was the C3-225, which was fitted with a much more powerful 225 hp (168 kW) Wright J-6-7 Whirlwind 7 cylinder radial engine, and it was given a larger fin and a greatly enlarged fuel tank in the wing center section.[8]
Operational history
The C3 was used primarily by flight schools for flying training, including the Spartan School of Aeronautics. [9] Other firms utilised the aircraft's ability to carry two passengers for barnstorming flights, the type was popular for shuttling crews around the oil fields, while some were used as air taxis.[8] A C3-2 fitted with a large fuel tank in the front cockpit demonstrated its reliability by being flown non-stop from Walkersville, Ontario in Canada to Key West, Florida, a distance of (1,220 mi (1,960 km)) in 17.5 hours in November 1928.[10]
The Fuerza Aerea Mexicana purchased 4 C3-120s in 1933 along with 6 of the later Spartan C2-175 monoplanes[11], and 5 other examples were exported to Mexico for commercial and private use[12], and at least one was operated by Aeronautica del Sur.[13] A single C3-225 was exported to Argentina[14], and both a C3-120 and a C3-225 went to Chile[15].
Survivors and aircraft on display
Five C3s survive, four in the United States, and one in Germany as of 2020, of which at least three were airworthy.
- msn 99 C3-120 N271K, privately owned, registered in Dubuque, Iowa, but stored pending restoration and replacement of engine[16]
- msn 120 C3-165 NC285M, on static display in the hangars at the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome in Poughkeepsie, New York.
- msn 149 C3-165 NC705N, airworthy example, privately owned in Howards Grove, Wisconsin[16]
- msn A-12 C3-225 NC718N, airworthy and on display at the EAA AirVenture Museum in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.[2] This aircraft was first operated by Halliburton as an aerial taxi on the oil fields, then sold to a private owner, then it went to the Spartan School of Aeronautics (which still exists) to provide flight training briefly before going to the Oklahoma Military Academy, who then passed it on to the Union Cotton Oil in 1940. They quickly resold it a month later to the Burnham and Miller Flying Service which used it during World War Two training pilots in the Civilian Pilot Training Program (CPTP). In 1948 it was modified for towing banners until being stored in 1953. It was restored in 2003-2004 to flying condition and subsequently donated to the museum.[9]
- msn A-14 C3-225 N720N, airworthy as of 2020 and listed in the Spartan College of Aeronautics and Technology fleet.[17] This aircraft was donated to the Tulsa Air and Space Museum where it was displayed from 1998 until 2007. An extensive restoration from 2007 to 2011 subsequently returned it to flying status.[18]
Variants
(data from http://www.aerofiles.com)
- C3
- 120 hp (89 kW) Super Le Rhône radial engine - prototype, 1 built[5]
- C3-1 (Approved Type Certificate (ATC) 71)
- 125 hp (93 kW) Ryan-Siemens Sh-14 7 cylinder radial - 15+ built[19][note 1]
- C3-2 (redesignated C3-120) (ATC 73)
- 120 hp (89 kW) Walter NZ 120 9 cylinder radial - 35 C3-2 and C3-120 built, including one converted from C3-1[10]
- C3-3 (ATC 2-77)
- 170 hp (130 kW) Curtiss Challenger 6 cylinder radial - 8 built
- C3-4 (ATC 2-78)
- 115 hp (86 kW)-150 Axelson A 7 cylinder radial - 2 built
- C3-5 (redesignated C3-165) (ATC 195)
- 165 hp (123 kW) Wright J-6-5 Whirlwind 5 cylinder radial - 45 built[7]
- C3-166 (ATC 290)
- 165 hp (123 kW) Comet 7-E 7 cylinder radial - 1 converted from C3-165[20]
- C3-225 (ATC 286)
- 225 hp (168 kW) Wright J-6-7 Whirlwind 7 cylinder radial - 14 built[8]
Specifications (Spartan C3-165)
Data from Juptner, 1964, pp.276-278
General characteristics
- Crew: One
- Capacity: Two
- Length: 23 ft 10 in (7.26 m)
- Upper wingspan: 32 ft 0 in (9.75 m)
- Upper wing chord: 60 in (1.52 m)
- Upper wing dihedral: 0°[5]
- Lower wingspan: 32 ft 0 in (9.75 m)
- Lower wing chord: 60 in (1.52 m)
- Lower wing dihedral: 2°[5]
- Height: 8 ft 10 in (2.69 m)
- Wing area: 291 sq ft (27.0 m2)
- Airfoil: Clark Y
- Empty weight: 1,650 lb (748 kg)
- Gross weight: 2,618 lb (1,188 kg)
- Maximum load: 968 lb (439 kg)
- Fuel capacity: 65 US gal (250 L; 54 imp gal)
- Oil capacity: 6.5 US gal (25 L; 5.4 imp gal)
- Undercarriage track: 83 in (2.11 m)
- Powerplant: 1 × Wright J-6-5 Whirlwind 5 cylinder air-cooled radial engine, 165 hp (123 kW)
- Propellers: 2-bladed metal fixed-pitch Hartzell propeller[5]
Performance
- Maximum speed: 118 mph (190 km/h, 103 kn)
- Cruise speed: 100 mph (160 km/h, 87 kn)
- Stall speed: 47 mph (76 km/h, 41 kn)
- Range: 600 mi (970 km, 520 nmi)
- Service ceiling: 12,000 ft (3,700 m)
- Time to altitude:
- 1 minute to 800 ft (240 m)
- 10 minutes to 6,900 ft (2,100 m)
See also
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
- American Eagle A-101
- Brunner-Winkle Bird
- Buhl-Verville CA-3 Airster
- Parks P-1
- Pitcairn Mailwing
- Stearman C2
- Stearman C3
- Swallow New Swallow
- Travel Air 4000
- Waco 10
References
Notes
- ^ Some sources suggest over 100 of the Ryan-Siemens powered C3s were built, however surviving records do not bear this out, per Juptner, 1964, p.278.
Citations
- ^ Juptner, 1966, pp.256-257
- ^ a b Simpson, 2001, p. 517
- ^ a b Bowers, 1976, p.67
- ^ a b c Juptner, 1962, p.182
- ^ a b c d e LePage, 28 February 1927, pp.421-422
- ^ Juptner, 1962, pp.181-182
- ^ a b c Juptner, 1964, pp.276-278
- ^ a b c Juptner, 1964, pp.243-245
- ^ a b "1930 Spartan C3-225 - NC718N". Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA). Retrieved 13 March 2020.
- ^ a b Juptner, 1962, p.186-187
- ^ Hagedorn, 2006, p.41
- ^ Pentland, Andrew (26 June 2010). "Golden Years of Aviation - Civil Aircraft Register - Mexico". www.airhistory.org.uk. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
- ^ Hirschauer, L.; Dollfus, C.H. (1930). L'anne/e ae/ronautique 1929-1930 (in French). Paris: Dunod Editeur. p. 211.
- ^ Pentland, Andrew (26 June 2010). "Golden Years of Aviation - Civil Aircraft Register - Argentina". www.airhistory.org.uk. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
- ^ Pentland, Andrew (26 June 2010). "Golden Years of Aviation - Civil Aircraft Register - Chile". www.airhistory.org.uk. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
- ^ a b "FAA Registry Make/Model Inquiry Results". Retrieved 10 March 2020.
- ^ "Spartan College of Aeronautics and Technology - Our Fleet". www.spartan.edu. 2020. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
- ^ Henson, Dennis. "Spartan C3 – Restored Beauty by Dennis Henson". www.spartan.edu. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
- ^ Juptner, 1962, p.180-182
- ^ Juptner, 1966, pp.256-257
Bibliography
- Bowers, Peter M. (July 1976). "The Spartan C3". The AOPA Pilot. p. 67.
- Eckland, K. O. (6 October 2007). "Spartan". Aerofiles.com. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - Hagedorn, Dan (2006). Latin American Air Wars 1912-1969. Crowborough, UK: Hikoki Publications. p. 41. ISBN 978-1902109442.
- Juptner, Joseph P. (1962). U.S. Civil Aircraft Vol. 1 (ATC 1 - 100). Los Angeles, CA: Aero Publishers, Inc. pp. 180-182 & 186-187. LCCN 62-15967.
- Juptner, Joseph P. (1964). U.S. Civil Aircraft Vol. 2 (ATC 101 - 200). Los Angeles, CA: Aero Publishers, Inc. pp. 276–278. LCCN 62-15967.
- Juptner, Joseph P. (1966). US Civil Aircraft: Vol. 3 (ATC 201 - 300). Fallbrook, CA: Aero Publishers. pp. 243-245 & 256-257. LCCN 62-15967.
- LePage, W. L., ed. (28 February 1927). "The Spartan C3 Commercial Plane". Aviation Week. Vol. XXII, no. 9. Gardner Publishing Co. pp. 421–422.
- Peek, Chet (1994). The Spartan Story. Aviation Heritage. ISBN 978-0943691169.
- Simpson, Rod (2001). Airlife's World Aircraft. Airlife Publishing Ltd. ISBN 1-84037-115-3.
External links
