The Campbell Model F, a

pusher configuration In an aircraft with a pusher configuration (as opposed to a tractor configuration), the propeller(s) are mounted behind their respective engine(s). Since a pusher propeller is mounted behind the engine, the drive shaft is in compression in nor ...

, two seat sport aircraft built in the 1930s, was unconventional in its day with its

empennage The empennage ( or ), also known as the tail or tail assembly, is a structure at the rear of an aircraft that provides stability during flight, in a way similar to the feathers on an arrow.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third ed ...

on twin, slim booms, a cockpit under stepless, rounded, multi-panel glazing and a

tricycle undercarriage Tricycle gear is a type of aircraft undercarriage, or ''landing gear'', arranged in a tricycle fashion. The tricycle arrangement has a single nose wheel in the front, and two or more main wheels slightly aft of the center of gravity. Tricycle ge ...

Design and development

The Campbell Model A was an all metal aircraft. Its mid-set wing was built around single box

spars The United States Coast Guard (USCG) Women's Reserve, also known as the SPARS (SPARS was the acronym for "Semper Paratus—Always Ready"), was the women's branch of the United States Coast Guard Reserve. It was established by the United States ...

with light fore and aft sections attached to them. These gave it a rectangular plan centre section and trapezoidal outer panels, ending in rounded tips. Long, narrow chord

ailerons An aileron (French for "little wing" or "fin") is a hinged flight control surface usually forming part of the trailing edge of each wing of a fixed-wing aircraft. Ailerons are used in pairs to control the aircraft in Flight dynamics, roll (or ...

were mounted on the outer panels. There were flaps on the wing undersides near the

trailing edge The trailing edge of an aerodynamic surface such as a wing is its rear edge, where the airflow separated by the leading edge meets.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 521. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997. ...

s. The Model F had a short,

ovoid An oval () is a closed curve in a plane which resembles the outline of an egg. The term is not very specific, but in some areas (projective geometry, technical drawing, etc.) it is given a more precise definition, which may include either one or ...

fuselage

nacelle A nacelle ( ) is a "streamlined body, sized according to what it contains", such as an engine, fuel, or equipment on an aircraft. When attached by a pylon entirely outside the airframe, it is sometimes called a pod, in which case it is attached ...

which just reached to the wing trailing edge. Its adapted Ford V-8 engine was mounted on top of the nacelle on rubber blocks, positioned over the spar with its pusher

propeller A propeller (colloquially often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon ...

barely beyond the trailing edge. Its

radiator Radiators are heat exchangers used to transfer thermal energy from one medium to another for the purpose of cooling and heating. The majority of radiators are constructed to function in cars, buildings, and electronics. A radiator is always a ...

was just aft of the roof of its cabin, which had streamlined, multi-panel glazing rather than a windscreen. The cabin seated two side by side, sharing a central throw-over control column for training. Each seat had

rudder pedal A conventional fixed-wing aircraft flight control system consists of flight control surfaces, the respective cockpit controls, connecting linkages, and the necessary operating mechanisms to control an aircraft's direction in flight. Aircraft e ...

s that could be removed for a passenger. The tail was carried on a pair of slim,

monocoque Monocoque ( ), also called structural skin, is a structural system in which loads are supported by an object's external skin, in a manner similar to an egg shell. The word ''monocoque'' is a French term for "single shell". First used for boats, ...

booms from the spar at the ends of the inner wing panels, placed just far enough apart to accommodate the propeller disk. Its

tailplane A tailplane, also known as a horizontal stabiliser, is a small lifting surface located on the tail (empennage) behind the main lifting surfaces of a fixed-wing aircraft as well as other non-fixed-wing aircraft such as helicopters and gyroplane ...

was rectangular in plan and the twin fins triangular in profile, respectively carrying a narrow chord

elevator An elevator or lift is a wire rope, cable-assisted, hydraulic cylinder-assisted, or roller-track assisted machine that vertically transports people or freight between floors, levels, or deck (building), decks of a building, watercraft, ...

and blunted, rectangular

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (generally aircraft, air or watercraft, water). On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to ...

s. The main landing wheels, with

hydraulic Hydraulics (from Greek: Υδραυλική) is a technology and applied science using engineering, chemistry, and other sciences involving the mechanical properties and use of liquids. At a very basic level, hydraulics is the liquid counter ...

brakes, were each on a short axle with parallel Bendix shock absorber legs to the spar. There was a V-form drag strut reaching forward. Each leg was also the forward attachment point of a tapering girder on the tailboom underside. The fork-mounted nose-wheel was steerable from the rudder pedals.

Operational history

The Model F first flew in 1935, though the exact date is unknown. By 1937, if not earlier, it was making demonstration flights including one from

Bolling Air Force Base Bolling Air Force Base or Bolling AFB was a United States Air Force base in Washington, D.C. In 2010, it was merged with Naval Support Facility Anacostia to form Joint Base Anacostia–Bolling. From its beginning, the installation has hosted elem ...

. It was damaged in another demonstration and was not repaired.

Specifications

References

{{reflist, refs= {{cite journal , title=Campbell F, journal=Aero Digest, date=March 1937, volume=30, issue=3, page=62, url=https://archive.org/details/aerodigest3019unse/page/n275/mode/1up {{cite journal , date=December 1936 , title=Images, journal=L'Aéronautique, volume=211 , pages=321 , url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k65547829/f13 {{cite web , url=http://www.aerofiles.com/_ca.html, title=Aerofiles:Campbell, access-date=7 October 2020 {{cite web , url=https://www.criticalpast.com/video/65675053139_Flivver-plane_Mark-Woods_demonstration-flights, title=Demonstration of Campbell Model F flivver airplane at Bolling Field, access-date=5 October 2020 Single-engined pusher aircraft Twin-boom aircraft 1930s United States sport aircraft Mid-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1935