The Arrow Sport was a two-seat sporting

biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...

aircraft built in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in the 1920s and 1930s.

Design and construction

The plane was designed by

Swen Swanson Swen (Sven) Swanson (1897/98 – February 1935) was a Swedish aircraft designer. He designed aircraft for various aviation companies in the United States and also designed prototype and experimental airplanes. He was known as an innovative aircraft ...

and it was of largely conventional configuration with tailskid undercarriage, but was interesting in that the pilot and passenger sat side by side in the open

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 ...

, and because as originally designed, the fully

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 ...

wings lacked

interplane strut In aeronautics, bracing comprises additional structural members which stiffen the functional airframe to give it rigidity and strength under load. Bracing may be applied both internally and externally, and may take the form of strut, which act in ...

s – the upper wing attaching directly to the top of 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 ...

. This latter feature proved so alarming to many prospective pilots that the manufacturer later supplied N-type struts that were of no real function other than to allay the aviators' fears.

Survivors

Nine biplane Sports remain registered in the United States as of 2020, mostly in museums and private collections, including: * a Sport Pursuit (N8181, serial 432) preserved in the terminal building of the Lincoln Airport in Nebraska, Arrow's city of manufacture, and owned by the

Nebraska State Historical Society History Nebraska, formerly the Nebraska State Historical Society is a Nebraska state agency, founded in 1878 to "encourage historical research and inquiry, spread historical information ... and to embrace alike aboriginal and modern history." I ...

. * a Sport (N530A, serial 304) preserved at the

Dakota Territory Air Museum The Dakota Territory Air Museum is an aviation museum on North Hill in Minot, North Dakota near Minot International Airport. The mission of the Dakota Territory Air Museum is to be a historical aviation resource honoring the men, women and mac ...

in North Dakota. * a Sport A2-60 (ex-N9325/G-AARO, serial 341) preserved at the

National Air and Space Museum The National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, also called the Air and Space Museum, is a museum in Washington, D.C., in the United States. Established in 1946 as the National Air Museum, it opened its main building on the Nat ...

in Washington, D.C. * a Sport Pursuit (N853H, serial 412) is on display at the

Western Antique Aeroplane & Automobile Museum The Western Antique Aeroplane and Automobile Museum (WAAAM) is located in Hood River, Oregon, United States, adjacent to the Ken Jernstedt Memorial Airport. WAAAM is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization committed to the preservation of, and educatio ...

in Oregon.

Variants

* Sport – Two-seat sporting biplane, powered by a 60-hp (45-kW) LeBlond radial piston engine. * Sport 85 – 85 hp Leblond radial, extra four degrees of dihedral on lower wing. * Sport A2 ** Sport A2-40 ** Sport A2-60

LeBlond radial engines The LeBlond radial engines, later produced under the name Ken-Royce, were a family of 3-cylinder, 5-cylinder and 7-cylinder, air-cooled radial engines for aircraft, built in the 1930s by the LeBlond Aircraft Engine Corporation until the operatio ...

** Sport A2-66 ** Sport A2-90 Tangerine ** Sport A2-100

Kinner C-5 The Kinner C-5 was an American five cylinder radial engine for small general and sport aircraft of the 1930s. Design and development The C-5 was a development of the earlier R-5 with greater power and dimensions. The main change was the increas ...

* Sport Pursuit (renamed Sport K in 1935) – Improved version, powered by a 100-hp (75-kW)

Kinner K-5 The Kinner K-5 was a popular engine for light general and sport aircraft developed by Winfield B. 'Bert' Kinner. With the boom in civilian aviation after Charles Lindbergh's transatlantic flight the K-5 sold well. The K-5 was a rough running but ...

radial engine The radial engine is a reciprocating type internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. It resembles a stylized star when viewed from the front, and is ca ...

. * Sport V-8 (renamed the Model F) – Two-seat

monoplane 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 ...

version, powered by a converted

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

V8 automobile engine. ** Sport M – Model F with a

Menasco The Menasco Motors Company was an American aircraft engine and component manufacturer. History The company was organized by Albert S. Menasco in 1926 to convert World War I surplus Salmson Z-9 water-cooled nine-cylinder radials into air-coole ...

C-4 Pirate engine.Trade-a-Plane: "1938 Arrow Sport M"
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Specifications (A2-60)

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * * * *

External links

{{Arrow aircraft 1920s United States sport aircraft

Sport Sport pertains to any form of Competition, competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and Skill, skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to specta ...