Davis-Douglas Cloudster

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Davis-Douglas Cloudster
Davis Douglas Cloudster - original configuration
Type: Record aircraft, airliner
Design country:

United StatesUnited States United States

Manufacturer:

Davis-Douglas Company

First flight:

February 24, 1921

Number of pieces:

1

The Davis-Douglas Cloudster was the only aircraft made by the American manufacturer Davis-Douglas . The single-engine biplane was built to attempt the first non-stop flight across the United States.

history

In June 1920, Donald Wills Douglas began designing the Cloudster, alone in a back room of a hair salon. Soon after, his partner David R. Davis joined him and five months later another five former colleagues of Douglas of the Glenn L. Martin Company : George Borst, Ross Elkins, James Goodyear, Henry Guerin and George Strompf.

In Los Angeles , construction of the machine began on the second floor of a warehouse in the Koll Planing Mill. After completion, the fuselage, wings and tail unit were transported by truck to Goodyear Field, in whose airship hangar the Cloudster was assembled.

The aircraft was given the serial number 100 (Douglas did not use a smaller one) and it was completed by the spring of 1921. Shortly afterwards, Eric Springer made the first short “hop”, which ended in a crash landing. After the repair, the actual first flight took place on February 24, 1921, which lasted 30 minutes. On March 19, 1921, the Cloudster reached an altitude of 5840 meters.

The record attempt

At the beginning of June they were ready to cross the USA. The flight was to begin at March Field in Riverside, California and end at Curtiss Field on Long Island, New York.

The plane was refueled and they wanted to take off in the early morning hours, but fog came up. When the fog cleared on June 27, 1921, Springer and Davis started at 6:00 a.m. At noon they were 1,830 meters above Tucson , Arizona. We went on to El Paso , Texas which they reached at 3:45 pm. But soon the engine failed due to a gearbox damage. There was an emergency landing in Fort Bliss , Texas.

Later use

Three weeks later the machine was repaired and returned to March Field, where it was to be prepared for a new attempt. During this time David Davis lost interest in the project and the small team started working on the DT project.

After on 2/3 May 1923 Lieutenant Kelly and Maccready had carried out the first successful long-haul flight from New York City to San Diego in an Air Services Fokker T-2 , the Cloudster was sold to T. Kinney and B. Brodsky, who used it for sightseeing flights over the seaside resort of Venice , Wanted to use California. It was modified for this and could now accommodate five passengers in open seats. The front two passenger areas were where the fuel tanks were originally installed. Later on, four passengers each could be accommodated in these two compartments, i.e. a total of 10 people, but this did not prove to be particularly successful. In 1925 the machine was sold to T. Claude Ryan, who wanted to use it for passenger flights on the Los Angeles - San Diego route. During a landing the aircraft was damaged on one of these flights.

Douglas repaired the wing and Ryan rebuilt the machine with a closed passenger cabin. Five people sat in a row in a central aisle. The exhaust system has also been modified. After the renovation, passenger flights between Los Angeles and San Diego were resumed. The machine was later used for so-called "beer transports".

On Christmas 1926, pilot JJ Harrignan had an accident while attempting an emergency landing on Ensenada Beach , Baja California . However, the machine got close to the water and he couldn't stop it, so the cloudster slipped into the water. The pilot and his passenger were able to escape unharmed from the machine.

construction

The Cloudster was a single-engine double - decker with a 400-horsepower Liberty engine. The front fuselage was constructed in wood and was clad in plywood. Here the engine and the radiator were installed, the lower part of which protruded from the fuselage. The rear of the fuselage, the tail unit and the wings were made of wood and covered with fabric. Behind the engine were two fuel tanks, which together held 2,498 liters, which should be enough for a distance of 4500 km. The oil tank held 189 liters. The machine had two open pilot seats that were behind the wings.

Technical specifications

Parameter Data
crew 2, after conversion 1
Passengers 0, after modification 10
length 11.20 m
span 17.04 m
height 3.66 m
Takeoff mass 4,354 kg
Cruising speed 137 km / h
Top speed 193 km / h
Flight duration 3 hours
Range 885 km (for a long-distance record 4,505 km)
Engines a 12-cylinder V-engine Liberty L-12 with 400 hp
Power load 10.9 kg / hp

See also

literature

  • René J. Francillon: McDonnell Douglas Aircraft since 1920 . Putnam, London 1979, ISBN 0-370-00050-1 .

Web links