The Bellanca 28-92 Trimotor was a racing aircraft built to compete in the Istres-Damascus-Paris Air Race of 1937, and was paid for by popular subscription in

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

. Christened ''Alba Julia'' ("White Julia", registration ''YR-AHA'') it was piloted by Captain Alexander Papana of the

Romanian Air Force The Romanian Air Force (RoAF) ( ro, Forțele Aeriene Române) is the air force branch of the Romanian Armed Forces. It has an air force headquarters, an operational command, five airbases and an air defense brigade. Reserve forces include one ai ...

Design and development

The aircraft was a low-wing

cantilever A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is supported at only one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a canti ...

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 confi ...

with a similar

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 aircraft t ...

to the

Bellanca 28-70 The Bellanca 28-70 was a long-range air racer designed for James Fitzmaurice, Irish pioneer aviator, who christened it ''Irish Swoop''. Although it was built in time for the 1934 MacRobertson Race from England to Australia, it was never destined ...

and 28-90, but was fitted with three engines, one in the nose, and one in each of two underwing

nacelle A nacelle ( ) is a "streamlined body, sized according to what it contains", such as an engine, fuel, or equipment on an aircraft. When attached by a pylon entirely outside the airframe, it is sometimes called a pod, in which case it is attached ...

s. The nacelles also housed the main

undercarriage Undercarriage is the part of a moving vehicle that is underneath the main body of the vehicle. The term originally applied to this part of a horse-drawn carriage, and usage has since broadened to include: *The landing gear of an aircraft. *The ch ...

units when retracted. The fuselage was of tubular steel construction and covered by aluminum back to the cockpit. Aft of the cockpit, the fuselage was covered with fabric. The wings and tail were plywood-covered, and the control surfaces were covered by fabric. The main undercarriage partially retracted into the rear of the wing engine nacelles, but the tailwheel did not retract. Installed in each wing of the aircraft was a 250-HP (186 kW) Menasco C6S4 Super Buccaneer engine. The C6S4 was a direct drive, air-cooled, inverted, straight-six aircraft engine. The C6S4 was supercharged and displaced 544 cu. in. (8.9 L). Each C6S4 engine drove a 6-ft. diameter, two-blade, adjustable-pitch propeller. A 420-HP (313 kW)

Ranger SGV-770 The Ranger V-770 was an American air-cooled inverted V-12 aircraft engine developed by the Ranger Aircraft Engine Division of the Fairchild Engine & Aircraft Corporation in the early 1930s. Design and development In 1931, the V-770 design was ...

engine was in the nose of the 28–92. The SGV-770 was an air-cooled, inverted, V-12 engine. The engine was supercharged, displaced 773 cu. in. (12.7 L), and had gear reduction for the 8-ft. diameter, two-blade, adjustable-pitch propeller. All of the trimotor's engines were hand cranked to start. The 28-92 had a fuel capacity of around 715 gallons (2,707 L). The aircraft had a span of 46-ft. , a length of , and weighed empty. The 28-92 had a top speed of and a range at or a range at . Landing speed was .

Operational history

In 1938, Bellanca re-registered the aircraft in the United States as NX2433 and entered it in the Bendix Trophy cross-country race. Frank Cordova was the pilot for the race, and the trimotor flew as race number 99. Unfortunately, because of engine trouble, the aircraft did not finish the cross-country race. The aircraft competed in the 1939 Bendix Trophy race, placing second, piloted by Arthur Bussy. After being sold in South America, the 28-92 ended its days rotting in a small field in

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

Specifications

Notes

References

External links