The 1915 Christofferson Bros 637.98ci six-cylinder inline, water cooled engine produced 120hp at 1400 rpm.
Christofferson 1915 120hp
Piston
Christiansen Savor
Self-taught 31-year-old amateur builder Chris Christiansen designed and flew his third homebuilt airplane, the high-wing Savor, in just 15 months. The Savor, which is intended as a cross-country flying machine.
The Savor has a wingspan of 23.5 feet, and has aluminum control services and a fiberglass empennage and wings similar to a GlaStar.
The landing gear is aluminum rod. The cage frame goes all the way back to the tail. The most challenging aspect of the construction was the molds for the skins. The frame had the shape. The shells are one piece. Because of the angles and curves, the shells didn’t want to come out of the molds.
The shells are held in place by metal fasteners. The wings are removable. The wings are designed to have fuel tanks, 10 gallons on each side, and an additional fuel tank in the rear passenger compartment.
The front seat is 36 inches wide, while the backseat measures about 27 inches. The frame can accommodate someone who is 6 feet tall. The seat is 12 inches off the floor.
The interior is finished with textured semi-plastic foam. The texture can hide a lot of flaws and it is good for soundproofing. That’s 2 inches of insulation. The airplane also has carpet to help take the sound down.
Empty weight is 1,110 pounds, while gross weight is 1,550 pounds for the airplane, which cruises at 165 mph and lands at 60.
Christmas Pusher Biplane 1912
Patented biplane configuration as invented by William Whitney Christmas (U.S. Patent 957,744 Flying machine, patented May 10, 1910), constructed by the Christmas Aeroplane Co. of Washington, DC. This version was fitted with a 6-cylinder 75 hp Roberts motor, photographed after making practice flights in the hands of Clinton O. Hadley at a height of 500 feet.
Christmas Bullet
Co-designed with aviation pioneer, Vincent Burnelli (who only admitted to designing the fuselage), the Christmas Bullet was intended to meet a requirement for a military scout plane. The single-engine biplane was fitted with unbraced cantilevered wings designed to flex during flight. This gross lack of wing strength led to in-flight structural failures of both aircraft on 30 December 1918 and 1 May 1919.
This failure aside, the Bullet was noteworthy for being the first or one of the first aircraft to introduce a veneer-clad fuselage to reduce skin-friction drag and interconnected movable ailerons on the wing trailing edge.
Christmas received a patent for the Bullet design in 1914, a fact which he used to make the claim that he had invented the aileron. Dr. Christmas even claimed that the US government bought the rights to his movable ailerons in 1923 for $100,000 to avoid a copyright infringement suit, but there appears to be no evidence to support this claim. In fact, Christmas is only one of many early pioneers who claim to have invented the aileron, including the Wrights and Glenn Curtis.
Christmas seemed to have persuaded his backers to finance him based on two previous aircraft, for which no evidence ever existed.
Christmas managed to find funding to build two ‘proof of concept’ aircraft to demonstrate his ‘ideas’ of a deliberately flexible wing inspired by those of birds, and tepid support from the US Army, which loaned an engine for ground-testing and the services of a test-pilot, Cuthbert Mills. A flight was attempted in the first aircraft, whereupon the wings peeled off during take-off, and the aircraft crashed, killing Mills. Christmas claimed that the aircraft had reached a speed of 197mph.
A second aircraft was built, and a propeller issued by the Army, despite the loaned engine having been destroyed during the unauthorised flight as Christmas had kept this secret. The second aircraft also crashed, also fatally. Christmas was still trying to sue people for claiming the aircraft had killed its pilots as late as 1930 and insisted the aircraft had reached a speed of 222mph.
Christmas Red Bird
Christmas did patent, build, and fly a biplane of his own design in 1909. This aircraft, known as the Red Bird, was representative of many of his later designs and can be distinguished by its anhedral (down-sloping) upper wings and dihedral (up-sloping) lower wings. Another noteworthy tidbit about this design is that it appears to be a virtual copy of a plane built by a company named AEA that was, interestingly enough, also known as the Red Bird. In the words of one historian, “the eccentric Dr. Christmas was not above employing the ideas of others” and may well have patented another company’s design!
Nonetheless, the success of the first of three iterations of Red Bird and a modified Red Bird II led to the founding of the Christmas Aeroplane Company based in Washington, DC, in 1910. The company became the Durham Christmas Aeroplane Sales & Exhibition Company around 1912 and later the Cantilever Aero Company after moving to Copiague, NY, in 1918.
The Red Bird II was flown at College Park, Maryland, in 1910.
It could carry three people with a 50 hp engine.
Christiani Wassertechnik Project Aachen
A Horten-formula wing of wooden construction.
Empty weight: 198 kg
Wing span: 13.13 m
Wing area: 15.99 sq.m
Fuel capacity: 25 lt
Engine: Hirth, 25 hp
MAUW: 300 kg
Seats: 1
Max speed: 204 kph
Cruise speed: 148 kph
Minimum speed: 50 kph
Climb rate: 3.8 m/s
Christen Eagle
Frank Christensen says he once tried to buy the Pitts Special type certificate but was turned away by the price. That apparently bothered him, because he went out and designed his own family of kit built sport biplanes, and the results were on view for the first time at Oshkosh 1977.
The criteria were: unlimited class aerobatic performance; a two place cockpit; all the creature comforts the Pitts lacked; attractive styling; and, last but in a way most essential, that the airplane should be amateur built. To certificate and sell the airplane in the normal market would be too confining and too expensive, Christensen felt. By selling it as a kit, he could channel his expenditures where they belonged into providing materials of the highest quality instead of into justifying everything to the FAA.
The Eagle is a biplane with a swept symmetrical wing structure of built up wooden ribs and spars. The Eagle’s bubble cano¬py, hinged oh the right side of the airplane, slides back to unlock and swings aside to ad¬mit the pilot and passenger to a long, wide tandem cockpit with a single instrument pan¬el in front and dual controls. The fuselage is built from welded steel tube and covered with metal back to the rear cockpit, then fabric the rest of the way aft. The fabric-covered wings are built with wood ribbing over spruce spars. The amateur builder has the option of buying 26 kits in sequence, starting with the ailerons, to test his dexterity.
Many parts are prefabricated or partially prefabricated, and the Ea¬gle’s steel tube structures are welded at the factory. Christen kits include everything you need to build them. Price in 1982: $41,000 (includes complete kit). Kit less engine and propeller, costs $26,000. Units delivered to June 1982: 450 started, 100 flying.
The Eagle I and I F will be the single-¬place unlimited competition version, pow¬ered by a 260 horsepower Lycoming aero¬batic engine; the F means fixed pitch. The I model will compete at 1,262 pounds and carry 1,478 pounds at gross with a wing loading of 11.82 pounds per square foot. Its empty weight power loading is 3.83 lbs. per hp. With a rate of climb of 2,640 fpm, it offers social climbers a verti¬cal penetration of 1,650 feet.
The II, by comparison, is pure luxury, featuring a spacious forward cockpit with no intruding instructor’s feet and a huge bubble canopy molded of a single hunk of clear plastic. It rides behind 200 hp Lycoming AEIO 360 AlD and a second F version, except that this time, the F means the 260 hp en¬gine of the I model. Its gross weight is 1,578 pounds, and it provides for an elec¬trical system and a radio.
Both models are stressed to +9and 6 Gs and have roll rates of 187 degrees per second and a power loading of 5.25 lbs/hp.
For a second time, Christensen turned his attention toward the Pitts factory (locat¬ed at Afton, in the middle of nowhere in Wy¬oming). This time, he was successful: Pitts Aerobatics is now part of Christen Indus¬tries, and Christensen wants the Pitts and the Eagle, formerly arch rivals in the field of competition aerobatics, to live in harmony as stablemates.
Christensen himself, of course, developed the Eagle as a refined Pitts after purchase negotiations with Curtis Pitts fell through in the mid 1970s. Although the very exis¬tence of the Eagle testifies to which airplane Christensen thinks is better, he is quick to assure the Pitts purists that their airplane has its own special place in the past and in the future.
Christensen had no plans to axe the Pitts marque, but one model, the 200¬hp two seat S 2A, will mutate to become the factory built Eagle. This is a crucial reason behind Christen Industries’ acquisition of Pitts Aerobatics. It is the most direct route to a factory built, certificated Eagle. For the purposes of certification, the factory built Eagle will actually be a Pitts S 2A modified to Eagle standards.
The Christen Eagle is very similar to the S 2A: both share the same airfoil, span, length, engine and propeller, but the Eagle has less lower wing dihedral, a further aft CG, different cowling and landing gear, modified ailerons and linkages and a more spacious and better designed interior. Christensen sees the Eagle as being almost imperceptibly different: “Like a washed car, it runs smoother.”
At the time he was developing the Eagle, Christensen was convinced that an unusual¬ly complete kit would appeal to a larger market than would comparable homebuilts or factory built airplanes. With 550 kits sold by 1975, it seems he was right.
The Eagle II is a two-seat sporting biplane that can be used for unlimited-class aerobatics as well as for advanced training. The Eagle II and II-F have a full electrical system (starter-alternator-battery). The Eagle II uses a 200-hp engine with constant-speed propeller. The Eagle II-F uses a 260-hp engine with fixed-pitch propeller. Characterized by their startling paint scheme, the Eagles feature swept symmetrical wings, a strong fuselage, and a blown canopy that covers both cockpits. With a roll rate of 187 degrees/second and a power loading of 7.89 lbs./hp, the Eagle is a strong performer. The fuselage is finished in metal from the cowling back to the rear cockpit. The midsection, all the way to the empennage, is covered in fabric. The fabric-covered wings are built with aluminum ribbing over spruce spars. The amateur builder has the option of buying 25 kits in sequence, starting with the ailerons, to test his or her dexterity.
The Eagle II, first offered in kit form in 1977, was still available in 1998 at US$55,000.
Eagle
Engine: Lycoming AEIO-360-A1D, 200 hp.
Propeller: Hartzell® HC-C2YK-4/C7666A Constant Speed
Speed max: 184 mph.
Never Exceeded Speed: 210 mph
Cruise: 165 mph.
Range: 380 sm.
Stall: 58 mph.
ROC: 2100 fpm.
Take-off dist: 1450 ft.
Landing dist: 2100 ft.
Service ceiling: 22,000 ft.
Wing Loading: 12.62 lb/sqft
Power Loading: g 5.13 lb/sqft
Length: 17 feet 11 inches
Height: 6 feet 6 inches
Wing Span : 19 feet 11 inches
Wing area: 125 sq.ft.
Gross Weight: 1578 pounds
Competition Weight: 1290 pounds (with 190 pound pilot)
Empty Weight: 1025 pounds
Useful Load: 553 pounds
Roll Rate: 187 Degrees/second
Baggage Allowance: 30 pounds
Fuel Capacity: 25 U.S. Gallons (24 Usable)
Structural Limits: +6g, -4g Operational
Seats: 2.
Landing gear: tail wheel.
Aviat Eagle II
Engine: Lycoming IO-360A1D, 200 hp.
Length: 18.5 ft.
Wing span: 19.9 ft.
Wingarea: 125 sq.ft.
Empty wt: 1125 lbs.
Mtow: 1578 lbs.
Fuel cap: 25 USG.
Seats: 2.
Undercarriage: Tail wheel.
Cruise: 165 mph.
Stall: 58 mph.
Range: 440 sm.
ROC: 2100 fpm.
To dist: 1450 ft.
Ldg dist: 2100 ft.
Christie
Circa 1912, Christie built a radial engine. Details are unknown.
Chrislea CH.3 Ace / Skyjeep
At Exeter Airport, during 1948-1950, a series of four-seat lightplanes were constructed: Series 1 CH.3 Ace, Series 2 CH.3 Super Ace, and Series 4 CH.3 Skyjeep. The first of these high-wing cabin monoplanes was flown in August 1946, but high operating costs and unacceptable control system affected sales of the Ace and Super Ace.
The prototype CH.3 Series 1, was fitted with a 125 hp Lycoming engine, a single fin and rudder, and a wooden wing.
Production versions, the CH.3 Series II, was all-metal and fitted with a 145 hp DH Gipsy Major 10 engine. It also has the twin fin and rudder assembly later fitted to the prototype.
The CH.3 Series III had a tailwheel landing gear.
The Series IV version of the Series III had a hinged rear fuselage deck.
By August 1959 the tail wheel undercarriage CH.3 Srs. 4 Skyjeep VH-RCD four-seater had a deepened rear fuselage.
Engine: 1 x Gypsy Major Mk.10, 145 hp
Wingspan: 36 ft
Length: 21 ft 6 in
Empty weight: 1344 lb
Loaded weight: 2350 lb
Max speed: 126 mph
Cruise: 110 mph
Stall: 38 mph
Range: 400 mi
Seats: 4
Chrislea L.C.1 Airguard
In 1938 one L.C.1 Airguard was built, a two-seat, low-wing cabin monoplane for Civil Air Guard.
