The Buckley LC-4 "Wichcraft" was an advanced all metal

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 ...

built by the short-lived Buckley Aircraft Company.

Design and development

The Buckley LC-4 was one of two airplanes built by the Buckley Aircraft company in

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had ...

at the beginning of the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

. The project was under the direction of Frank Smith.

William Bushnell Stout William Bushnell Stout (March 16, 1880 – March 20, 1956) was a pioneering American inventor, engineer, developer and designer whose works in the automotive and aviation fields were groundbreaking. Known by the nickname "Bill", Stout designed an ...

became a part-owner of the company and the use of corrugated

aluminum Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It has ...

construction that Stout used with his prior company

Stout Metal Airplane Stout Metal Airplane Division of the Ford Motor Company was an American aircraft manufacturer founded by William Bushnell Stout as the Stout Metal Airplane Co. in 1922. The company was purchased by Ford Motor Company in 1924 and later produced th ...

was passed along in the Buckley designs. The LC-4 was an all-metal aircraft with a

conventional landing gear Conventional landing gear, or tailwheel-type landing gear, is an aircraft undercarriage consisting of two main wheels forward of the center of gravity and a small wheel or skid to support the tail.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Term ...

. The aircraft featured an enclosed cabin and corrugated aluminum construction on the wing and tail surfaces. The dual wing

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, ...

s were built up from extruded aluminum riveted together in a truss arrangement similar to the

Ford Trimotor The Ford Trimotor (also called the "Tri-Motor", and nicknamed the "Tin Goose") is an American three-engined transport aircraft. Production started in 1925 by the companies of Henry Ford and ended on June 7, 1933, after 199 had been made. It w ...

. The first and only example was completed on 6 December 1930 and

certified Certification is the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestation or confirmation of certain characteristics of a ...

on 13 June 1931.

Operational history

The LC-4 was displayed at the 1931 National Aircraft Show. The Yellow Air Cab Company signed orders for 200 to be built, but did not follow through. The prototype was sold to Deets Air Service in Nebraska following the bankruptcy of Buckley Aircraft.

Specifications (Buckley LC-4)

References

External links

Picture of an LC-4
{{Buckley Aircraft 1930s United States civil utility aircraft LC-4 Low-wing aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft