- Curtiss Oriole
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Curtiss Oriole Role Light aircraft National origin United States of America. Manufacturer Curtiss Aircraft First flight 1919 Unit cost $7500 in 1919 The Curtiss Oriole Model 17 is a three-place biplane.
Contents
Design
The Oriole is a steel-tube-and-fabric-covered biplane powered by a Curtiss K-6 engine. The aircraft featured a self-starter.[1]
Operational history
Surplus Curtiss Oriole wings were sold to Harold Pitcairn to manufacture the first production Pitcairn aircraft, the Pitcairn PA-3 Orowing.
Northwest Airlines was founded on August 1, 1926, flying a Curtiss Oriole and a Thomas Morse Biplane on the CAM-9 Airmail route from Minneapolis to Chicago.[2]
Admiral Byrd selected a Curtiss Oriole for his backup aircraft for his Fokker on his North Pole expedition. One was shipped on the steamer Chantier in case the Fokker was unavailable.[3]
Survivors
A leased Curtiss Oriole was deployed by the 109th Observation Squadron in 1921. The aircraft was flown to Washington D.C. to lobby for Minnesota Air Guard funding.[4]
A Curtiss Oriole is displayed at the Glenn H. Curtiss Museum in Hammondsport, New York, and a Oriole is on static display at the Minnesota Air National Guard Museum
Variants
Igor Sikorsky offered a kit to replace the lower wings with a smaller pair with less drag-producing struts and wires. One example with this modification and a 150 hp Hispano-Suiza upgrade, was entered in the 1927 National Air Races. Before the races, the engine was upgraded again to a Hispano-Suiza 220 hp engine, which overwhelmed the cooling system with metal shavings, causing the aircraft to drop out of the race.[5]
Specifications (short-span wings, OX-5 engine)
Data from Curtiss Aircraft 1907–1947[6]
General characteristics
- Crew: 1
- Capacity: 2 passengers
- Length: 25 ft 0 in (7.62 m)
- Wingspan: 36 ft 0 in (10.97 m)
- Height: 10 ft 1 in (3.07 m)
- Wing area: 326 sq ft (30.3 m2)
- Empty weight: 1,428 lb (648 kg)
- Gross weight: 2,036 lb (924 kg)
- Powerplant: 1 × Curtiss OX-5 water-cooled V-8 engine, 90 hp (67 kW)
Performance
- Maximum speed: 86 mph (138 km/h; 75 kn)
- Cruise speed: 69 mph (60 kn; 111 km/h)
- Range: 582 mi (506 nmi; 937 km)
- Service ceiling: 8,000 ft (2,438 m)
- Rate of climb: 400 ft/min (2.0 m/s)
Notes
- ^ "Chaplin Airlines". http://www.americahurrah.com/California/LosAngeles/chaplin2.html. Retrieved 18 January 2011.
- ^ "Northwest Curtiss Oriole". http://www.edcoatescollection.com/ac3/Airline/Northwest%20Curtiss%20Oriole.html. Retrieved 18 January 2011.
- ^ "BYRD WILL CARRY A CURTISS ORIOLE; Three-Passenger Plane to Be Taken on Polar Trip in Case Big Fokker Fails. LOADING TO START TODAY Chantier Goes to Navy Yard to Take On Final Cargo in Readiness for Monday's Sailing". The New York Times. April 2, 1926.
- ^ "The Minnesota Air National Guard". http://www.mnangmuseum.org/exhibits/oriole.html. Retrieved 18 January 2011.
- ^ experimenter. April 1957.
- ^ Bowers 1979, p. 176.
References
- Bowers, Peter M (1979). Curtiss Aircraft 1907–1947. London: Putnam. ISBN 0 370 10029 8.
Lists relating to aviation General Aircraft (manufacturers) · Aircraft engines (manufacturers) · Airlines (defunct) · Airports · Civil authorities · Museums · Registration prefixes · Rotorcraft (manufacturers) · TimelineMilitary Accidents/incidents Records Categories:- Aircraft 1920–1929
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