General Airborne Transport XCG-16
| General Airborne Transport XCG-16A | |
|---|---|
.jpg) General Airborne XCG-16 in flight |
|
| Type: | Glider |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: |
General Airborne Transport, Inc. |
| First flight: |
Summer 1943 |
| Number of pieces: |
1 or 2 |
The General Airborne XCG-16 was the project of a cargo glider, which was designed by the American designer Harley Bowlus according to the concept of the lifting fuselage developed by Vincent Burnelli and built by General Airborne Transport.
history
The origins of the design are shown contradictingly in the literature. According to one source, the XCG-16 was a direct evolution from the previous Burnelli Project A-1. The A-1 was the entry for a tender of the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC), in which a medium-weight strategic bomber was called for. The competition was finally won by the Douglas B-18 Bolo, a derivative of the DC-3 . The A-1 was designed according to the typical Burnelli concept as a lift hull with two tail booms. She had a wingspan of 26.60 m (84 ft) but only got as far as the dummy stage .
According to a second source, Burnelli was first brought to the attention of General Arnold of the USAAC on the draft submitted by General Airborne Transport (GAT), which was very similar to his earlier drafts. Arnold asked Burnelli to license GAT to use its boost concept in order to continue the project.
It is undisputed that the aircraft was designed by Harley Bowlus in 1942, which is why the design was sometimes referred to as Bowlus-Burnelli. First, a half-scale proof-of-concept model of the planned cargo glider was created. Bowlus manufactured the test model in a former cleaning facility, after which the two-seat aircraft, which had an open cockpit, was flown in to the Muroc Salt Lake (now Edwards Air Force Base ).
During 1943 the prototype of the CG-16A was built by General Airborne Transport Inc. of Los Angeles, California. A contract for the construction of two machines was concluded with the USAAC; However, probably only one specimen was built and flown, which received the registration number NX21757. The first flight took place in the summer of 1943. In the Wright Field comparison against the flights were then Waco CG-13 performed, the XCG-16A was found in the flight performance as superior.
On September 11, 1943, a demonstration of the machine took place in front of high-ranking representatives of the US Air Force. For this purpose, ballast in the form of bags with sand and lead shot was taken on board in order to be able to simulate a flight under operational conditions. The launch took place with a Lockheed C-60 as a towing machine, but due to turbulence and a likely displacement of the ballast in the XCG-16, the pull line had to be cut. The glider then went into a flat spin from which it could no longer be intercepted. Of the seven-man crew, only Bowlus and a second person were able to parachute themselves.
As a result, a second copy was allegedly built, which was tested at Clinton Army Air Field and in Orlando , Florida . The total flight time was 34 hours, with 50 take-offs and landings being carried out under operational conditions. The fact that the XCG-16 was not accepted by the USAAF despite its good flight performance was probably due not least to the disadvantages of the design. These included, for example, the inadequate protection for the entire crew in the event of an emergency landing and the poor loading options. The contract to build further aircraft was therefore canceled on November 30, 1944.
construction
The XCG-16A was a wooden construction with a wingspan of 28.00 m and had the Burnelli-typical double tail boom. A break in the Burnelli tradition up to now was the departure from the previous tail unit construction with a double vertical tail unit towards a design with a single fin and rudder. The machine consisted mainly of plywood; the oars and flaps, however, were covered with fabric.
Designed for the transport of 40 soldiers or, alternatively, a payload of 4000 kg, the machine had a takeoff weight of 8600 kg (19,000 lb). Two compartments each measuring 4.50 x 2.10 m (15 x 7 ft) and a height between 0.75 to 1.50 m (2.5 to 5 ft) were separated by a longitudinal load-bearing bulkhead. The entrances to the holds were in the leading edge of the wing, whereby one part could be opened up or down by means of hand cranks and the lower part could be used as a loading ramp. The nose wheel landing gear was fully retractable. The two pilots sat one behind the other under a fully glazed cockpit.
Technical specifications
| Parameter | Data |
|---|---|
| crew | 2 |
| Passengers | 40 soldiers |
| length | 14.74 m (48 ft 4 in) |
| span | 28.00 m (91 ft 10 in) |
| height | 5.59 m (18 ft 4 in) |
| Wing extension | 7.4 |
| payload | 4570 kg (10,080 lb) |
| Empty mass | 4300 kg (9500 lb) |
| Takeoff mass | 8900 kg (19,580 lb) |
| Minimum speed | 93 km / h (58 mph) with flaps extended 99 km / h (62 mph) with flaps retracted |
| Top speed | 350 km / h (220 mph) |
See also
literature
- Howard Levy, Richard Riding: Burnelli's Lifting Fuselages - Part 5. in: Airplane Monthly. July 1980, ISSN 0143-7240 , p. 348ff.
- Richard Riding: Bowlus Twin Boomers. in: Airplane Monthly. May 1990, ISSN 0143-7240 , p. 268ff.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Levy, Riding: Airplane Monthly. July 1980, p. 348.
- ↑ a b Riding: Airplane Monthly. May 1990, p. 268.