Hello everyone
I thought share the story of my "vintage" small plane that may be interesting to someone who want to read it.
I know few in Australia and New Zealand. (In my post presentation I put pictures of them.)
Here I wanted to present the story of the first plane spinning incapable, first plane without rudder pedals
and first aircraft with tricycle landing gear
The Ercoupe was the first aircraft certified by the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) as "characteristically incapable of spinning." The high-winged General Skyfarer obtained the second certification by licensing the ERCO technology.[7] The first production Ercoupe, serial no. 1, NC15692 built in 1939 was donated to the National Air and Space Museum. In 1941 that aircraft, designated YO-55, was used inUS Army Air Force testing.
In 1931, aeronautical engineer Fred Weick was assistant chief of the aeronautics division of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). In 1934 he asked permission to build an aircraft based on the 1931 Stout Skycar, using fabric instead of aluminum covering, and control modifications based on NACA research. Weick and a group of co-workers designed and assembled the experimental aircraft with a group of his colleagues who worked on the project in their spare time and paid for it themselves. The resulting aircraft, known as the W-1, featured tricycle landing gear, a parasol wing, and a pusher propeller configuration.
Fred Weick listed the W1 design goals that were tested in later seminars:
Tricycle landing gear with castering nosewheel, steerable if desired
Suitable longitudinal and lateral stability with limited up-elevator deflection, to prevent loss of control due to stalling and spinning.
A glide-control flap
Two-control operation using controls for pitch and roll.
In 1934 the Bureau of Air Commerce approached Weick's team looking for standards for a competition for a safe and practical $700 aircraft. In 1936 the winner of the competition was the Stearman-Hammond Y-1, incorporating many of the safety features of the W-1. Two other winners were the Waterman Aeroplane and a roadable autogyro, the Autogiro Company of America AC-35. The W-1 was not intended for production to qualify as a competitor, but was purchased by the Bureau for continued experimental tests in spin-control safety.After the prototype W-1 underwent a forced landing, an updated W-1A was built by Fairchild, incorporating leading edge cuffs.
Weick left NACA in 1936 and joined ERCO's fledgling aircraft team as chief designer, primarily to continue improving his aircraft design. Focusing his efforts on a number of design issues, primarily simplicity and safety, Weick strove to create a reasonably priced aircraft that would not stall or spin.[citation needed] Retaining the tricycle gear for ease of maneuvering on the ground, and limited stall-spin features, Weick switched to a low-wing monoplane configuration in his new model, powered by an engine in tractor configuration.
The two-seat ERCO Ercoupe 415 went on sale in 1940. LIFE magazine described the aircraft as "nearly foolproof" and showed pictures of a pilot landing with his hands in the air. Only 112 units were delivered before World War II intervened, halting all civil aircraft production. By mid-1941 aluminum supplies were being diverted to war-related production, so ERCO decided to manufacture Ercoupes for military use by using wood as the principal building material. The substitution of wood resulted in a heavier but quieter aircraft, because the wood absorbed vibrations from the engine and airflow. Ercoupes were flown during the war by the Civilian Pilot Training Program for flight instruction, and the Civil Air Patrol used them to patrol for German submarines.
Postwar sale
A full-page Ercoupe advertisement, February 1946
Although World War II had interrupted production of the Ercoupe, general aviation manufacturers were enthusiastic about the prospects of a postwar aviation boom. Thousands of men and women were trained as pilots by the government, and the hope was that they would want to include flying in their civilian life. Production of the model 415-C resumed in 1945, and in 1946 alone 4,311 aircraft were produced and sold at a cost of US$2,665. This was the same price as in 1941. At its peak, ERCO was turning out 34 Ercoupes per day, operating three shifts per day. The aircraft was aggressively marketed through unconventional outlets such as the men's department of the Macy's department store chain.