Buhl-Verville CA-3 Airster

The Buhl-Verville CA-3 Airster (also known as the J4 Airster, after its engine), was a utility aircraft built in the United States in 1926, notable as the first aircraft to receive a type certificate in the US,[2][3][4] (i.e. A.T.C. No. 1) issued by the Aeronautics Branch of the Department of Commerce on March 29, 1927.[5] It was a conventional single-bay biplane with equal-span unstaggered wings and accommodation for the pilot and passengers in tandem open cockpits. Marketed for a variety of roles including crop-dusting, aerial photography, and freight carriage, only a handful were built, some with water-cooled engines as the CW-3, and others with air-cooled engines as the CA-3 . One CA-3 placed second in the 1926 Ford National Reliability Air Tour.[6]

CA-3 Airster
Role Utility aircraft
Manufacturer Buhl
Designer Alfred Verville, Etienne Dormoy
First flight 1926
Number built 20[1]

1926 Ford Air Tour, piloted by Louis Meister, and another (designated the CA-3A) placed third in the 1927 Air Derby, piloted by Nick Mamer. One CW-3 and one CA-3 each were evaluated by the United States Army as trainers, but neither were purchased.

Versions

CA
  • CA-3 Airster (1926) aka J4 Airster or B-V Airster
    • 200 hp Wright J-4 (a.k.a. J-4 Whirlwind)
    • Folding wings
    • awarded the first ATC ever issued, March 1927 (ATC 1, 2-6)
    • one modified under ATC 2-6 as 2p with 220 hp Wright J-5 as a trainer for Army trials
  • CA-3A Airster (1926)
    • 225 hp Wright J-5
    • 3 built
    • cost: $9,300
  • CA-3B Airster (1926)
    • one built
The CW-3 OX5 Airster (1925) with folding wings

CW
  • CW-3 OX5 Airster (1925)[7]
  • CW-3 Wright Trainer (1926)
    • 220 hp Wright J-5
    • useful load: 885 lbs
    • range: 450 miles
    • one built for unsuccessful military trainer trials

Specifications (CA-3A)

Data from Jane's all the World's Aircraft 1928[8]

General characteristics

  • Crew: 1
  • Capacity: 2 pax, max useful load 885 lb (401 kg)
  • Length: 24 ft 7.5 in (7.506 m)
  • Wingspan: 35 ft 8 in (10.87 m)
  • Height: 8 ft 10 in (2.69 m)
  • Wing area: 303 sq ft (28.1 m2)
  • Empty weight: 1,550 lb (703 kg)
  • Gross weight: 2,995 lb (1,359 kg)
  • Fuel capacity: 40 US gal (33.3 imp gal; 151.4 l) fuselage main tank and 22 US gal (18.3 imp gal; 83.3 l) centre-section gravity tank
  • Powerplant: 1 × Wright J-5 Whirlwind 9-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine, 225 hp (168 kW)
  • Propellers: 2-bladed wooden fixed-pitch propeller

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 125 mph (201 km/h, 109 kn)
  • Range: 475 mi (764 km, 413 nmi)
  • Service ceiling: 16,000 ft (4,900 m)
  • Rate of climb: 950 ft/min (4.8 m/s)
  • Time to altitude: 7,250 ft (2,210 m) in 10 minutes

See also

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era

(Partial listing, only covers most numerous types)


See also

References

Citations
  1. "Verville Sport Trainer AT". Aviation-history.com. Retrieved 2014-05-09.
  2. "The First Federal Aircraft Type Certificate" (PDF). www.faa.gov. 1927.
  3. "ATCs". Aerofiles.com. Retrieved 2014-05-09.
  4. http://www.hoaircraft.com/VintageBuhlpdf.pdf
  5. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-01-28. Retrieved 2015-02-23.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. Forden, Lesley. The Ford Air Tours: 1925-1931. New Brighton Minnesota: Aviation Foundation of America, 2003, First edition 1972. No ISBN.
  7. "Flight Global Magazine, April 8th, 1927, page 209". Flightglobal.com. 1926-04-08. Retrieved 2014-05-09.
  8. Grey, C.G., ed. (1928). Jane's all the World's Aircraft 1928. London: Sampson Low, Marston & company, ltd. p. 203c.

Bibliography
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