Aeronca C-2
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The Aeronca C-2, powered by a tiny two-cylinder engine, debuted in 1929. It was flying at its most basic—the pilot sat on a bare plywood board. Originally known as the Roche Original after designer Jean A. Roche (who sold the design rights to Aeronca Aircraft), the C-2 featured an unusual, almost frivolous design with an open-pod fuselage that inspired its nickname, “The Flying Bathtub.”
Equipped with only five instruments, a stick, and rudder pedals (brakes and a heater cost extra), the C-2 was priced at a low $1,495, bringing the cost of flying down to a level that a private citizen could aspire to and perhaps reach. Aeronca sold 164 of the economical C-2s at the height of the Great Depression in 1930-1931, helping to spark the growth of private aviation in the United States.
The Aeronca C-2 also holds the distinction of being the first aircraft to be refueled from a moving automobile. A can of gasoline was handed up from a speeding Austin automobile to a C-2 pilot (who hooked it with a wooden cane) during a 1930 air show in California. A seaplane version of the C-2 was also offered, designated the PC-2 and PC-3 (“P” for pontoon) with floats replacing the wheeled landing gear.
[edit] Specifications (C-2)
Data from Aeronca C-2: The Story of the Flying Bathtub[1]
General characteristics
- Crew: 1
- Length: 20 ft (6.10 m)
- Wingspan: 36 ft (10.98 m)
- Height: 7 ft 6 in (2.28 m)
- Wing area: 142.2 ft² (13.2 m²)
- Empty weight: 406 lbs (184 kg)
- Powerplant: 1× Aeronca E-107A , 26 hp ()
Performance
- Maximum speed: 80 mph (128 km/h)
- Cruise speed: 65 mph (104 km/h)
- Stall speed: 31 mph (50 km/h)
- Range: 240 mi (384 km)
- Service ceiling: 16,500 ft (5032 m)
- Wing loading: 4.92 lb/ft² (24 kg/m²)
[edit] References
- ^ Spenser, Jay P. (1978). Aeronca C-2: The Story of the Flying Bathtub. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, p. 71. ISBN 0874748798.
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