The two-place open cockpit biplane built by Floyd Smith in 1912 was claimed to be the first tractor biplane built in the US.
Powered by a 60hp Hall-Scott engine, with his wife, Smith flew from Santa Ana to Griffith Aviation Park (Glendale) on 19 July 1912. The 45-mile journey took 01h:07min.
The 1950 Smith-Cirigliano Baby Hawk was a major modification of 1928 Cirigliano SC-1 with lengthened fuselage and new tail, canopied cockpit, Cessna spring gear, cowling.
Only one conversion was made, N775W, by Everett M Smith.
Engine: 145hp Warner
Wingspan: 27’0″
Length: 17’6″
Cruise: 125 mph
Stall: 35 mph
Seats: 1
The 1937 S-1 built by Everett A Smith was a two-place, open cockpit monoplane, registered N13391 and powered by a 120hp LeRhône engine.
Built by Edward F Smith in 1928, the Smith S-1 was a two-place, open cockpit, parasol wing monoplane with slab sides.
Registered N987H c/n 22 and powered by an Anzani engine, it was used by Ivan Gates in exhibition work.
Built by Edward F Smith circa 1929, the Smith ES-5 was a two-place, open cockpit, parasol wing monoplane with rounded sides.
Powered by an Anzani engine, it was sold to J E Brown of Camden, who apparently repowered with a Hisso.
Built by Edgar Smith, a tandem monoplane with variable-incidence wings for pitch control. The self-built opposed two-cylinder engine proved to be too weak to enable flights at the January 1910 Los Angeles meeting, where Smith was lucky to survive, being hit in the head by its spinning propeller.
Der Kricket, an original bipe design by Cyril Smith, was built in 857 man hours, and finds that it flies fine from mile-high airports. The philosophy of design simplicity for Der Kricket began with selection of basic materials, and the construction concept developed requires only two sizes of 2024-13 aluminum angle. The spar for the horizontal stabilator is 2-inch square 6063 tubing, requiring a minimum of work. A 2-inch diameter 6063-15 tube spar for the rudder becomes self-hinging with two nylon, teflon or phenolic bushings. All ribs are constructed with a unique self-jigging tab to insure ac¬curate alignment dpring attachment to the various spars. Fuselage is semi-monocoque construction, built upside down on a flat surface, and tricks bor¬rowed from model-airplane building days are employed in assembling the fuselage. A 2 x 11-foot “pin board” on sawhorse supports is used for the fuselage layout. Longerons are tacked to the layout, then four bulkheads added to assure simple, accurate alignment. The “poor man’s deco,” (1/8th-inch soft aluminum pop rivets) are used when necessary for positioning, then are drilled out and replaced with monel or stainless steel pop rivets during final assembly. Full-flying tail surfaces, both vertical and horizontal, are easily constructed and attached, and provide effective control at low airspeeds, with ample rudder movement for takeoff and land¬ing rolls. A good-sized antiservo tab was chosen to provide ample control feel and reasonable sensitivity at cruise speeds. Smith elected to utilize as many pre¬fabricated items as possible in building Der Kricket – landing gear legs from the VP-1 Volksplane; aircraft-style Go Kart wheels and brakes; low-pressure aircraft tires for the mains; and a modified 5-inch caster for a tailwheel. The wing is a NACA 4412.
First flying on 19 September 1978, the prototype N501CS, flew for 25 years before Smith donated it to the Mid-America Air Museum.
Gross weight 750 lbs
Empty weight 500 lbs
Fuel capacity 8-10 Usgal
Wing¬span (biplane) 16’
Length 15’
Engine 1500cc-1835cc VW
Prop: 54 x 30
Vmax 138 mph
Cruise speed 90 mph
Climb rate 500 fpm
Range 200 nm
Wing loading: 7.3 lb/sq.ft
Pwr loading: 14 lb/hp
Built by A.J.F. Smith in the UK, the Santos Dumont non-rigid airship was registered G-BAWL c/n 1. Powered by a Wankel engine if first flew, from Cardington, on 7 May 1974.
The AJ-2 was designed as a cross-country touring aircraft. It had two seats. The passenger seat was intended to serve as a baggage area when only the pilot was aboard. The engine is a Lycoming IO-360. It makes about 215 hp and has a custom, “one-off” McCauley constant-speed prop. Long-range cruise (55% power) reportedly resulted in 200 mph and 40 mpg. Normal cruise (75% power) was said to be 250-255 mph and about 23-24 mpg.
For the airframe, A.J. utilized techniques developed by the Germans in WWII. It consists of bulkheads spanned by balsa and foam. The wing is one piece, designed to be easily replaced with an updated version that contained retractable gear. The updated version was, to my knowledge, never manufactured or mounted. The wing pictured uses a NACA 64212 airfoil, 12% thick, with a constant section and a .5 taper ratio with no twist. The lack of twist produced undesirable stall characteristics, so A.J. added stall strips and rigged the ailerons up a quarter of an inch, providing an effective twist.
The airplane has a T-tail that also uses NACA sections – 9% for the horizontal, and 12% for the vertical. The tailwheel is a Henry Haigh locking version mounted on a Wittman-type tapered rod spring.
Andrew’s experience with gliders clearly translated into the exquisitely efficient design of the AJ-2. Indeed, according to Mike, Andrew once claimed that the total drag of the airplane was approximately equivalent to a 12″x12″ square piece of plywood being pushed through the air.
This paid off in cross-country competition. First flown on 15 July 1981 registered N9AJ, Andrew and the AJ-2 won a cross-country race that emphasized efficiency known as the Oshkosh 500. The airplane, AJ-2, was designed to compete in a new EAA sponsored efficiency race, the Oshkosh 500. AJ competed successfully, winning seven years in a row. He won the race with an average speed of just under 218mph while burning only 19.2 gallons to cover the 500 mile long course. On August 6, 1982 he flew the AJ-2 to a 500 km closed course speed record – 253.3 mph (407.7 km).
Andrew apparently was interested in donating the AJ-2 to a museum, but ultimately ended up selling it before passing away in 2004. It was then stored in a hangar at a nearby airport in rural Wisconsin.
In addition to the aircraft itself, there was a vast quantity of plans, diagrams, and three-ring binders of handwritten calculations and data that AJ used to design it.
After purchasing the AJ-2 back in the early 2000s, the new owner still has yet to fly it. But he thought it will likely happen later when he completes the removal of a wing modification. This project should return the AJ-2 to its standard/original configuration.
Engine: 215hp Avco Lycoming IO-360-A1B6
Wingspan: 24’0″
Length: 22’0″
Useful load: 600 lb
Max speed: 298 mph
Cruise: 255 mph
Stall: 68 mph
Seats: 2
Three aircraft are said to have been constructed for Arthur L Smith’s exhibition performances at the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition by Al Mensaco. The use of “Smith-Curtiss Pusher” in a contemporary journal leads to an assumption of their being Curtiss machines assembled by Smith, or copies using Curtiss motors. Smith was pictured in several different types of aircraft during this period, most of them looking much like the tried-and-true Curtiss designs—or at least faithful replicas.
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