Dayton-Wright TA-3

Dayton-Wright TA-3
Dayton-Wright Chummy
Type:	Double Decker - training aircraft
Design country:	United States
Manufacturer:	Dayton-Wright Company
First flight:	1922
Number of pieces:	13 TA-3, 1 TA-5, 20 TW-3

Three-sided elevation of the three TA-3 prototypes

The Dayton-Wright TA-3 is a biplane - trainer aircraft of the US manufacturer Dayton-Wright Company (before 1924 Dayton Wright). Further developments of the TA-3 led to the Consolidated PT-1 , the most important training aircraft in the American armed forces until the beginning of the 1930s.

history

The TA-3 is based on the Chummy sports aircraft, which was designed by Virginius E. Clark, chief designer at Dayton-Wright, and flown for the first time in 1921 . Due to the safe flight characteristics and the relatively low maintenance requirements, the USAAS quickly considered using it as a training aircraft. The Chummy also had a number of advanced design features , such as the new Clark Y- profile and a fuselage structure made of welded chrome-molybdenum tubes. The cockpit design with two seats lying next to each other was also retained in the TA-3 and TW-3. In total, only two copies of the Chummy were made.

The United States Army Air Service (USAAS) was offered the Chummy in 1921 as a replacement for the outdated Curtiss JN-4D . In 1922, the army ordered three machines equipped with 80 hp Le Rhône 9C engines, which were tested under the designation TA-3 at McCook Field . The USAAS serial numbers were 64390 to 64392. The pilots certified the aircraft as having very good flight characteristics. The airframe was also judged to be very stable; the speed and climbing ability, however, were viewed as insufficient. Dayton-Wright therefore equipped one of the three machines (64391) with a 110 hp Le Rhône B9 engine in January 1923, whereupon USAAS ordered ten new machines that had been converted in this way (USAAS serial numbers 22-266 to 22-275 ). These were delivered in 1923 and were the last new Army aircraft to be fitted with a rotary engine.

In addition, a single TA-5 (68583) was created by modifying a TW-3 with a Lawrance J-1 radial engine , which delivered an output of 220 hp. The TA-5 also received an enlarged vertical stabilizer and was mainly used to test a unicycle landing gear.

Although the army officials were satisfied with the performance of the TA-3, they saw even more powerful engines as a necessary requirement for longer-term use. Dayton-Wright therefore received an order in 1923 to build two new machines (22-226, 22-401), which were to receive a water-cooled 150 hp Wright-Hispano engine and the enlarged tail unit of the TA-5. The name changed to TW-3 (Trainer, Watercooled). To compensate for the increased weight, the span was increased by 1.45 m. After a successful test, the army placed an order for the construction of 18 series copies (23-1302 to 23-1319) in June 1923. These were from the USAAS serial no. 23-1306 from Consolidated Aircraft Corp. manufactured after the newly founded company took over the rights to the model. The drive of the series aircraft consisted of a 180 hp Wright-Hispano E. To improve the view to the front, the upper engine cowling was removed during use.

Another attempt to improve the TW-3 was the TW-8 from 1924, which for the first time received a tandem cockpit, which was then also used in the PT-1, which was produced in large numbers between 1924 and 1929. However, TW-8 was not an official USAAS designation.

Technical specifications

Parameter	TA-3	TW-3
crew	2	2
length	6.89 m	7.80 m
span	9.43 m	10.59 m
Empty mass	563 kg	772 kg
Max. Takeoff mass	796 kg	1093 kg
Top speed	136 km / h	165 km / h
Range	320 km	590 km
Engines	1 × Le Rhône 9C (80 HP) or 1 × Le Rhône B9 (110 HP) rotary engine	1 × Wright Hispano E eight-cylinder V-engine (180 PS)

See also

• List of aircraft types

literature

• ER Johnson: American Military Training Aircraft , McFarland and Co., 2015, ISBN 978-0-7864-7094-5 , pp. 45-48
• John Wegg: General Dynamics Aircraft and their Predecessors , Putnam Aeronautical, 1990, ISBN 0-85177-833-X , pp. 40-41
• John M. Andrade: US Military Aircraft Designations and Serials since 1909 , Midland Counties Publ., 1979, pp. 169, 171

Web links

Commons : Dayton-Wright TA-3 Chummy  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ The Dayton Wright "Chummy" Sport Plane . In: Aviation Week April 30, 1923, pp. 469-471
2. ↑ Side view of a civilian chummy
3. ↑ Side view of the first prototype of the TA-3 with the USAAS serial number 64390
4. ↑ 2. Prototype of the TW-3 with the USAAS serial number 22-401
5. ↑ Photo of a TW-3