Keystone Pathfinder

__NOTOC__

The Keystone K-47 Pathfinder was an airliner developed in the United States in the late 1920s, built only in prototype form. It was an attempt by the Keystone Aircraft Corporation to develop a civil transport version of the successful series of bombers that it was producing for the United States Army Air Corps as the LB-5 and its derivatives. Like them, it was a conventional biplane design with engines mounted in nacelles on the lower wing, but also added a third engine, mounted on the nose (as the single engine of the LB-1 had been). A passenger cabin with seating for ten was added to the fuselage.

The first Pathfinder (registered NX179) was chosen by US Navy pilots Noel Davis and Stanton Wooster for their attempt at the Orteig prize to cross the Atlantic. The standard Liberty engines were replaced by Wright J-5s of approximately half their power. Painted yellow, the aircraft was named "American Legion" after the sponsors of the attempt. On 26 April 1927, a week before their planned departure, the aircraft crashed during a heavily-laden test flight from Langley Field at Hampton, Virginia. Unable to climb quickly enough to clear a row of trees, Davis attempted to turn the aircraft, but lost height and was forced to land. Although he succeeded in bringing the aircraft down, he was unable to stop it as it skidded into a nearby bog and was wrecked. Davis and Wooster were both killed, the former's face crushed and the latter's neck broken. The remains of the aircraft were trucked back to Keystone, where it was rebuilt and re-registered (NC1612). It was purchased by Basil Rowe to use for his pioneering air service in the West Indies, West Indian Aerial Express, christened "Santa Maria". As Pan American expanded its operations into the area, "Santa Maria" was chartered to fly the first of the airline's mail flights from Key West to Havana, before Pan Am purchased West Indian Aerial Express outright, and the Pathfinder along with it. The aircraft continued to fly freight for Pan Am for some years before retired and burned at Brownsville, Texas.

The second Pathfinder (NC5317) was fitted with extensions to its lower wing that was used to carry an neon sign advertising Silver Dust laundry soap through the skies of New York at night during 1928.

Variants

* K-47 - initial version with Liberty L-12 engines, modified for trans-atlantic attempt (1 built)
** K-47A - K-47 rebuilt after crash for use as commercial transport, fuselage and lower wingspan extended. Later repowered with Wright Cyclones for increase in top speed to 150 mph (240 km/h)
** K-47C - Advertising platform with further extended lower wingspan, 2× Wright J-5 engines and 1× Pratt & Whitney Wasp

pecifications (K-47A)

aerospecs
ref=
met or eng?= eng

crew=Two
capacity=10 passengers
length m=14.02
length ft=46
length in=0
span m=22.86
span ft=75
span in=0
swept m=
swept ft=
swept in=
rot number=
rot dia m=
rot dia ft=
rot dia in=
dia m=
dia ft=
dia in=
width m=
width ft=
width in=
height m=
height ft=
height in=
wing area sqm=
wing area sqft=
swept area sqm=
swept area sqft=
rot area sqm=
rot area sqft=
volume m3=
volume ft3=
aspect ratio=
wing profile=
empty weight kg=
empty weight lb=
gross weight kg=
gross weight lb=
lift kg=
lift lb=

eng1 number=3
eng1 type=Wright J-5
eng1 kw= 160
eng1 hp= 220
eng1 kn=
eng1 lbf=
eng1 kn-ab=
eng1 lbf-ab=
eng2 number=
eng2 type=
eng2 kw=
eng2 hp=
eng2 kn=
eng2 lbf=
eng2 kn-ab=
eng2 lbf-ab=

max speed kmh=180
max speed mph=113
max speed mach=
cruise speed kmh=
cruise speed mph=
stall speed kmh=
stall speed mph=
range km=800
range miles=500
endurance h=
endurance min=
ceiling m=
ceiling ft=
g limits=
roll rate=
glide ratio=
climb rate ms=
climb rate ftmin=
sink rate ms=
sink rate ftmin=

armament1=
armament2=
armament3=
armament4=
armament5=
armament6= aircontent
see also=
related=
similar aircraft=
lists=

References

*
*
*
* [http://aerofiles.com/_keys.html aerofiles.com]