The Rearwin Ken-Royce was an American three-seat sport/touring

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 ...

built by

Rearwin Airplanes Rearwin Airplanes was a series of US airplane-manufacturing businesses founded by Andrew ("Rae") Rearwin in 1928. Rae Rearwin was an American businessman who had developed several successful business ventures in the Salina, Kansas area in the earl ...

first in

Salina, Kansas Salina is a city in, and the county seat of, Saline County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 46,889. In the early 1800s, the Kanza tribal land reached eastward from the middle of the Kansas Territory. In 1 ...

then

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...

. It was the first airplane built by the company.

Design and development

Rae Rearwin Rae may refer to: People *Rae (given name), including a list of people with the given name *Rae (surname), including a list of people with the surname Nicknames for *Rachel (given name) *Rachelle *Raquel *Raven (given name) *Reema *Reena (disam ...

had toured Wichita aircraft manufacturers in the summer of 1927 and resolved to start an aircraft manufacturing business. After failing to hire

Herb Rawdon Herbert Rawdon (30 December 1904 - December 1975 in Wichita, Kansas) was an American aviation pioneer. Aviation career Rawdon graduated from Tri-State College in Angola, Indiana in 1925 with a BS degree in mechanical engineering, and began workin ...

away from Travel Air Corporation, he hired a young engineer Rawdon had suggested. Work on the company's first airplane began in an old garage in Salina, Kansas. The airplane, the Ken-Royce, was completed in January 1929. The name was both homage to Rae Rearwin's two sons, and a play on the name

Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...

, implying a quality product. The first aircraft was finished before a factory or financial backing had been set up. After both were found, further Ken-Royces were built in

. The Ken-Royce was a three-seat sport/touring biplane with pilot and passengers seated in tandem. Dual controls were optional, as was the choice of tail skid or tailwheel for the landing gear. Early Ken-Royce's were built with

Curtiss Challenger The Curtiss R-600 Challenger was a six-cylinder, double-row, air-cooled, radial engine for aircraft use built in the United States in the late 1920s. It developed . Design and development Curtiss started work on a small six-cylinder engine in Ma ...

engines, while Continental Motors' first engine, the A-70 was substituted after 1930. Production continued until 1937.

Operational history

The prototype Ken-Royce participated in The All-Kansas Air Tour in 1929, an event with both scored events and timed races. The Tour Chairman characterized the Ken-Royce's performance as "unsurpassed." The plane was immediately entered in further races in Memphis and Tulsa. Ruth Nichols then used the prototype in the

Women's Air Derby The Women's Air Derby was the first official women-only air race in the United States, taking place during the 1929 National Air Races. Humorist Will Rogers referred to it as the Powder Puff Derby, the name by which the race is most commonly know ...

in 1929. She was forced down outside Wichita because she was unfamiliar with the plane and had emptied the wing fuel tank: but did not realize there was a fuselage tank as well. She was again forced down west of

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

when the engine seized. She had to hike for several miles before eventually encountering a car which carried her to a railroad station. She rode to Los Angeles where she recruited a crew to fly another Curtiss Challenger engine out to the desert on a

Ford Trimotor The Ford Trimotor (also called the "Tri-Motor", and nicknamed the "Tin Goose") is an American three-engined transport aircraft. Production started in 1925 by the companies of Henry Ford and ended on June 7, 1933, after 199 had been made. It w ...

to replace the ruined engine. The repair was completed and Nichols flew the Ken-Royce to the starting line 30 minutes before the race started. Nichols and the Ken-Royce advanced to second-place by the time the race reached

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

. However, on a test flight after adjusting the propeller pitch, the Ken-Royce crashed. It was shipped back to Rearwin by rail. Ken-Royces were entered in the National Air Races in 1929 and 1930, the Miami Air Races, the Detroit Air Show, and the Pikes Peak Air Meet. One Ken-Royce participated in the

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 ...

, but took 11th in a field of 18. The third Ken-Royce biplane was sold to the Dallas School of Aviation, and was delivered by an aviator working for the

American Eagle The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche as ...

company named

Jean LaRene Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * J ...

. A flight instructor and rated transport pilot, she flew the Ken-Royce in the 1931 and 1932 Women's Air Derby. In 1940, she purchased the plane back from a private owner. Today it is the only Ken-Royce to survive.

Variants

''Data from RearwinAirplanes.com'' ;Rearwin 2000/Rearwin 2000-C :The initial version of the Ken-Royce, introduced in 1929. Used the Curtiss Challenger engine. One prototype and three production built. ;Rearwin 2000-CO :Version of the Ken-Royce using the Continental A-70 engine. One prototype and two production aircraft built.

Operators

* :

Honduran Air Force The Honduras Air Force ( es, Fuerza Aérea Hondureña, sometimes abbreviated to FAH in English) is the air force of Honduras. As such it is the air power arm of the Honduras Armed Forces. History The first Honduras military flying took place ...

- Ordered one Ken-Royce in 1937.

Surviving Aircraft

*1 Ken-Royce 2000-C is known to survive. It is owned by the Pioneer Flight Museum, Kingsbury, Texas, and is under restoration. *1 replica, 4/5th scale, was built by Cleo Robinson in

Phillipsburg, Kansas Phillipsburg is a city in, and the county seat of, Phillips County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 2,337. History Phillipsburg was organized in 1872 and named the county seat due to its central location in t ...

and is registered N400KR.

Specifications (Rearwin 2000-C)

References

{{Rearwin aircraft 1920s United States civil utility aircraft Ken-Royce High-wing aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1929