The Paterson-Francis Twin-Tractor of 1913 was a two-place open cockpit biplane. It was powered by Hall-Scott V-8 with two chain-driven props. A developed version of the 1912 Fowler-Gage, the plane’s components were designed and built in San Francisco by Francis, then shipped to Cicero IL for assembly. It crashed on its test flight and disappeared soon afterwards, either stolen or vandalized.
A flying boat with the engine mounted in the front of the (boat) fuselage, driving two tractor propellers via chains. Roy Noel Francis was a designer and aviator who in 1913 founded the Paterson-Francis Aviation Company. Charles Paterson was probably the financier. The machine was built in 1913 for the Great Lakes Reliability Tour. It apparently did survive the Great Lakes event and is reported to have been packed up by Francis and sent home, but nothing seems to be mentioned afterward. Around the same time, Paterson was reportedly building a monoplane flying boat.
The 1911 Paterson No. 2 biplane was designed by C. C. Paterson and built by Liverpool Motor House Ltd in the UK.
The 1913 Paterson No. 2bis sea-biplane was designed by C. C. Paterson and built by Liverpool Motor House Ltd in the UK.
Paterson No. 2 biplane
Span: 32′
Length: 32’9″
Weight: 750 lb
1913 Paterson No. 2bis sea-biplane
Span: 32′
Length: 32’9″
The 1911 Paterson biplane was designed by C.C. Paterson, and built by Paterson Aviation Syndicate (Kimberly) in South Africa.
Illustrated is a reproduction in SAAF Museum.
The tractor Trainer two place open cockpit biplane of 1913 was powered by an 80hp Smith radial.
The Partridge-Keller Bi-Plane aka “Looper” was built in 1914 especially for Katherine Stinson for her exhibition flights in North American and the Orient.
At first the two place open cockpit biplane was powered by an 80hp Gnôme rotary and had an uncovered fuselage. Later, power was changed to an 80hp Smith 6-cylinder radial and the fuselage covered with fabric.
Built for sportsman-pilot Joseph Best in 1913, the single place open cockpit #1 featured Wright two-stick controls and wing-warping.
Engine: 60hp Kirkham
Charles Dickenson successfully tendered for the Twin Cities-Chicago mail contract in 1926 with three Wright J-4 Lairds, an open cockpit biplane built by Henry C. Keller, and a cabin biplane built by Elmer Partridge. A few minutes after taking off on the Dickenson company’s inaugural flight on 7 June 1927, Elmer Partridge crashed and died in his home-made aircraft.
1927
Imp
Engine: 1 x 80hp Armstrong-Siddeley Genet II
Max take-off weight: 599 kg / 1321 lb
Empty weight: 386 kg / 851 lb
Wingspan: 7.77 m / 26 ft 6 in
Length: 6.45 m / 21 ft 2 in
Height: 2.33 m / 8 ft 8 in
Wing area: 16.35 sq.m / 175.99 sq ft
Max. speed: 164 km/h / 102 mph
Cruise speed: 128 km/h / 80 mph
Crew: 2
A submarine based sea surveillance aircraft, United Kingdom, 1926
Engine: Armstrong Siddeley Moongoose III C, 148 hp
Length: 22.507 ft / 6.86 m
Wingspan: 28.412 ft / 8.66 m
Wing area: 174.377 sq.ft. / 16.2 sq.m
Max take off weight: 1949.2 lb / 884.0 kg
Weight empty: 1314.2 lb / 596.0 kg
Max. speed: 98 kt / 182 km/h
Wing loading: 11.28 lb/sq.ft / 55.0 kg/sq.m
Range: 216 nm / 400 km
Endurance: 2 h
Crew: 2
All Aero 