The Boeing Model 42 (also Boeing XCO-7 for Experimental Corps Observation Model 7) was an American biplane aircraft developed from the

Airco DH.4 The Aircraft Manufacturing Company Limited (Airco) was an early British aircraft manufacturer. Established during 1912, it grew rapidly during the First World War, referring to itself as the largest aircraft company in the world by 1918. Ai ...

, taking advantage of the large number of aircraft left over after the end of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Development and design

The Model 42 was essentially an Airco DH-4M-1 fitted with new Boeing tailplanes, tapered wings, and tripod landing gear. The first aircraft built, designated XCO-7, was used as a static test bed, and did not fly. The second aircraft, XCO-7A, used a standard DH-4M-1 fuselage and Liberty engine, with the Boeing modifications. The final aircraft, XCO-7B, added balanced elevators and inverted the Liberty engine. Both flyable aircraft were shipped to

McCook Field McCook Field was an airfield and aviation experimentation station in Dayton, Ohio, United States. It was operated by the Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps and its successor the United States Army Air Service from 1917 to 1927. It was named fo ...

, where the first flight occurred on 6 February 1925. The performance of the new aircraft did not justify the cost of the conversion, and Boeing abandoned the project.Bowers, 1966. pg. 59.

Specifications (XCO-7A)

References

* Bowers, Peter M. ''Boeing aircraft since 1916''. London: Putnam Aeronautical Books, 1966. {{USAAS observation aircraft 1920s United States military reconnaissance aircraft

042 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest c ...

Biplanes Single-engined tractor aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1925