The Nicholas-Beazley NB-3, or Barling NB-3, is a two-seat,
training aircraft of the 1920s.
Design
The Barling NB-3 was designed by Walter Barling in 1927. The aircraft was advertised as being able to right itself from any position with hands off the controls and also as being spin-proof. The NB-3 is a low wing tandem-seat, open cockpit aircraft with
conventional landing gear. The
fuselage was constructed of welded chrome-moly steel tubing with
aircraft fabric covering
Aircraft fabric covering is a term used for both the material used and the process of covering aircraft open structures. It is also used for reinforcing closed plywood structures. The de Havilland Mosquito is an example of this technique, as ar ...
. The wings used a unique double layered corrugated aluminum skin with a smooth exterior that required custom presses to handle the various thicknesses of material along the span. The center section was straight with dihedral in the outer bays. The spar was also aluminum with a U shaped profile. The aircraft was powered by an
Anzani 3 cylinder
radial engine, Superior radial or
LeBlond 60-5-D. The main gear used long struts attached to the upper fuselage for the largest landing gear geometry. The NB-3 fuselage was widened, giving one cockpit a side-by side seating arrangement to accommodate 3 people. The new aircraft was named the NB-4.
Operational history
The NB-3 was test flown by Claude Sterling in February 1929. The plane competed in the 1929
National Air Races
The National Air Races (also known as Pulitzer Trophy Races) are a series of pylon and cross-country races that have taken place in the United States since 1920. The science of aviation, and the speed and reliability of aircraft and engines grew ...
, placing first or second in events in its class. The Marshall Flying School advertised the NB-3 as a one-day-to-learn-to-fly aircraft with students flying in the morning, an aerodynamics class, learning how to weld by mid-afternoon, salesmanship, and a leisure round of boxing and swimming by evening.
Ruth Alexander established a new world record for altitude in 1930 using an NB-3 over San Diego, California. A NB-3 is on display at the N-B plant's hometown airport in
Marshall, Missouri.
Variants
;NB-3
: Anzani powered - 3 built
;NB-3G
:Armstrong-Siddely Genet Mk II
;NB-3L
:Lambert
;NB-3V
: Velie M-5 1 built
;NB-4G
: Side-by-side variant with Armstrong-Siddely Genet Mk II
;NB-4L
: Side-by-side variant with Lambert . ATC#365 issued 12-13-1930
;NB-4W
:Side-by-side variant with Warner . ATC#386 issued 12-13-1930
Specifications (NB-3)
References
{{reflist
External links
image of a NB-3
1920s United States civil utility aircraft
Low-wing aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1928
Single-engined tractor aircraft