Bellanca Aircruiser

Airbus/Aircruiser

Bellanca C-27C Airbus
Role	Passenger/cargo aircraft
Manufacturer	Bellanca Aircraft Corporation
Designer	Giuseppe Mario Bellanca
First flight	1930
Primary user	Private operators
Number built	23

The Bellanca Aircruiser and Airbus were high-wing, single-engine aircraft built by Bellanca Aircraft Corporation of New Castle, Delaware. The aircraft was built as a "workhorse" intended for use as a passenger or cargo aircraft. It was available with wheels, floats or skis. The aircraft was powered by either a Wright Cyclone or Pratt and Whitney Hornet engine. The Airbus and Aircruiser served as both commercial and military transports.^[1]

Design and development

The first Bellanca Airbus was built in 1930 as the P-100. An efficient design, it was capable of carrying 12 to 14 passengers depending on the cabin interior configuration, with later versions carrying up to 15. In 1931, test pilot George Haldeman flew the P-100 a distance of 4,400 miles in a time aloft of 35 hours. Although efficient, with a cost per mile figure of eight cents per mile calculated for that flight, the first Airbus did not sell due to its water-cooled engine.

Operational history

The next model, the P-200 Airbus, was powered by a larger, more reliable air-cooled engine. One version (P-200-A) came with floats and operated as a ferry service in New York City, flying between Wall Street and the East River. Other versions included a P-200 Deluxe model, with custom interiors and seating for nine. The P-300 was designed to carry 15 passengers. The final model, the "Aircruiser," was the most efficient aircraft of its day, and would rank high amongst all aircraft designs. With a Wright Cyclone air-cooled supercharged radial engine rated at 715 hp, the Aircruiser could carry a useful load greater than its empty weight. In the mid-1930s, the Aircruiser could carry 4,000 lb payloads at a speed of between 145 and 155 mph, a performance that multi-engine Fokkers and Ford Trimotors could not come close to matching.^[1]

In 1934, United States federal regulations prohibited single-engine transports on United States airlines, virtually eliminating future markets for the Aircruiser. Where the workhorse capabilities of the Aircruiser stood out was in Canada. Several of "The Flying Ws", as it was commonly dubbed in Canada, were used in northern mining operations, ferrying ore, supplies and the occasional passenger, into the 1970s.

Variants

Airbus

P-100 Airbus: 14-passenger monoplane powered by a 600 hp (447 kW) Curtiss Conqueror engine, one built, later converted into a P-200.
P-200 Airbus: 12-passenger monoplane, nine built and one converted from P-100.
P-300 Airbus: 15-seater monoplane powered by a Wright Cyclone engine.
Y1C-27: United States Army Air Corps designation for four P-200 Airbuses powered by 550 hp (410 kW) Pratt & Whitney R-1860 Hornet B engine. All later converted to C-27C.
C-27A Airbus: Production version of the Y1C-27 powered by a 650 hp (485 kW) Pratt & Whitney R-1860 Hornet B engine, ten built. One converted to a C-27B the rest converted to C-27Cs.
C-27B Airbus: One C-27A re-engined with a 675 hp R-1820-17 engine.
C-27C Airbus: Four Y1C-27s and nine of the C-27A re-engined with a 750 hp R-1820-25 engine.

Aircruiser

Aircruiser 66-67: Improved structure modified from a P-200 with a 675 hp SR-1820 Cyclone engine
Aircruiser 66-70: An Aircruiser with a 710 hp SGR-1820 Cyclone engine, five built - exported to Canada.
Aircruiser 66-75: An Aircruiser with a 730 hp Wright Cyclone engine, three built.
Aircruiser 66-76: A cargo-version of the Aircruiser with a 760 hp Wright Cyclone.
Aircruiser 66-80: An Aircruiser with an 850 hp Wright Cyclone engine.

Operators

Canada

Canadian Pacific Airlines (Aircruiser)
Central Northern Airways (Aircruiser)
Mackenzie Air Service (Aircruiser)

United States

New York and Suburban Airlines (Airbus)
United States Army Air Corps (Airbus)

Mexico
Philippines

Survivors

Bellanca Aircruiser under restoration at the Western Canada Aviation Museum, Winnipeg, 2006

The last flying Aircruiser, "CF-BTW," a 1938 model, after serving in Manitoba, is now on display at the Erickson Aircraft Collection, in Madras, Oregon.

Another Bellanca Aircruiser, "CF-AWR" named the "Eldorado Radium Silver Express", built in 1935, is under restoration at the Western Canada Aviation Museum, Winnipeg.

Specifications (66-70 Aircruiser)

General characteristics

Crew: one, pilot
Capacity: 16 passengers
Length: 43 ft 4 in (13.21 m)
Wingspan: 65 ft 0 in (19.82 m)
Height: 11 ft 6 in (3.51 m)
Wing area: 520 ft² (48.3 m²)
Empty weight: 6,072 lb (2,754 kg)
Loaded weight: 10,000 lb (4,536 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × Wright R-1820 Cyclone 9 9-cylinder supercharged air-cooled radial engine, 710 hp (530 kW)

Performance

Maximum speed: 144 knots (165 mph, 266 km/h)
Range: 608 nm (700 miles, 1,130 km)
Service ceiling: 22,000 ft (6,700 m)

References

Notes

1 2 Mondey 1978, p. 96.

Bibliography

Green, William and Gerald Pollinger. The Aircraft of the World. London: Macdonald, 1955.
Gurling, Christian, Curator. "Bellanca Aircruiser." Tillamook, Oregon: Tillamook Air Museum, 2012.
Mondey, David. The Complete Illustrated Encyclopedia of the World's Aircraft. Secaucus, New Jersey: Chartwell Books Inc, 1978. ISBN 0-89009-771-2.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bellanca Aircruiser.

www.aviabellancainc.com — AviaBellanca Aircraft Corporation
www.bellanca-aircraft.com — Alexandria Aircraft
www.wingsovercanada.ca — Bellanca's Big Birds
www.friendsofbellanca.org — Friends of Bellanca Field

Bellanca

Aircraft

Letter/letter-number designation	CD CE CF WB-2 CH-200 CH-300 CH-400 J-300

Numerical designation	14-7 14-9 14-10 14-12 14-13 14-14 14-19 17-30 17-20 19-25 28-70 28-90 28-92 28-110 31-40 31-42 31-50 31-55 66-70 66-75 77-140 77-320

Name	Airbus Aircruiser Aries Bomber Champion Citabria Cruisair Cruisemaster Decathlon Junior Pacemaker Scout Senior Pacemaker Senior Skyrocket Skyrocket Skyrocket II Standard Tandem Experimental Sesquiplane (TES) Viking

Military Designation	C-27 X-855e XSE XSOE YO-50

Companies

People

United States military transport aircraft designations, Army/Air Force and Tri-Service systems

Army/Air Force sequence (1925-1962)	C-1 C-2 C-3 C-4 C-5 C-6 C-7 C-8 C-9 C-10 C-11 C-12 C-13¹ C-14 C-15 C-16 C-17 C-18 C-19 C-20 C-21 C-22 C-23 C-24 C-25 C-26 C-27 C-28 C-29 C-30 C-31 C-32 C-33 C-34 C-35 C-36 C-37 C-38 C-39 C-40 C-41/A C-42 C-43 C-44 C-45 C-46 C-47/T C-48 C-49 C-50 C-51 C-52 C-53 C-54 C-55 C-56 C-57 C-58 C-59 C-60 C-61 C-62 C-63 C-64 C-65 C-66 C-67 C-68 C-69 C-70/A/B/C/D C-71 C-72 C-73 C-74 C-75 C-76 C-77/B-D C-78 C-79 C-80 C-81 C-82 C-83 C-84 C-85 C-86 C-87 C-88 C-89 C-90 C-91 C-92 C-93 C-94 C-95 C-96 C-97/KC-97 C-98 C-99 C-100 C-101 C-102 C-103 C-104 C-105 C-106 C-107 C-108 C-109 C-110 C-111 C-112 C-113 C-114 C-115 C-116 C-117 C-118 C-119 C-120 C-121/F C-122 C-123/A C-124 C-125 C-126 C-127 (I) C-127 (II) C-128 C-129 C-130/J C-131 C-132 C-133 C-134 C-135/KC-135 C-136 C-137 C-138¹ C-139¹ C-140 C-141 C-142

Tri-service sequence (1962-present)	C-1 C-2 C-3 C-4 C-5 C-6 C-7/B C-8 C-9 C-10 C-11 C-12 C-13¹ C-14 C-15 C-16¹ C-17 C-18 C-19 C-20A-D/F-H C-21 C-22 C-23 C-24 C-25 C-26 C-27/J C-28 C-29 C-30¹ C-31 C-32 C-33 C-34¹ C-35 C-36 C-37A/B C-38 C-39¹ C-40 C-41 C-42¹ C-43¹ C-44¹ C-45 C-46

Revived original sequence (2005-present)	C-143 C-144 C-145 C-146

Non-sequential designations	C-767 C-880

¹ Not assigned See also: AC-47 • AC-119 • AC-130 • DC-130 • EC-130 • HC-130 • KC-130 • LC-130 • MC-130 • WC-130 • CT-39 • CT-43

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