Col James Fitzmaurice, a colonel in the Irish Air Force entered a Bellanca 28-70 “one off’ named Irish Sweep, in the London Mebourne Centenary Air race in 1934. The aircraft was built to his order and designed by Al Mooney of Mooney aircraft fame, who worked for Guiseppe Bellanca in the Delaware factory at the time. This was M8 in Mooney’s personal model numbering and a P&W Wasp radial of 825 hp was fitted, giving the Bellanca the best power/weight factor of all entries. The com¬mittee refused to allow Col Fitzmaurice to compete with the aircraft’s ‘all-up’ weight of 8,000 lbs.” The full weight had a restricted certificate issued by the US Government which, at the time, did not belong to the ICAN, the interna¬tional controlling body. The Irish entry was withdrawn at the last minute.
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.
Bellanca P-100 Airbus
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.
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.
C-27A C/N 721
The Airbus and Aircruiser served as both commercial and military transports and in total 23 were built.
Bellanca Aircruiser CF-AWR under restoration at the Western Canada Aviation Museum, Winnipeg, 2006
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:
Bellanca P Airbus Commercial version of Bellanca K, powered by a 500 hp (370 kW) Pratt & Whitney R-1860 Hornet.
P-100 Airbus 14-passenger monoplane powered by a 600 hp (450 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 R-1820 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 (480 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 (503 kW) Wright R-1820-17 Cyclone engine.
C-27C Airbus Four Y1C-27s and nine of the C-27A re-engined with a 750 hp (560 kW) Wright R-1820-25 Cyclone engine.
Aircruiser 66-67 Improved structure modified from a P-200 with a 675 hp (503 kW) Wright SR-1820 Cyclone engine
Aircruiser 66-70 An Aircruiser with a 710 hp (530 kW) Wright SGR-1820 Cyclone engine, five built – exported to Canada. Wingspan: 65 ft 0 in (19.82 m) Wing area: 520 sq ft (48.3 m2) Length: 43 ft 4 in (13.21 m) Height: 11 ft 6 in (3.51 m) Empty weight: 6,072 lb (2,754 kg) Gross weight: 10,000 lb (4,536 kg) Maximum speed: 144 kn (165 mph, 266 km/h) Range: 608 nmi (700 mi, 1,130 km) Service ceiling: 22,000 ft (6,700 m) Crew: one, pilot Capacity: 16 passengers
Aircruiser 66-75 An Aircruiser with a 730 hp (540 kW) Wright Cyclone engine, three built. Wingspan: 65 ft Length: 43 ft 4 in Height: 12 ft Empty weight: 6300 lb Loaded weight: 11,400 lb Max speed: 165 mph Cruise: 137 mph
Aircruiser 66-76 A cargo-version of the Aircruiser with a 760 hp (570 kW) Wright Cyclone.
Aircruiser 66-80 An Aircruiser with an 850 hp (630 kW) Wright Cyclone engine.
Graduating to twins, Bellanca constructed the Tandem, powered by push pull engines and capable of hauling 17,000 pounds at 160 mph. Despite its performance, this radical monoplane never saw production.
Bellanca produced the 14-passenger Airbus, a single engine behemoth that cruised at 150 mph. The Airbus 14-passenger commercial transport that was developed into Aircruiser of early 1930s for commercial and military use
The new company also had two other models that were built for special orders, the Bellanca Model J and the Model K.
A transatlantic hopeful was the Bellanca K of 1932 which may be considered as the prototype for the P-200 Air bus. The Bellanca K c/n 117 NR4864 was originally named ‘Roma’ in connection with a proposed New York-Rome flight.
For the New York-Oslo attempt of 23 August 1932 the Model K was renamed ‘Enna Jettick’. Leaving New York, at 5.43am ‘Enna Jettick’ (piloted by Thor Solberg and Carl Petersen) reached Harbor Grace, Newfoundland, at 7pmm. The proposed landing for fuel before the transatlantic leg was frustrated by fog and the crew was forced to ditch, without injury, in Darby’s Harbor, 75 miles SW of Harbor Grace, with the loss of the Model K.
Engine: Pratt & Whitney Hornet, 500 hp Wingspan: 64 ft 6 in Length: 39 ft 1 in AUW: 12,000 lb Cruise: 115 mph
Disappointed because the ‘Columbia’ was not the first aircraft to accomplish the New York to Paris flight, Bellanca severed all relations with Levine, and started his own company, the Bellanca Aircraft Corporation of America, and rented facilities on Staten Island, NY. The new Bellanca model was designated the CH, and was basically a commercial version of the WB-2.
CH-200 Pacemaker First flown in 1928
CH-300 Pacemaker
CH-300
First flown in 1929 CH.300 six-seat Iightpiane, Pacemaker six-seater of 1929 and flown 1931 on an 84-hour 33-minute world non-refueled endurance record.
The CH-300, produced between 1928 and 1930, was powered by both the 330 hp Wright Whirlwind and the 450 hp Pratt & Whitney Junior.
The CH-400 was powered by the 450 hp Pratt & Whitney Junior or the 420 hp Wright Whirlwind.
Both Pacemaker and Pacemaker Senior are six-seat cabin monoplanes and generally similar externally.
PM-300 Pacemaker Freighter
E Senior Pacemaker
Senior Pacemaker Srs 8
JE-1
CH-400 Wingspan: 50 ft 6 in Length: 27 ft 11 in Empty weight: 3000 lb Loaded weight: 5350 lb Max speed: 165 mph Cruise: 155 mph ROC: 900 fpm Range: 1360 mi
During 1926, the WB-2 won two efficiency trophies at the National Air Races in Philadelphia. Wright considered putting the aircraft into production, but decided against it to avoid alienating other aircraft companies that were potential customers for their engines. Disappointed by Wright’s decision, Bellanca left the company and joined with a young businessman named Charles Levine to form the Columbia Aircraft Company. Wright sold the WB-2 and all drawings and production rights to the new company.
Built for the 1926 Nationals, the WB-2 won all efficiency events and the endurance title in 1927. The WB-2 went on to a long and fruitful flying career starting with establishing a new world’s non-refueled endurance record of 51 hours, 11 minutes, and 59 seconds in April of 1927, piloted by Clarence Chamberlin and Bert Acosta.
In the latter half of 1926, Charles Lindbergh wanted to buy the WB-2, now named the ‘Columbia’, for his proposed flight from New York to Paris. He was rebuffed by Levine who also had designs on the flight and the $25,000 prize money. When company president Charles Levine added a stipulation that he would supply the support crew, Lindy withdrew and went to Ryan Co instead. Lindbergh then went to Ryan for his “Spirit of St. Louis”. Meanwhile Levine, in choosing the crew, managed to promise two seats to three people. So while the Columbia was grounded by a court order brought by the third party, Lindbergh took off on his successful flight to Paris.
NX237 Wright-Bellanca WB-2 Columbia
Production rights were reacquired by Bellanca Corp to build NC/NX/NR237 Columbia for the 1927 New York-Berlin flight, piloted by Chamberlin with Charles A Levine, in which the useful load was increased to 3550 lb. Eventually, the ‘Columbia’ was cleared of litigation and took off on its successful transatlantic flight on June 4, 1927. In the cockpit were Clarence Chamberlin, one of the pilots of the endurance record and Charles Levine, who became the first transatlantic passenger. The plan was to fly all the way to Berlin, and Chamberlin had vowed to fly until they ran out of fuel. Forty-three hours later, they landed in Eisleben, Germany, the first of two successful Atlantic crossings for Bellanca’s most famous aircraft.
