The Buhl-Verville CA-3 Airster (also known as the J4 Airster, after its engine), was a utility aircraft built in the United States in 1926, notable as the first aircraft to receive a type certificate in the US, (i.e. A.T.C. No. 1) issued by the Aeronautics Branch of the

Department of Commerce The United States Department of Commerce is an executive department of the U.S. federal government concerned with creating the conditions for economic growth and opportunity. Among its tasks are gathering economic and demographic data for bu ...

on March 29, 1927. It was a conventional single-bay

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 ...

with equal-span unstaggered wings and accommodation for the pilot and passengers in tandem 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 ...

s. Marketed for a variety of roles including crop-dusting, aerial photography, and freight carriage, only a handful were built, some with water-cooled engines as the CW-3, and others with air-cooled engines as the CA-3 . One CA-3 placed second in the 1926 Ford National Reliability Air Tour. 1926 Ford Air Tour, piloted by Louis Meister, and another (designated the CA-3A) placed third in the 1927 Air Derby, piloted by Nick Mamer. One CW-3 and one CA-3 each were evaluated by the United States Army as trainers, but neither were purchased.

Versions

CA

*CA-3 Airster (1926) ''aka J4 Airster or B-V Airster'' **200 hp

Wright J-4 The Wright R-790 Whirlwind was a series of nine-cylinder air-cooled radial aircraft engines built by Wright Aeronautical Corporation, with a total displacement of about and around . These engines were the earliest members of the Wright Whirlwin ...

(a.k.a. J-4 Whirlwind) **Folding wings **awarded the first ATC ever issued, March 1927 (ATC 1, 2-6) **one modified under ATC 2-6 as 2p with 220 hp Wright J-5 as a trainer for Army trials *CA-3A Airster (1926) **225 hp Wright J-5 **3 built **cost: $9,300 *CA-3B Airster (1926) **one built Buhl-cw3

CW

*CW-3 OX5 Airster (1925) ** 90hp Curtiss OX-5 **useful load: 770 lbs **range: 475 miles **Folding wings **three built *CW-3 Wright Trainer (1926) **220 hp Wright J-5 **useful load: 885 lbs **range: 450 miles **one built for unsuccessful military trainer trials

Specifications (CA-3A)

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * http://www.aerofiles.com/_buhl.html
Federal Aviation Administration history page
* {{Verville Air CA-003 1920s United States civil utility aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Biplanes Verville aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1926

Versions

CA

CW

Specifications (CA-3A)

See also

References

Citations

Bibliography