The Paramount Cabinaire was a 1920s designed cabin

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 ...

, designed by Walter J. Carr and produced by the

Paramount Aircraft Corporation Paramount Aircraft Corporation was an American aircraft manufacturer based out of Saginaw, Michigan Saginaw () is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Saginaw County. The city of Saginaw and Saginaw County are both in the area k ...

. Only eight were completed before production ceased.

Design and development

Following the failure of Walter J. Carr's first aircraft company, the CSC Aircraft Company, Carr worked as a tester for the new Warner Scarab radial engines. Carr flew with Scarabs on a Travel Air 2000, and later cannibalized the test aircraft to produce the first Cabinaire aircraft design. The prototype Cabinaire was formed around a welded steel tube Travel Air 2000 fuselage modified for an enclosed cabin. A new center section of wing was added and Travel air wings were reinstalled onto the center sections. The biplane aircraft featured a

radial engine The radial engine is a reciprocating type internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. It resembles a stylized star when viewed from the front, and is ca ...

, and

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 upper wing was mounted several inches above the enclosed cabin. The entire plane was fabric covered with wooden wing spars and ribs. The upscale cabin used two individual upholstered wicker seats in the front and a wicker bench seat for passengers. The interior used velour finishing, nickel plating, mohair rugs, mahogany panels and roll-down windows. Prototype #2 was made from parts of the first. Each production model differed slightly from each other with choices of engines, and landing gear and aileron improvements.

Operational history

In 1929,

Viola Gentry Viola Gentry (1894 - 1988) was an American aviator, best known for setting the Elinor Smith#Endurance records, first non-refueling endurance record for women. Early life Gentry was born in Gentry, Rockingham County, North Carolina. She learned to ...

and Jack Ashcroft attempted an endurance record for flight with aerial refueling in a modified Cabinaire SN#5 named The Answer. The name was chosen in response to the Army aircraft that had completed previous endurance records, the

Question Mark The question mark (also known as interrogation point, query, or eroteme in journalism) is a punctuation mark that indicates an interrogative clause or phrase in many languages. History In the fifth century, Syriac Bible manuscripts used ques ...

. The aircraft had a 55-gallon cabin tank, and 21 gallon wing tanks installed for the attempt. The Answer crew was unable to refuel after the first ten hours of flight due to fog and crashed 28 June 1929, killing Ashcroft. Carr had been the original choice of co-pilot, but had to pass on the opportunity when struck with pneumonia. In 1930, a Cabinaire was entered in the 4814 mile long

Ford National Reliability Air Tour The Ford Reliability Tour, properly called "The National Air Tour for the Edsel B. Ford Reliability Trophy", was a series of aerial tours sponsored in part by Ford from 1925 to 1931 and re-created in 2003. Top prize was the Edsel Ford Reliability ...

, placing 15th out of 18. The same aircraft has been restored and was still flown in 2011.

Variants

;Cabinaire 110 : Warner Radial SN#1-6 ;Cabinaire 165 : Wright J-6 SN#7 ;Cabinaire A-70 : - Originally, SN#3 flown as an aerial survey aircraft, it was rebuilt to meet ATC requirements, with a new engine, becoming SN#9.

Specifications (Paramount Cabinaire 165)

Paramount_Cabinaire_110_3-view_Aero_Digest_February_1929

References

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External links