The Berliner-Joyce XFJ was a
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 ...
prototype
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 ...
fighter aircraft
Fighter aircraft are fixed-wing military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air superiority of the battlespace. Domination of the airspace above a battlefield ...
that first flew in May 1930. Designed by
Berliner-Joyce Aircraft
Berliner-Joyce Aircraft was an American aircraft manufacturer.
History
The company was founded on the February 4, 1929, when Henry Berliner and his 1922 company, Berliner Aircraft Company of Alexandria, Virginia, joined with Maryland Aviatio ...
for the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
, its lower wing, placed below 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 ...
and just two feet above the ground, apparently gave it a tendency to
ground loop when landing, and it was never ordered for production.
Development and design
Berliner-Joyce had been formed in 1929, and had won a contract with the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
for the
Berliner-Joyce P-16
The Berliner-Joyce P-16 was a 1930s United States two-seat fighter aircraft produced by Berliner-Joyce Aircraft Corporation.
Design and development
The Berliner-Joyce Aircraft Corporation was established in February 1929 when it acquired the as ...
aircraft. At the same time, they submitted a similar design to the Navy, modified to meet the differing requirements, which included a metal-skinned semi-monocoque fuselage, shoulder-mounted upper wings and a lower wing underslung on cabane-type struts.
The prototype, XFJ-1, was sent to
Anacostia
Anacostia is a historic neighborhood in Southeast Washington, D.C. Its downtown is located at the intersection of Good Hope Road and Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue. It is located east of the Anacostia River, after which the neighborhood is nam ...
for testing after its initial flights, where the ground-looping habit was noted, and eventually resulted in a landing accident, necessitating return and repair.
The company took the opportunity to add a
Townend ring
A Townend ring is a narrow- chord cowling ring fitted around the cylinders of an aircraft radial engine to reduce drag and improve cooling.
Development
The Townend ring was the invention of Dr. Hubert Townend of the British National Physica ...
engine
cowling
A cowling is the removable covering of a vehicle's engine, most often found on automobiles, motorcycles, airplanes, and on outboard boat motors. On airplanes, cowlings are used to reduce drag and to cool the engine. On boats, cowlings are a cove ...
,
and upgraded the
engine
An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy.
Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power gen ...
from a 450-hp Pratt & Whitney R-1340C to a 500-hp R-1340-92 Wasp.
This and other improvements boosted speed from 177 to 193 mph, and the Navy gave the reconstructed aircraft the designation XFJ-2.
However, improved performance came at the expense of stability, and the ground loop problem persisted, and there was no interest in continuing with this design. Nevertheless, the prototype continued to be used for other tests for several years.
Specifications (XFJ-1)
References
Further reading
*
External links
Berliner-Joyce XFJ-1 — AeroWeb: The Aviation Enthusiast Corner (includes an image)
{{USN fighters
F1J
Berliner-Joyce F1J
Single-engined tractor aircraft
Carrier-based aircraft