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)
  • 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

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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