Dayton-Wright TA-3
Dayton-Wright TA-3 | |
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Dayton-Wright Chummy |
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Type: | Double Decker - training aircraft |
Design country: | |
Manufacturer: |
Dayton-Wright Company |
First flight: |
1922 |
Number of pieces: |
13 TA-3, 1 TA-5, 20 TW-3 |
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The United States Army Air Service (USAAS) was offered the Chummy in 1921 as a replacement for the outdated Curtiss JN-4D .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 |
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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
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
Individual evidence
- ↑ The Dayton Wright "Chummy" Sport Plane . In: Aviation Week April 30, 1923, pp. 469-471
- ↑ Side view of a civilian chummy
- ↑ Side view of the first prototype of the TA-3 with the USAAS serial number 64390
- ↑ 2. Prototype of the TW-3 with the USAAS serial number 22-401
- ↑ Photo of a TW-3