General Aviation PJ

General Aviation PJ
PJ-1 Arcturus off Miami, 1934
Type:	Flying boat
Design country:	United States
Manufacturer:	General Aviation Corporation
First flight:	Late 1931
Commissioning:	April 16, 1932
Production time:	1932
Number of pieces:	5

The General Aviation PJ , also known as the Fokker AF-15 or Fokker FLB , was a twin-engine flying boat that was in service with the United States Coast Guard . It was the last draft of the Fokker Aircraft Corporation of America before the name change to the General Aviation Corporation and the first aircraft that had been specially designed for the needs of the USCG.

Emergence

After the positive experience with the Loening OL flying boats , the US Coast Guard decided to procure additional flying boats that should be specially designed for rescue operations on the open sea. In 1931 a tender for a Flying Lifeboat (FLB) was published. Of the eight competing companies, the Fokker Aircraft Corporation of America was awarded the contract with its design AF-15 ( American Fokker Model 15 ). General Motors had already held 41% of the shares in this company since 1929 and took it over completely in 1931, which is why the name was changed to General Aviation Corporation .

The first flight of the Fokker FLB took place at the end of 1931. As early as April 16, 1932, the US Coast Guard took over the first of five aircraft ordered, which was christened Antares and numbered FLB-51. The other four machines ( Altair , Acrux , Acamar and Arcturus or FLB-52 to FLB-55) were delivered in the same year. Three of the machines went to Cape May and two to Miami .

The designation of the aircraft type was later changed to PJ-1 . The numbering of the individual machines has also changed; for example, the Acrux was given the V-113 instead of the FLB-53.

description

The Fokker FLB was a shoulder- wing monoplane with two engines. In order to achieve the best possible protection against splash water, these were arranged above the wing and each equipped with a pusher propeller .

The all-metal hull had three watertight bulkheads to keep the machine buoyant even in the event of a leak . The wings were made of wood, the ailerons made of corrugated iron and the tail unit made of steel framework with fabric covering.

The FLB was not a real amphibious aircraft , so it could not operate directly from land. However, it had a simple, retractable tail wheel landing gear , which allowed it to get into the water and back on land independently via a ramp.

The injured could be taken into the bow of the flying boat with the help of a special frame from lifeboats .

Technical specifications

Parameter	General Aviation PJ-1 data
crew	4th
Passengers	7th
length	16.39 m
span	22.61 m
Wing area	70 m²
height	4.73 m
Empty mass	3180 kg
Takeoff mass	5090 kg
drive	two Pratt & Whitney R-1340C-1 Wasp with 420 PS (309 kW)
Top speed	193-208 km / h
Landing speed	104 km / h
Range	1770 km
Service ceiling	2745 m

modification

The first machine was converted to conventional pull propellers at the Naval Aircraft Factory in Philadelphia in 1933 . The two engines were exchanged for more powerful Pratt & Whitney R-1690s , each with 500 hp (368 kW). Although the machine, now known as the PJ-2 , was almost 30 km / h faster and also had a slightly larger range, it remained a one-off.

commitment

The PJ were not only used as sea rescue aircraft, but also as patrol aircraft, for example to combat smugglers .

Due to the high level of use, the five machines showed considerable signs of wear, which is why the first of them had to be taken out of service as early as 1937. The remaining four followed in 1940 and 1941.

Picture gallery

• 

  Acamar (above), Arcturus (below), and a Douglas RD-1 as they greet a new USCG patrol boat in Miami

• 

  Antares taking over an injured person

• 

  An injured man is loaded from the Altair

• 

  Arcturus in front of the hangar in Miami

Web links

Commons : General Aviation PJ  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• FOR COAST GUARD SERVICE: An American Flying Lifeboat in: Flight , August 24, 1933 (PDF)
• Flying Lifeboats in: Popular Science , December 1937

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} flying lifeboat , in: Flug Revue 06/2019
2. ^ The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Directory of Airplanes their Designers and Manufacturers , ed. Dana Bell, Greenhill Books Ltd., London 2002, ISBN 1-85367-490-7