The Swallow Airplane Swallow is an
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 ...
-built general purpose biplane of the mid- to late 1920s.
Development
The Swallow Airplane Manufacturing Co was formed in 1923 to take over the business of the E.M. Laird Aviation Co. of
Wichita, Kansas
Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had ...
and set up its factory there. In 1924, the New Swallow three-seat biplane was introduced, which differed from the earlier Laird-Swallow in having a cowled engine, split axle undercarriage and single-bay wings.
[Aerofiles] About 50 examples were produced until the design was enhanced in 1926. The initial price was $3,500 reducing to $2,485 in late 1926.
The Swallow OX-5, designed by Waverly Stearman, was introduced in 1927 and was the first Swallow to be built under an official ATC. This used a USA-27 airfoil and cabane N-struts. The
Curtiss OX-5
The Curtiss OX-5 was an early V-8 American liquid-cooled aircraft engine built by Curtiss. It was the first American-designed aircraft engine to enter mass production, although it was considered obsolete when it did so in 1917.Smith, 1981, pa ...
water-cooled engine of the New Swallow was retained. About 250 examples were built.
Whilst in commercial service, many Swallows were fitted with higher powered engines including the 225 hp
Wright J-5
The Wright R-790 Whirlwind was a series of nine-cylinder air-cooled radial aircraft engines built by Wright Aeronautical Corporation, with a total displacement of about and around . These engines were the earliest members of the Wright Whirlwin ...
, and later the
Continental R-670
The Continental R-670 (factory designation W670) was a seven-cylinder four-cycle radial aircraft engine produced by Continental displacing 668 cubic inches (11 litres) and a dry weight of . Horsepower varied from 210 to 240 at 2,200 rpm. The eng ...
.
Operational history
The three-seat Swallow found ready use in the hands of small commercial firms and with the newly founded regional airlines including
Varney Air Lines
Varney Air Lines was an airline company that started service on April 6, 1926, as an air-mail carrier. Formed by Walter Varney, the airline was based in Boise, Idaho, United States. The airline is one of the predecessors of United Airlines.
H ...
, who used them to carry U.S. mails on the recently created Air Mail routes. After the fitment in later years of more powerful engines, a few remain in service including an example at the
Wittman Regional Airport
Wittman Regional Airport is a county-owned public-use airport located two nautical miles (4 km) south of the central business district of Oshkosh, a city in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, United States. A large portion at the south en ...
in
Oshkosh, Wisconsin
Oshkosh is a city in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, of which it is the county seat. The city had a population of 66,816 in 2020, making it the ninth-largest city in Wisconsin. It is also adjacent to the Town of Oshkosh.
History
Oshkosh was ...
which is used for commercial joyriding.
[Ogden, page 561]
Variants
Source : Aerofiles
;New Swallow : 90 h.p. Curtiss OX-5, about 50 built 1924-1926
;Swallow OX-5 : 90 h.p. Curtiss OX-5, with USA-27 airfoil and cabane N-struts, about 250 built from 1927
;Swallow J-5 : 225 h.p. Wright J-5, fitted with metal propeller, brakes, larger fuel tank and custom paint. Unknown number built and modified from 1928.
;Hisso Swallow : 150 hp Hisso A, unknown numbers built from 1928.
Specifications (New Swallow)
See also
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era
(partial listing, only covers most numerous types)
*
Alexander Eaglerock
The Alexander Eaglerock was a biplane produced in the United States in the 1920s by Alexander Aircraft Company of Colorado Springs, Colorado.Payne, Stephen, ed. ''Canadian Wings'' (Douglas & McIntyre, Ltd., 2006), p.162.
It was a fixed-gear th ...
*
American Eagle A-101
The American A-1 and A-101 were American two and three-seat biplanes of the 1920s.
Design and development
The American Eagle A-1 was designed in late 1925 as a training aircraft to replace the World War I biplanes then in use by the Porterfield F ...
*
Brunner-Winkle Bird
The Brunner-Winkle Bird was a three-seat taxi and joy-riding aircraft produced in the US from 1928 to 1931.
Design and operation
The Model A version was powered by the ubiquitous Curtiss OX-5, and featured a welded steel-tube truss fuselage with ...
*
Buhl-Verville CA-3 Airster
The Buhl-Verville CA-3 Airster (also known as the J4 Airster, after its engine), was a utility aircraft built in the United States in 1926, notable as the first aircraft to receive a type certificate in the US, (i.e. A.T.C. No. 1) issued by the A ...
*
Command-Aire 3C3
The Command-Aire 3C3 and similar 4C3 and 5C3 are American three-seat open cockpit utility, training and touring biplanes developed by Command-Aire in the late 1920s and early 1930s.
Design and Development
The Command-Aire did not at first app ...
*
Parks P-1
The Parks P-1 was an American three-seat sport biplane that was built in the late 1920s.
Design and development
Based in St.Louis, pilot, salesman and entrepreneur Oliver Parks founded an air school, airline and aircraft manufacturing business ...
*
Pitcairn Mailwing
The Pitcairn Mailwing family was a series of American mail carrier and three-seat sport utility biplane aircraft produced from 1927 to 1931.
Design and development
The Pitcairn Mailwings were developed to carry air mail for the United States P ...
*
Spartan C3
The Spartan C3 is an American three-seat open-cockpit utility biplane from the late 1920s.
Design
The C3s fuselage and wing struts were built up from welded chromium-molybdenum alloy steel tubes, faired with wood battens. It had two open c ...
*
Stearman C2
The Stearman C2 was the second aircraft type designed by the Stearman Aircraft company. The aircraft first flew in 1927.
Design and development
The airframe of the C2 was virtually identical to the model C1. Differences included an aileron con ...
and
C3
*
Travel Air 2000 and 4000
*
Waco 10
The Waco 10/GXE/Waco O series was a range of three-seat open-cockpit biplanes built by the Advance Aircraft Company, later the Waco Aircraft Company.
Design and development
The Waco 10 was a larger span development of the Waco 9, both single-engi ...
Related lists
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List of aircraft
The lists of aircraft are sorted in alphabetical order.
Further reading
The following reference sources, among many others, have been used to compile this list:
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List of civil aircraft
List of civil aircraft is a list of articles on civilian aircraft with descriptions, which excludes aircraft operated by military organizations in civil markings, warbirds, warbirds used for racing, replica warbirds and research aircraft.
A ABC ...
References
Notes
Bibliography
Aerofiles: Specifications and images of Swallows*{{cite book, last=Ogden, first=Bob, title=Aviation Museums and Collections of North America, publisher=Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd, year=2007, isbn=978-0-85130-385-7
1920s United States civil utility aircraft
Biplanes
Single-engined tractor aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1924
Conventional landing gear