The Aerocraft 2AS is a
tandem
Tandem, or in tandem, is an arrangement in which a team of machines, animals or people are lined up one behind another, all facing in the same direction.
The original use of the term in English was in ''tandem harness'', which is used for two ...
-seat
training aircraft
A trainer is a class of aircraft designed specifically to facilitate flight training of pilots and aircrews. The use of a dedicated trainer aircraft with additional safety features—such as tandem flight controls, forgiving flight characteristi ...
developed from the
Kinner Sportwing
The Kinner Sportwing was a 1930s American light monoplane built by Kinner Airplane & Motor Corporation.
Design and development
The Sportwing was an improved version of the companies earlier Sportster designed by Max Harlow. An enlarged four-se ...
.
Design and development
Timm formed the
Wally Timm Company in
Glendale, California. He purchased the rights to the Kinner Sportwing, a side-by-side
monoplane
A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes.
A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing con ...
training aircraft and modified it as a tandem-seat trainer to compete for the
Civilian Pilot Training Program
The Civilian Pilot Training Program (CPTP) was a flight training program (1938–1944) sponsored by the United States government with the stated purpose of increasing the number of civilian pilots, though having a clear impact on military prepare ...
build-up prior to
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
. The prototype received ATC# 733 on January 1, 1941. The Timm Aerocraft 2AS lost out to a Fairchild design. The design was sold to Aetna Aircraft, with only six examples produced.
The Aerocraft is a
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 ...
equipped,
strut-braced,
low-wing
A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes.
A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing confi ...
ed monoplane with open cockpit tandem seating and a
Kinner R-5
The Kinner R-5 is an American five cylinder radial engine for light general and sport aircraft of the 1930s.
Design and development
The R-5 was a development of the earlier Kinner B-5, with slightly greater power and dimensions. The main chang ...
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 ...
. The
fuselage
The fuselage (; from the French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an engine as well, although in some amphibious aircraf ...
is welded steel tubing with
aircraft fabric covering. The wing uses wooden
spars and
ribs
The rib cage, as an enclosure that comprises the ribs, vertebral column and sternum in the thorax of most vertebrates, protects vital organs such as the heart, lungs and great vessels.
The sternum, together known as the thoracic cage, is a semi- ...
with fabric covering.
Operational history
The prototype aircraft was test flown by longtime Timm associate Frank Clarke in 1941.
An Aetna 2AS won the Antique Champion award at the 1985 EAA Airshow at
Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
The sole surviving Timm 2AS, the fourth to be built, is preserved in an airworthy condition at the Iowa Aviation Museum and Hall of Fame located at Greenfield, Iowa.
[Ogden, 2007, p. 266]
Specifications (Timm Aerocraft 2AS)
See also
References
;Notes
;Bibliography
* Juptner, Joseph P. ''U.S. Civil Aircraft Series, Volume 8.'' New York: McGraw-Hill Professional, 1993. .
* Ogden, Bob. ''Aviation Museums and Collections of North America.'' Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. 2007. Tonbridge, Kent. .
* Underwood, John. ''Grand Central Air Terminal''. Mount Pleasant, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing, 2006. .
{{Timm aircraft
1930s United States military trainer aircraft
Aerocraft 2AS