The Burnelli CBY-3 Loadmaster is an unconventional transport aircraft that was designed by

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

engineer

Vincent Burnelli Vincent Justus Burnelli (November 22, 1895 – June 22, 1964) was an American aeronautics engineer, instrumental in furthering the lifting body and flying wing concept. Biography Burnelli was born on November 22, 1895, in Temple, Texas. ...

and built in

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in 1944 by

Canadian Car and Foundry Canadian Car and Foundry (CC&F), also variously known as "Canadian Car & Foundry" or more familiarly as "Can Car", was a manufacturer of buses, railway rolling stock, forestry equipment, and later aircraft for the Canadian market. CC&F history ...

Design and development

The CBY-3 " lifting fuselage" was an evolution of the earlier

Burnelli UB-14 The Burnelli UB-14, also known as the Cunliffe-Owen Clyde Clipper, was a 1930s American prototype lifting-fuselage airliner designed and built by Vincent Burnelli. Design and development Following on from his earlier designs Vincent Burnelli d ...

. Burnelli worked as a designer at

(CanCar) in

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, and the CBY-3 was intended for bush operations in northern Canada. The sole

prototype A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and software programming. A prototype is generally used to ...

was extensively tested but failed to gain a production contract. Burnelli had a lifelong career devoted to exploiting the advantages of the lifting body airfoil concept that characterized many of his earlier aircraft designs. His last design, the CBY-3 was manufactured by CanCar in

, but ownership reverted to Burnelli, when the CBY-3 was unable to gain a production contract. The name of the aircraft, CBY-3, was derived from the name of the three partners involved in its creation: CanCar, Burnelli and Lowell Yerex and "3" from the number of partners involved. Lowell Yerex was a

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er who had formed TACA – ''Transportes Aéreos Centroamericanos'' (Central American Air Transport) in

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...

in 1931, and joined the project when Burnelli convinced him that the CBY-3 could be used as both a cargo and passenger aircraft. A follow-up design in 1942 for the CC&F B-1000, a bomber using the same lifting body principles, remained a "paper project".

Operational history

Originally registered ''CF-BEL-X'' while still in the experimental stage, this one-off,

twin-boom A twin-boom aircraft is characterised by two longitudinal booms (extended nacelle-like bodies). The booms may contain ancillary items such as fuel tanks and/or provide a supporting structure for other items. Typically, twin tailbooms support ...

, aerofoil-section

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 ...

, high-lift

airliner An airliner is a type of aircraft for transporting passengers and air cargo. Such aircraft are most often operated by airlines. Although the definition of an airliner can vary from country to country, an airliner is typically defined as an ai ...

garnered significant interest from the industry. ''CF-BEL-X'' underwent rigorous testing and proving flights designed to show off its potential. Despite a trouble-free test program and glowing accolades from the press and industry observers, no production orders resulted and the prototype was later sold in the United States as ''N17N''. Moving to

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, Burnelli continued to promote his airfoil-shaped fuselage transport aircraft. In 1955, he adapted the CBY-3 to carry an expedition of 20 passengers and 41 sled dogs, along with their equipment, to the

North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distinguish from the Ma ...

, but the enterprise was canceled. The Loadmaster continued to fly regularly as a commercial airliner both in northern Canada and South America; acquired with design rights by Airlifts Inc. in

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

, it went to

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, and returned to Burnelli Avionics for refitting with

Wright R-2600 The Wright R-2600 Cyclone 14 (also called Twin Cyclone) is an American radial engine developed by Curtiss-Wright and widely used in aircraft in the 1930s and 1940s. History In 1935, Curtiss-Wright began work on a more powerful version of thei ...

engines, finally ended its flying days at

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's airport in Maryland.

Aircraft on display

In 1964, the CBY-3 air transport was retired to the

New England Air Museum The New England Air Museum (NEAM) is an American aerospace museum located adjacent to Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, Connecticut. The museum consists of three display hangars with additional storage and restoration hangars. Its co ...

Windsor Locks, Connecticut Windsor Locks is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 12,613. It is the site of Bradley International Airport, which serves the Greater Hartford-Springfield region and occupies approxi ...

, where it was displayed outside. As of November 2020, after an eight-year restoration, the CBY-3 was moved into the Civil Aviation Hangar where the final assembly will be completed.

Specifications (CBY-3)

References

External links

Extensive story of Burnelli's designs
*
Tracking RANSA’s CBY-3 Loadmaster – LAAHS.com

After The Track Of The CBY-3 «Loadmaster» Of RANSA (Spanish) – LAAHS.com
{{Aircraft manufactured in Canada CBY-3 1950s Canadian airliners Canadian Car and Foundry aircraft Twin-boom aircraft Aviation history of Canada Abandoned civil aircraft projects Lifting bodies High-wing aircraft Twin piston-engined tractor aircraft