The Aeroneer 1-B is an all-metal light aircraft built in the United States in 1936. It did not reach production, despite an attempt to interest the

USAAC The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical r ...

in it as a trainer, but it appeared in three Hollywood films.

Design

The Aeroneer 1-B was initially developed by the Aero Engineering Corp, which named it. Its later development was taken up by the Phillips Aviation Company, so it appears as the Aeroneer 1-B in contemporary publications, though later sources may refer to it as the Phillips Aeroneer 1-B. The Aeroneer is a

low wing A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing confi ...

cantilever A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is supported at only one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a canti ...

design. Its wing is in five separate parts: a short span, rectangular centre section,

trapezoidal A quadrilateral with at least one pair of parallel sides is called a trapezoid () in American and Canadian English. In British and other forms of English, it is called a trapezium (). A trapezoid is necessarily a convex quadrilateral in Eucli ...

panels over most of the span and rounded tips. The outer panels carry some dihedral. It is built around a single

spar SPAR, originally DESPAR, styled as DE SPAR, is a Dutch multinational that provides branding, supplies and support services for independently owned and operated food retail stores. It was founded in the Netherlands in 1932, by Adriaan van Well, ...

placed at 30% chord. Torsional loads are resisted by a torsion box formed by the riveted

Alclad Alclad is a corrosion-resistant aluminium sheet formed from high-purity aluminium surface layers metallurgically bonded (rolled onto) to high-strength aluminium alloy core material. It has a melting point of about 500 degrees celsius, or 932 degree ...

skin that covers the whole wing and an auxiliary spar at 65% chord. Its

aileron An aileron (French for "little wing" or "fin") is a hinged flight control surface usually forming part of the trailing edge of each wing of a fixed-wing aircraft. Ailerons are used in pairs to control the aircraft in roll (or movement around ...

s are metal framed but fabric covered, mounted on

piano hinge A hinge is a mechanical bearing that connects two solid objects, typically allowing only a limited angle of rotation between them. Two objects connected by an ideal hinge rotate relative to each other about a fixed axis of rotation: all other ...

s from the upper surface. Split flaps with an area of run under the

trailing edge The trailing edge of an aerodynamic surface such as a wing is its rear edge, where the airflow separated by the leading edge meets.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 521. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997. ...

from aileron to aileron. The engine is a

Menasco C-4 The Menasco Pirate series were four-cylinder, air-cooled, in-line, inverted aero-engines, built by the Menasco Motors Company of Burbank, California, for use in light general and sport aircraft during the 1930s and 1940s. The Menasco engines c ...

, an air-cooled, inverted four-cylinder inline, though other Menasco engines could also have been fitted. The

fuselage The fuselage (; from the French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an engine as well, although in some amphibious aircraft t ...

is all-metal, Aclad skinned and stiffened, though immediately behind the engine and around the

cockpit A cockpit or flight deck is the area, usually near the front of an aircraft or spacecraft, from which a Pilot in command, pilot controls the aircraft. The cockpit of an aircraft contains flight instruments on an instrument panel, and the ...

the structure is reinforced with chrome-molybdenum steel tubes. The enclosed cockpit, under a sliding

canopy Canopy may refer to: Plants * Canopy (biology), aboveground portion of plant community or crop (including forests) * Canopy (grape), aboveground portion of grapes Religion and ceremonies * Baldachin or canopy of state, typically placed over an a ...

and seating two side-by-side with dual controls, is over the wing. The

empennage The empennage ( or ), also known as the tail or tail assembly, is a structure at the rear of an aircraft that provides stability during flight, in a way similar to the feathers on an arrow.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third ed ...

is conventional, with the

tailplane A tailplane, also known as a horizontal stabiliser, is a small lifting surface located on the tail (empennage) behind the main lifting surfaces of a fixed-wing aircraft as well as other non-fixed-wing aircraft such as helicopters and gyroplane ...

set at mid-fuselage; its

elevator An elevator or lift is a wire rope, cable-assisted, hydraulic cylinder-assisted, or roller-track assisted machine that vertically transports people or freight between floors, levels, or deck (building), decks of a building, watercraft, ...

s are

balanced In telecommunications and professional audio, a balanced line or balanced signal pair is a circuit consisting of two conductors of the same type, both of which have equal impedances along their lengths and equal impedances to ground and to other ...

and fitted with

trim tab Trim tabs are small surfaces connected to the trailing edge of a larger control surface on a boat or aircraft, used to control the trim of the controls, i.e. to counteract hydro- or aerodynamic forces and stabilise the boat or aircraft in a pa ...

s. The

fin A fin is a thin component or appendage attached to a larger body or structure. Fins typically function as foils that produce lift or thrust, or provide the ability to steer or stabilize motion while traveling in water, air, or other fluids. Fin ...

is straight-edged but the short, broad, balanced rudder is curved. The Aeroneer has a tailwheel

undercarriage Undercarriage is the part of a moving vehicle that is underneath the main body of the vehicle. The term originally applied to this part of a horse-drawn carriage, and usage has since broadened to include: *The landing gear of an aircraft. *The ch ...

. Its mainwheels are on parallel, forward-raked

oleo strut An oleo strut is a pneumatic air–oil hydraulic shock absorber used on the landing gear of most large aircraft and many smaller ones. This design cushions the impacts of landing and damps out vertical oscillations. It is undesirable for an airp ...

legs. The wheels have

hydraulic Hydraulics (from Greek: Υδραυλική) is a technology and applied science using engineering, chemistry, and other sciences involving the mechanical properties and use of liquids. At a very basic level, hydraulics is the liquid counter ...

brakes and both they and the legs are faired-in. The tailwheel, also fitted with a shock absorber, is free to

caster A caster (or castor) is an undriven wheel that is designed to be attached to the bottom of a larger object (the "vehicle") to enable that object to be moved. Casters are used in numerous applications, including shopping carts, office chairs, t ...

. Floats or skis can replace wheels.

Development

The date of the Aeroneer's first flight is not known but by February 1937 it had completed "extensive tests" and was "ready for production". Nonetheless, it did not receive its Approved Type Certificate until the summer of 1938. In the absence of civil orders, Phillips slightly increased the span as well its power, in the hope that

would order it as a basic trainer. A Menasco B-6 six-cylinder inline installation was planned, though another six-cylinder, inverted inline, a Ranger 6-410, was finally installed.

Operational history

No order was placed and the Aeroneer may have been sold to

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

; it appears in several films including

The House Across the Bay ''The House Across the Bay'' is a 1940 film directed by Archie Mayo, starring George Raft and Joan Bennett, produced by Walter Wanger, written by Myles Connolly and Kathryn Scola, and released by United Artists. The supporting cast features Lloy ...

(1940), where it took the rôle of the Crane X-PT,

Power Dive ''Power Dive'' is a 1941 American film directed by James P. Hogan. The film stars Richard Arlen, Jean Parker and Helen Mack. ''Power Dive'' was the first film from the producing team of Pine-Thomas Productions, former press agents who had a pro ...

(1941), and

Sky Raiders ''Sky Raiders'' is a 12-episode 1941 Universal film serial. The serial was directed by Ford Beebe and Ray Taylor. ''Sky Raiders'' stars Donald Woods, Billy Halop, Robert Armstrong and Eduardo Ciannelli. ''Sky Raiders'' has little in common wi ...

(1941). The Aeroneer is reported to have survived in storage in

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

until at least 2005. In 2007 it was advertised as for sale and its current state is unknown.

Specifications (Menasco C-4 engine)

References

{{reflist, refs= {{cite book , title= Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1938, last= Grey , first= C.G. , year=1972, publisher= David & Charles, location= London, isbn=0715-35734-4, page=243c {{cite journal , date=February 1937, title=The Aeroneer Model 1-B Lightplane, journal= Popular Aviation, volume=20 , issue=2, pages=29, 62, url= https://books.google.com/books?id=7ZflMY4AqdUC , issn= 0015-4806 {{cite journal , date=17 December 1936 , title=L'Avion de tourisme Aeroneer "1-B", journal=Les Ailes , issue=809, pages=3, url=http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k6555252r/f3 {{cite web , url=http://www.aerofiles.com/_pa.html, title=Phillips , work=Aerofiles , access-date=1 May 2016 {{cite web , url=http://aeromovies.fr/articles.php?lng=en&pg=345, title=LE PHILLIPS 1-B Aeroneer , work=Aerofiles , access-date=3 May 2016 1930s United States sport aircraft Low-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1936