Burnelli CBY-3
| Burnelli CBY-3 Loadmaster | |
|---|---|
 CBY-3 at the New England Air Museum |
|
| Type: | Commercial and transport aircraft |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: |
Canadian Car & Foundry Co. |
| First flight: |
July 17, 1945 |
| Number of pieces: |
1 |
The Burnelli CBY-3 Loadmaster was a commercial and transport aircraft from the US designer Vincent Burnelli , which was manufactured by the Canadian company Canadian Car & Foundry. The CBY-3 was Burnelli's last attempt to turn his idea of the lifting fuselage into a commercially successful product. The name was derived from the names of the three partners involved in the project. CanCar, Burnelli and Lowell Yerex , "3" stood for the number of partners. Lowell Yerex was a New Zealander who founded the airline Transportes Aéreos Centroamericanos TACA in 1931 in Honduras. He joined the project after Burnelli convinced him that he could make good use of the CBY-3 in his company.
history
Cancargo Aircraft Manufacturing Company, a subsidiary of Canadian Car & Foundry , built and tested the CBY-3 in 1945. It was specially designed for use in harsh conditions such as bush and jungle use. The first flight took place on July 17, 1945 at Cartierville Airport in Quebec (Canada), the aircraft had the aircraft registration CF-BEL-X.
Since no orders were received after the extended test flights, the machine and the construction rights were sold to Airlifts Inc. in Miami and then bore the registration number N17N. In the following years the Loadmaster changed hands several times and was also flown for some time in Venezuela with Rutas Aereas Nacionales SA with the registration YV-X-ERC.
The CBY-3 then returned to the USA, after being converted to Wright R-2600 engines, it flew for the Burnelli Avionics Corporation and was stationed at the Friendship International Airport in Baltimore . A mission on a polar expedition was even planned, for which the machine was specially equipped. However, the operation was not carried out.
Concept of the buoyancy hull
The CBY-3 is to be seen as a consequent continuation of the construction line of the previous Burnelli designs, especially the UB-14 . All Burnelli designs were based on the concept of the lifting fuselage. He used it to describe a wide fuselage, shaped like a wing profile in the longitudinal section, which allowed a very generously dimensioned cabin and the transport of bulky loads. The fuselage also contributed significantly to the aircraft's overall lift. The engines and landing gear could also be accommodated in the fuselage.
construction
The wings were an all-metal construction with two spars that ran through the fuselage and were swept back in the area of the outer wings. In addition to the usual wing flaps, there was an auxiliary flap under the fuselage. The fuselage was also made of all-metal construction. Two tail booms carried the tail unit with a high-mounted horizontal tail that protruded over the tail girder. The three elevators were arranged between and outside the girders.
The main landing gear retracted forward into the engine pods, while the retractable double-tyred tail wheel was housed in the fuselage.
Initially, the Loadmaster was equipped with two 14-cylinder Pratt & Whitney R-1830 radial engines, each with an output of 880 kW (1200 hp). The distance between the two propeller circles was only 40 cm (16 inches). The wing tanks contained 2830 l (750 US gal). The large hull could accommodate either 22 passengers and 2 crew members or corresponding cargo in the 19.9 m³ (700 cu.ft.) hold. Cargo up to 6.1 m (20 ft.) In length could be loaded through the two large cargo doors on each side. With slight modifications, a car should supposedly also have been able to be transported. The cabin had dimensions of 6.10 m (20 ft) x 7.90 m (26 ft) and was 2.13 m high at the highest point. In the cargo configuration, a volume of 58 m³ could be used in the hold. As with the other Burnellon designs, the cockpit was in the leading edge of the wing between the two engines and offered a very good view ahead and a good chance of survival in the event of an accident. A toilet and kitchen were located in the rear of the fuselage.
Whereabouts
After Burnelli's death in 1964, his widow secured the aircraft for the Connecticut Aeronautical Historical Association. The only remaining Burnelli aircraft is on display today at the New England Air Museum in Windsor Locks , Connecticut. The museum plans to fully rebuild the CBY-3, which has been parked outdoors for many years, for a static presentation in a hall. The two missing R-2600 engines are to be replaced with ones from museum holdings.
Technical specifications
| Parameter | Data |
|---|---|
| crew | 2 (captain and copilot) |
| Passengers | 22nd |
| length | 16.4 m (53 ft 11 in) |
| span | 26 m (85 ft 5.5 in) |
| height | 6.3 m (20 ft 8 in) |
| Wing area | 102.83 m² (1106.9 sqft) |
| Empty mass | 7675 kg (16,900 lb) |
| Takeoff mass | 12,270 kg (27,000 lb) |
| Service ceiling | 7,300 m (24,000 ft) |
| Top speed | 382 km / h (237 mph) |
| Cruising speed | 275 km / h (170 mph) |
| Range | 1650 km (1025 ml) |
| Engines | 2 × air-cooled radial engines Pratt & Whitney Twin-Wasp R-1830 with 880 kW (1200 PS) each |
See also
literature
- Howard Levy & Richard Riding: Burnelli's Lifting Fuselages - Part 5 , Airplane Monthly July 1980, p. 348 ff.
Web links
- Photos and description of the CBY-3 (accessed February 8, 2018)
- On the flight behavior of the CBY-3 (accessed on February 8, 2018)
Individual evidence
- ^ Reprint from Flight Magazine and the Aircraft Engineer, December 1935 on the concept of the lift hull
- ^ Last Burnelli to come in from the cold . In: Airplane Monthly April 2014, p. 10