Engineering:Curtiss-Wright CW-12

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CW-12 Sport Trainer and CW-16 Light Sport
Curtiss travel air cw-12q g-aaok arp.jpg
Curtiss-Wright Travel Air CW-12W (built 2009)
Role Civil trainer
Manufacturer Curtiss-Wright
First flight 1931
Status Some airworthy in 2009
Primary user Private owners
Number built 63

The Curtiss-Wright CW-12 Sport Trainer and CW-16 Light Sport (also marketed under the Travel Air brand that Curtiss-Wright had recently acquired) were high-performance training aircraft designed by Herbert Rawdon and Ted Wells and built in the United States in the early 1930s.

Development

The CW-12 and CW-16 shared the same basic design as conventional single-bay biplanes with staggered wings braced with N-struts. The pilot and instructor sat in tandem, open cockpits, the forward cockpit of the CW-12 having a single seat, while the CW-16's forward cockpit could seat two passengers side-by-side. Both versions of the aircraft were available in a variety of engine choices, and some CW-16s were exported as trainers to the air forces of Bolivia and Ecuador.

Variants

Curtiss Travel Air 16E at the Historic Aircraft Restoration Museum
CW-12
  • CW-12K - version powered by 125 hp (93 kW) Kinner K-5 engine. Two built.[1]
  • CW-12Q - version powered by 90 hp (67 kW) Wright-built de Havilland Gipsy. 26 built.[1]
  • CW-12W - version powered by 110 hp (82 kW) Warner Scarab. 12 built[1] + 1 replica
CW-16
  • CW-16E - version powered by Wright J-6 Whirlwind 5 engine. (10 built).[2]
  • CW-16K - version powered by Kinner B-5 engine (11 built).[2]
  • CW-16W - version powered by Warner Scarab engine (1 built).[2]

Operators

Civil owners in USA and United Kingdom

 Argentina
  • Argentine Navy purchased 15 CW-16Es in 1935, with 13 more possibly being built from 1938. The type remained in use until 1949.[3]
 Bolivia
 Brazil
  • Brazilian Air Force received 15 CW-16Ws, with 125 hp (93 kW) Warner Scarab engines in 1935, the type remaining in service until 1940.[4]
 Colombia
 Ecuador
  • Ecuadorian Air Force purchased six CW-16Es in 1935, with three more CW-16s following in 1936. Three remained in use until 1944.[5]

Specifications (CW-12Q)

Data from Curtiss Aircraft 1907–1947[6]

General characteristics

  • Crew: 2
  • Length: 21 ft 5 in (6.53 m)
  • Wingspan: 28 ft 10 in (8.79 m)
  • Height: 8 ft 10 in (2.69 m)
  • Wing area: 206 sq ft (19.1 m2)
  • Airfoil: Clark Y (15%)[7]
  • Empty weight: 1,071 lb (486 kg)
  • Gross weight: 1,725 lb (782 kg)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Curtiss-Wright licence-built de Havilland Gipsy 4-cylinder air-cooled in-line piston engine, 90 hp (67 kW)
  • Propellers: 2-bladed fixed-pitch propeller

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 105 mph (169 km/h, 91 kn)
  • Cruise speed: 88 mph (142 km/h, 76 kn)
  • Range: 390 mi (630 km, 340 nmi)
  • Service ceiling: 12,000 ft (3,700 m)
  • Rate of climb: 600 ft/min (3.0 m/s)

References

Citations

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Bowers 1979, p.402.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Bowers 1979, p. 408.
  3. ↑ Hagedorn Air Enthusiast March to May 1992, p. 76.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Hagedorn Air Enthusiast March to May 1992, p. 75.
  5. ↑ Hagedorn Air Enthusiast March to May 1992, pp. 75–76.
  6. ↑ Bowers 1979, p.403.
  7. ↑ Lednicer, David. "The Incomplete Guide to Airfoil Usage". https://m-selig.ae.illinois.edu/ads/aircraft.html. 

Bibliography

  • Bowers, Peter M. (1979). Curtiss Aircraft 1907–1947. London: Putnam. ISBN 0-370-10029-8. 
  • Hagedorn, Dan (March–May 1992). "Curtiss Types In Latin America". Air Enthusiast (Forty-five): 61–77. ISSN 0143-5450. 
  • Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions. p. 288. 
  • World Aircraft Information Files. London: Bright Star Publishing. pp. File 891 Sheet 54. 



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