South African biplane of original design constructed in Johannesburg by J. H. “Harry” Cutting with the help of friends Jimmy Cloughly, Ernest Miles and Sammy Samuels. The machine was built in Cutting’s workshop out of steel tubes, aluminium, covered with linen and powered by a 12 hp air-cooled two-cylinder J.A.P. V-engine driving a locally-manufactured aluminium propeller. Construction was started on August 22, 1908, and while several attempts to fly the plane were made prior to its three month-long public exhibition commencing in December 1909, the machine, although being capable of a fair speed along the ground, would not take off owing to a lack of engine power. When the plane was displayed next to the Empire Theatre in Johannesburg it was called “Carter’s Aeroplane”. Carter claimed he was awaiting a more powerful engine and would replace the canvas with silk to lighten his machine. Herbert Carter was a boxer by profession and most likely had purchased the aeroplane, but nothing more was heard of it after the exhibition closed down on February 26, 1910.
The LSA LITE STAR is the essentials and returns to the simplicity of stick and rudder. Low & slow in a gentle, agile airplane, makes flying fun again. This engine burns 5 USGPH and maintenance can be a DIY bonus. Parts & service on the engine & propeller are reasonable and inspections are minimal. A professionally welded, 4130 fuselage, and wings built with proven, extruded aluminum “I beam” spars, from a shop with 27 years experience building high performance aircraft. Gas tanks are in the wings, not the fuselage, for added safety. A high wing, tail dragger, side by side seating, fabric covered 4130 welded tube fuselage, fabric covered aluminum structure wings. Wheels, skis, or floats.
Gross weight: 1235-1350 Lbs. Empty weight: 650 Lbs. With Corvair or Continental O-200 HP rating: 80-100 HP (can also use Rotax, or Continental O200) Propeller: ground adjustable fixed pitch Gear: Tail wheel configuration / shock cord suspension
Cruise Speed: 100 MPH Stall speed: 35 MPH Rate of Climb: 600-700 Ft/min. Fuel capacity: up to 2×10 US gal. Endurance: 4 hrs 2009 PRICE LIST; 1) $22,000 US for Airframe kit, all structural components welded and painted. Includes, fuselage, tail, landing gear legs, control sticks, rudder pedals, engine mount, fire wall, doors, windshield & windows, wing kit with gas tanks. 2) $60,000 US for complete LITE STAR aircraft ready to fly. Basic instrument package includes air speed, altimeter, compass and slip ball , 12-volt system with master solenoid & battery. Basic engine instruments include RPM, CHT, oil temperature, oil pressure light. Any additional instruments or radio equipment is at extra charge.
Cruise: 100 mph Stall: 45 mph Range: 400 sm Rate of climb: 1000 fpm Takeoff dist: 200 ft Landing dist: 200 ft Engine: Corvair , 110 hp HP range: 65-110 hp Fuel capacity: 20 USG Empty weight: 650 lb Gross weight: 1320 lb Length: 21 ft Wing span: 30.5 ft Wing area: 160 sq.ft Seats: 2 Cockpit width: 39.75 in Landing gear: tailwheel
Designed by Morgan Williams Jr. Custom Flight Ltd., of Midland Ontario, has introduced a new kit aircraft called the Bright Star. In response to requests for a lower priced version of the North Star, the Bright Star was developed. It retains the high quality standards and size of the North Star, but with some of the “extras” left off. The Bright Star has a single, larger door, no flaps, spring steel gear, a square tail, and smaller gas tanks. The gross weight is 1800 pounds and it can use aircraft or auto engines from 100 to 180 hp. It will be licensed in the experimental/amateur built category. As of June, 2000, the prototype Bright Star has not flown yet. The North Star fuselage strength was retained in the Bright Star to allow use of a great range of engines, from 100 hp to 180 hp. Many of the wing reinforcements in the North Star were to accommodate the very powerful flaps. By eliminating the flaps from the Bright Star we were able to lighten the wing structure, lower the price, and produce a wing with the same strength as the Super Cub wing and the improved lift of the North Star. The North Star wing can be put on the Bright Star Fuselage for a little more money, this however defeats the concept of keeping the cost as low as possible. The larger North Star gas tanks can be used in the Bright Star wings. The Bright Star has a squared off tail, and a trim tab instead of the jack screw, the same as Champs and Citabrias. This tail works fine and is more economical to produce. There is only one door on the Bright Star and it is not split like the Cub door. It is one piece and similar in size to the Champ door making cockpit access easier. The door is hinged on the top so that it opens up against the wing and provides unobstructed access from in front of or aft of the wing struts. A leaf spring landing gear similar to that used on the Citabrias and Cessnas is substituted for the more complicated Cub style gear. Another way we reduced the purchase price was by eliminating the “bird cage” framework on top of the fuselage, and the belly framework under the fuselage. Instead tabs were welded on to allow the attachment of simple wood or aluminum framework made by the builder. Inexpensive wood stringers can also be supplied by the builder to keep the cost down or aluminum stringers can be purchased from CF Ltd.
Construction details WINGS: -Compression struts in line with aileron hinges, forces travel in a straight line instead of zig-zaging through the spars. -raked wing tip gives long trailing edge, maximizing aspect ratio and increasing effective wing span, does not block visibility.
leading edge metal (.020-2024 T3) extends about 4″ aft of front spar on top, giving a truer airfoil shape. -aileron moved outboard, requires less deflection for same response, less chance of inducing a stall at low speeds, much lighter stick forces, I would estimate double the roll response of a Citabria. -stainless steel drag wires included. -stainless steel drag wires extend through spars and use simple nut and block attachment system. -same airfoil as a Cub. -aluminum, preformed and drilled ribs. -predrilled, extruded aluminum spars. -hinges are prefabricated, ready to bolt in position. -leading and trailing edge aluminum is preformed. -stainless steel gas tank support straps. -wing mount hardware ready to bolt on. -more room between root and fuselage to work in. -gas tanks in wings TIG welded .040-5052 aluminum and hold a total of 23 U.S. gal/20 Imp. est. -gas tank shape is accurate and forms the airfoil shape in that area, plumbing installation and routing ensures good fuel flow in steep climbs and dives without needing header tanks. -aileron pulleys and cable concealed in wing. -cable does not come through top of wing.
FUSELAGE: -2 1/2″ wider in cockpit area. -one larger door, 35″ tall x 46″ wide hinges up to bottom of wing. -door handles on outside and inside of door. -baggage floor lowered to bottom longerons. -high ceiling in baggage area. -90 lb. baggage capacity. -deep “V” belly provides good drainage away from longerons and room to route cables under floor. -belly opening at tail end, can put a garden hose in the front and flush dust and dirt out of the aft end, tail post left exposed so will not trap corrosion causing dirt and moisture. -flat back on fuselage follows wing contour, creating lift. -toe brakes, with parking brakes. -instrument panel easily hinges down for access to instrument backs, is shock mounted, top edge is padded and dash edge fits under top panel flange so it cannot cut pilot in a crash. -boot cowl (around pilot’s feet) easily removable for access by removing 2 piano hinge pins. -dynafocal or straight engine mount. -no sheet metal screws – nut plates welded and riveted in mean no screws to come loose or holes in tubing to introduce moisture. -fuselage sandblasted with extremely fine sand, epoxy primed. -tail wheel spring front bolt in a welded bushing to keep water out. -all control stops adjustable, tail stops mate with discs not bellhorn edges to reduce wear. -fin offset for trim. -stainless steel tail brace wires. -extra cable fairleads so cables cannot chip paint on tubes. -one large handle on the right side of rear of fuselage. -strength increased in high load areas, closer trusswork in aft fuselage. -leaf spring landing gear is taller for long prop clearance, also gives increased angle of attack, producing lower takeoff and landing speeds, has wider wheel base, so greater stability. -steps on landing gear give access to top of wing and easier entry to cockpit. -front and rear seats fixed in place. -dual controls.
Bright Star Engine: Lycoming O-360, 180 hp Hp range: 100 to 180 hp. Fuel capacity: 23 U.S. gal./ 20 Imp. gal. Wing span: 36 ft 4 in Wing area: 190 sq. ft. Length: 23.5 ft Height: 7.5 ft Gross weight; 1800 lb Empty weight/: 1000 lb ROC: 1000 fpm Top speed; 140 mph Cruise; 100 mph Stall; 35 mph Take off distance; 225 ft Landing distance: 275 ft Seats: 2
Designer Morgan Williams Jr. started with a Super Cub design to build a better aircraft. The design of the North Star had four parameters. It had to be stronger, more durable, fly better, and be easier to work on. There were weak spots in the Cub that were known but really show up when raising the gross weight. The SC is a J3 with a higher gross and a bigger engine. With an added extra set of diagonals to the fuselage, shortening the spans in a structurally sound way. The wings are similarly strengthened with the spar reinforcements copied and improved from the Pawnee crop duster. Many more durability and other enhancements are listed in the construction specs. The landing gear legs are 3″ taller to give higher angle of attack for better takeoff. The sheet metal on the top of the leading edge is extended to about 4″ aft of the front spar. This gives a truer airfoil shape without the concave fabric between ribs in this critical section of the wing. The back of the fuselage is not the typical “peaked roof” as seen on most Cubs. Piper flattened the back on the agricultural models to facilitate a hopper door. By chance, since the back more closely followed the wing shape, they found the “A” models had a slightly lower stall speed. The trailing edge of the wing is extended. This wing has 3 feet more effective span on each side. The longer trailing edge also puts the aileron outboard 2 feet. The aileron, like the flaps, also has greater cord and better airflow through the slot. All the North Stars are rigged flat, no washout. The flaps are larger, 2′ longer and 4″ wider cord than cub flaps. The superior hinge geometry, and the redesigned radiuses on the aft bottom portion of the wing ribs of the North Star, produce the improved, energised, air flow through the large slot that adheres to the top surface of the flap, making the slow speed performance exceptional. With no flaps the North Star lifts off at 35 mph. With 20 degrees of flap it jumps into the air on takeoff at 25 mph, and climbs! This low speed means less ground wasted accelerating. Full flaps, no power on approach gives 800 FPM descent. Just touch the throttle to 1200 RPM and the path flattens out giving excellent descent control. Sideslips also work and when performed with full flaps can give 1,000-1,500 FPM rate of descent. After you become familiar with the airplane a normal approach will be full flap, 40mph, no power, over the trees, sideslip, straighten, flair, flaps off, brakes on. The shocks are a hydraulic shock/coil spring combination. The long stroke and hydraulic shock damping give much superior protection from those extra rough landings. Along with the kit, supplied is instructions on videotape, and a dozen 24″ x 36″ blue prints with full size details of the wing are included. For the fuselage: full size patterns for the floor boards and interior panels are supplied with a video to show how to make and install the interior. A binder is provided with 2 separate parts lists: hardware order lists with recommended suppliers and hardware location lists that tell where each bolt, pulley, etc. goes in the airplane. The binder also contains CAD detail drawings, indexed for the various areas and systems of the plane. It is set up so that new drawings can be added as they are created.
Fuel tanks in wings are welded .040-5052 aluminum and hold a total of 52 U.S. gal/44 Imp. gal./197 L. -2 doors. -baggage door. -baggage floor lowered to bottom longerons. -baggage floor extends 52″ aft. -90 lb. baggage capacity. -stainless steel belly framework, corrosion proof even if moisture does collect in belly. -6″ travel in adjustable front seat with tilting back. -rear seat tilts and lifts out for more cargo. -fish pole/ski tube behind baggage (option).
North Star Engine: Lycoming 0320 (150 hp). HP range: 150-180. Wing span: 36 ft 4 in Height: 6.8 ft. Length: 22.5 ft. Wing area: 190.7 sq.ft. Empty weight: 1170-1250 lbs. Gross weight: 2000-2200 lbs. (2300 on floats) Fuel capacity: 52 U.S. gal./44 Imp. gal./197 L. Speed max: 140 mph. Stall speeds at 2200 lb: 40 mph, No Power, No Flaps. 35 mph, No Power, or Full Flaps. 35 mph, Full Power, No Flaps. 30 mph, Full Power, Flaps. 25 mph, Full Power, Full Flaps. Cruise 82-41 prop and 600-6 wheels: 98 mph. Cruise on 2000 floats: 85 mph. Lifts off: 45 mph in 500 ft Climb: 600 fpm through 4,000 ft. Baggage: 90 lbs. Take off roll 180 ft Lift off and land-on floats: 35-40 mph, 9 seconds Range: 600 sm. Service ceiling: 16,000 ft. Seats: 2. Landing gear: tail wheel. Cockpit width: 29 in
A side by side, two seat, single engined, high-wing monoplane with conventional three axis control. Wing shape; tapering chord; yaw control by fully flying tail, circa 1982.
The Bauman Aircraft Corporation adapted a B-290 airframe for the Custer ‘channel-wing’ as the Custer CCW-5. First flown in July 1953 at Oxnard, California.
In 1931, in response to a United States Army Air Corps requirement for a new observation aircraft, Curtiss designed the Model 62, a single-engined biplane with the lower wing much smaller than the upper, known as a sesquiplane (i.e. “one-and-a-half wings”), while the outer panels of the upper wings were swept back to avoid centre-of-gravity problems. The lower wing was connected to the upper wing by one set of struts. It was of all-metal construction, with a monocoque fuselage and had a retractable tailwheel undercarriage with inwards retracting mainwheels, and was powered by a Wright Cyclone radial engine. The crew of two sat in tandem in open cockpits. It was armed with one fixed forward firing .30in machine gun in the right upper wing and one flexibly mounted .30in gun in the rear cockpit.
A prototype (sn 32-343), designated YO-40, flew in February 1932. It crashed on 20 May that year, and had to be returned to Curtiss where it was rebuilt with stronger wings and an enclosed cockpit as the YO-40A. The YO-40A was scrapped in 1938.
YO-40A
A further four YO-40As were ordered, but they were redesigned as monoplanes by removing the lower wing, the resultant aircraft being designated Y1O-40B. A stub of the lower wing had to be retained as it contained the retractable landing gear. The engine was upgraded to a more powerful R-1820-27 and the wingspan reduced by 2ft 4in. The new aircraft were heavier than the original prototype, and their performance was generally worse.
O-40B
The four Y1O-40Bs (sn from 32-415 to 32-418) were delivered in June 1933, and after service tests, were re-designated O-40B Raven, being operated by the 1st Observation Squadron of the USAAC. While the aircraft’s performance and manoeuvrability were good, the Air Corps was disappointed with the cockpit arrangements and the low fuel capacity, and no more orders followed. The last O-40B was withdrawn from use in 1939.
YO-40 Engine: Wright R-1820E Cyclone, 653 hp / 487 kW
YO-40A
Y1O-40B / O-40B Engine: Wright R-1820-27 Cyclone, 670 hp / 500 kW Wingspan: 41 ft 8 in (12.70 m) Wing area: 266 sq.ft (24.7 sq.m) Length: 28 ft 10 in (8.79 m) Height: 10 ft 8 in (3.25 m) Empty weight: 3,754 lb (1,703 kg) Gross weight: 5,180 lb (2,350 kg) Maximum speed: 187.7 mph (302 km/h; 163 kn) Cruise speed: 160.5 mph (258 km/h; 139 kn) Stall speed: 62 mph (100 km/h; 54 kn) Range: 324 mi (282 nmi; 521 km) Service ceiling: 23,100 ft (7,000 m) Rate of climb: 1,660 ft/min (8.4 m/s) Armament: 1× fixed forward firing .30 in Browning machine gun and 1× .30 in Browning machine gun in observers cockpit Crew: two
The XP-55 (Curtiss Model 249C), along with the XP-54 and XP-56, resulted from Army Air Corps proposal R-40C calling for unconventional aircraft designs. Like the XP-54, the Ascender was initially designed for the Pratt & Whitney X-1800 engine and had to be redesigned when the engine project was canceled. The XP-55 first flew on 13 July 1943 with an Allison V-1710 engine. It was to be one of the last projects supervised by Donovan Berlin before he left Curtiss to work on the P-75 project for Fisher.
The XP-55 had a pusher engine mounted at rear, swept-back wings and forward canard mountings. The foreplane was not a canard in the true sense, but a free-floating surface with no fixed stabilizer. Its limits were 68 degrees up and down, although the down angle was restricted to 17 degrees for take-offs. Entry to the cockpit was said by test pilots to be rather awkward, requiring a telescoping ladder that was stored behind the pilot’s seat. The XP-55 was essentially a flying wing, having only vestigial vertical surfaces which were distributed on the rear fuselage and outer wings. The XP-55 was a single-seat single-engine design. The pusher-type engine was mounted to the extreme rear and the wings were highly swept. First drawings and scale models were completed and assessed as early as 1940 to which the Army Air Corps needed more convincing. As a result, Curtiss took it upon itself to produce a flyable full scale model – this one to be designated in-house as the CW-24B. The test aircraft differed some from the final three prototypes developed from the granted contract of 1942. The test bed flew with a Menasco C68-5 powerplant, whereas the final prototype models were fitted each with the Allison V-1710 engine. Curtiss built a full-scale flying testbed, the company Model CW-24B, powered by a Menasco C65-5 engine. The fabric-covered CW-24B went to a new US Army test site, the airfield at Muroc Dry Lake, California, for 1942 tests. These revealed serious stability problems which were only partly resolved by moving its vertical fins farther out from their initial mid-way position on the swept-back wing. The Curtiss 24 B was not a true canard, in that it had no fixed forward ‘tail’ surface. Essentially it was a flying wing with a nose mounted elevator. The 24 B made 169 flights from California’s Muroc Dry Lake, but after Curtiss-Wright had validated its concept with the CW-24B flying mock-up the USAAC ordered three XP-55 prototypes, on July 10, 1942. Armament for the XP-55 was originally drawn up to include a pair of 20mm cannon to go along with twin 12.7mm (.50 caliber) machine guns. This arrangement was revisited and revised to a quad .50 caliber array during the testing phase and this standard armament stayed with the life of the program. For Curtiss, it would be its first design to feature a powered tricycle landing gear assembly (though fixed on the initial test models). The absence of a true rudder resulted in smaller vertical surfaces mounted far off onto the wings. The use of forward canards was also revolutionary as was the ejection system – the propeller had to be jettisoned before the pilot could eject himself. The XP-55 used a single rotation, three-bladed propeller instead of the co-axial, contra-rotating type which had been planned.
The first XP-55 (42-78845) was completed on July 13, 1943. It made its first test flight on July 19, 1943 from the Army’s Scott Field near the Curtiss-Wright St Louis plant. The aircraft experienced stability problems and underwent several modifications to increase the canard elevator surface, vertical stabilizer area, and eventually received four-foot wing tip extensions to improve stall characteristics. It was found that excessive speed was required in the take-off run before the nose-mounted elevator could become effective. Before this problem could be addressed, the first machine was lost during spin tests at St Louis on 15 November 1943. The first prototype underwent stall testing and on the third attempt the aircraft pitched forward 180 degrees onto its back and fell into the same inverted descent predicted in original Air Corps wind tunnel tests. The engine quit and nothing the pilot did could break the stall. After a perfectly stable fall of 16,000 feet, the pilot, J. Harvey Gray, bailed out safely. The aircraft continued straight down and dug a large smoking hole in the desert floor. After modifications, stall tests were performed satisfactorily, although the complete lack of any warning prior to the stall and the excessive loss of altitude necessary to return to level flight after the stall were undesirable characteristics. The second XP-55 was flown in St Louis on 9 January 1944. The third followed on 25 April 1944 and, soon after, went to Eglin Field, Florida, for tests of its nose-mounted 12.7mm machine-guns. The XP-55 had the advantage of being constructed largely from non-strategic materials and for a time a jet version, the company Model CW-24C, was contemplated. But lingering problems, including generally poor stability, remained unsolved when the third XP-55 was returned to Wright Field, Ohio, for further tests continuing into 1945.
An artificial stall warning device was introduced to try and correct some of these problems, and between September 16 and October 2, 1944, the second Ascender underwent official USAAF trials. The trials indicated that the XP-55 had satisfactory handling characteristics during level and climbing flight, but at low speeds and during landings there was a tendency on the part of the pilot to over-control on the elevators because of a lack of any useful “feel”. Pilot, Russ Schleeh, commented that it was terribly unstable, and that if you took your eyes off the horizon for a moment, even in the landing pattern, the plane would drift wildly off course.
The performance of the XP-55 prototype aircraft built (S/N 42-39347, 42-78845-7) was not very impressive and was in fact inferior to that of the more conventional fighters already in service. Performance was mediocre with the Allison V-1710 engine attaining only 377 mph instead of the hoped-for 500 mph. Engine cooling was also a problem. In addition, by 1944, jet-powered fighter aircraft were clearly the wave of the future. Consequently, no production was undertaken, and further development was abandoned. The third prototype survived the testing program, but was destroyed in an accident on May 27, 1945, at Wright Field, Ohio. The pilot, Captain William C. Glascow, came in low over the field during an air show, attempted a barrel roll at low altitude, and crashed. Not only was the aircraft destroyed but the pilot was killed as well as a passing motorist. The sole surviving XP-55 (42-78846) was flow to Warner Robins Field in Georgia in May of 1945. It was later taken to Freeman Field to await transfer to the National Air Museum at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington. Currently the aircraft is in the Kalamazoo Aviation History Museum undergoing a complete restoration. The second XP-55 has survived and is among numerous historically valuable airframes held by the Smithsonian Institue’s National Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C. The name Ascender had originated as a joke on the part of a Curtiss engineer, a reference to the aircrafts rather odd design which was not appreciated by the congressional oversight committee. The name stuck, and eventually became official.
Curtiss-Wright XP-55 Ascender Engine: 1 x Allison V-1710-95 liquid-cooled V12, 1,275hp, 951kW Length: 29 ft 7 in (9.02 m) Wingspan: 40 ft 7 in (later 44 ft 6 ft) Wing area: 209.0 sq ft / 19.41 sq.m later 21.83 sq.m / 234.98 sq ft Height: 9.84ft (3.00m) Empty Weight: 6,354lbs (2,882kg) Maximum Take-Off Weight: 7,710lbs (3,497kg) Maximum Speed: 390mph (628kmh; 339kts) at 19,300 ft (5,885 m) Service Ceiling: 34,600ft (10,500m) Climb to 20,000 ft (6,095 m): 7 minutes 6 seconds Range: 635 miles (1,022 km) Armament: 4 x 12.7mm (0.5 in) Colt Browning M2 machine guns in nose Crew: 1
