Top Cup [N275CC] (Roger Cain)

Top Cub 2001 = Replica Piper PA-18 production to an unknown extent.

1910 = Based purely on newspaper reports and no hard documentation or photos, claim was laid that Culver was first in Utah to fly a powered airplane, a wood and fabric biplane of his own design that "widely differed" from contemporary models. It had a 60hp two-cycle motor turning a seven-foot prop, weighed in at 1300 lbs, and sported folding wings for barn storage. Many local eyewitnesses say they saw it fly and newspapers, well aware of the sensational appeal of pioneer flight, were more than willing to pubish any reports or hearsay. However, Culver's "first" is equally contested by those who favorß Wilford Parker (qv), who built and flew his ship the following year.

A-8 SEE XPQ-8.

  Culvers for everyone: V, PQ-14, PQ-8A, Cadet (E J Young coll)
  Helton Lark

Cadet LAR-90 1941 (ATC 748, 2-560) = 0-1pClwM; 90hp Franklin 4AC; span: 26'11" length: 17'8" load: 519# v: 140/125/51. No civil sales; specific design as pilotless target drone for AAF as PQ-8 and -14, and USN as TD2C (POP: 2,642). Some showed up after the war as 1p civil conversions (SEE Jamieson J-1). Revived briefly in 1950 as Superior Satellite, in 1958 as Lark-95 by California Aero Corp at Tracy CA, and 1962 as Helton Lark with 90hp Continental C-90; POP: 16 reported.

  Culver LCA

  Culver LFA Fanciful "USS Lexington" colors [N41729] (William T Larkins)

Cadet LFA (Columbus and Wichita) 1940 (ATC 730) = 2pClwM rg; 80hp Franklin 4AC. $2,617. POP: total about 350.

Dart G 1938 (ATC 674) = 2pO/ClwM; 90hp Lambert R-266; span: 29'7" length: 18'7" load: 595# v: 130/110/40 range: 500. Al Mooney. Evolved from Monosport, and subsequent planes by Dart Mfg Corp. POP: about 50 [NC11791, NC18064/18066, NC18443, NC18449, NC20401, NC20914, NC20917, NC20991/20994, NC20996/20997, NC20999], plus production of Dart Corp as Dart GWs. SEE Applegate-Weyant.

  Culver Dart GC (Dan Shumaker)

Dart GC (A&W) 1946 (ATC 674) = 2pO/ClwM; 125hp Continental O-200; span: 29'6" length: 19'6" load: 590# v: 137/120/48 range: 500. Offered in kit form, as well, for $1,250 less motor. POP: 10 .

  Culver Dart GK [NC20995] (Dan Shumaker coll)

Dart GK 1938 (ATC 674) = 2pO/ClwM; 90hp Ken-Royce; load: 590# v: 130/114/56 range: 490. POP: 25 [NC20990, NC20995, NC20998/20910, NC20915, NC20920/20924, NC20930, NC20932/20936, NC20938/20939, NC20941/20945, NC20947/20948, NC20990, NC20995, NC20998/20999].

  Dart GW [N20913] (Tom Beamer coll)

Dart GW (Dart Co) 1938 (ATC 674) = 2pO/ClwM; 90hp Warner Scarab; span: 29'7" length: 18'8" load: 600# v: 130/115/56 range: 495. Optional. POP: 8 [NC20911, NC20913, NC20916, NC20918/20919, NC20931, NX20937, NC20940] and 1 to Parks Air College as GW Special with 145hp Warner Super Scarab [NX20912].

XPQ-8 1942 = 1pClwM; 90hp Franklin O-200; span: 27'0" length: 17'8" v: 140/120/50 range: 600# ceiling: 17,500'. POP: 1 as A-8 aerial target [41-18889], redesignated XPQ-8.

  Culver PQ-8 (USAAF)

PQ-8 1943 = First production, with 125hp Lycoming O-290; modified tail. POP: 200 [41-19513/19587, 42-38538/38662, -96833/97032, 43-30762]. Those remaining in 1948 were redesignated as Q-8A.

PQ-14 - USAF. Slightly larger version of PQ-8; 125hp Franklin O-300; span: 30'0" length: 19'6" v: 180 range: 512.

Culver XPQ-14 [41-39047]

XPQ-14 1944 = POP: 1 prototype [41-39047].

Culver YPQ-14A

YPQ-14A 1944 = Service test version. POP: 75 (s/ns included in following numbers).

  Culver PQ-14A [44-69547] (Dan Shumaker)

PQ-14A 1944 = Production model. POP: 1,348 [43-44214/44363, -44514/44713*, 44-22509, -22511/22519, -22521/22585*, -68499/68738*, -69257/69654*, 45-58760/59119] *blocks included transfers to USN as TD2C-1.

YPQ-14B 1945 = Service test. Increased weight. POP: 25 [44-22510, -22520, -22586/22608].

  Culver PQ-14B [44-21819] (Dan Shumaker)

PQ-14B 1945 = Production model. POP: 594 [43-44364/44513, 44-21758/21907, -68255/68498, -68739/69787].

YPQ-14C 1945 = PQ-14B refitted with 125hp Franklin 6-cyl. POP: 1.

PQ-15 1945 = USAF version of post-war V-2 with 200hp Franklin O-405. POP: 4 as XPQ-15, of which 2 to USN.

TDC 1943 = USN version of similar PQ-8. POP: 200 as TDC-1 [44355/44554].

TDC-2 - Scheduled transfer from USAAF was never implemented, but USN s/n [46449] was assigned.

  Culver TD2C-1

  Culver TD2C-1

TD3C 1945 = USN. POP: 2 as TD3C-1 [29665/29666].

TD4C, UC-1 1945 = USN. V-2 with 200hp Franklin O-405 as XTD4C-1. POP: 2 [120339/120340], redesignated as XUC-1K

  Culver V [N44507] (Dan Shumaker)
  Culver V [N44549] (Roger D Cain)

V, V-2 1947 (ATC 778) = 2pClwM rg; 85hp Continental C-85; span: 29'0" length: 20'6 load: 567# v: 135/125/55 range: 625. V-2 had 90hp Continental. Al Mooney; V = "Victory." Tricycle gear. $3,589-3,950; POP: about 100, of which 2 each with 200hp Franklin O-405 as XPQ-15 and XTD4C-1.

Volksplane 1971 = Similar to Evans VP-1, but with tricycle gear; 65hp Continental A-65-8; span: 24'0" length: 19'9" load: 336# v: 89/75/48 range: 222 ceiling: 10,500'.

GA-21M 1934 = 1pOlwM rg*; 150hp Warner Super Scarab; span: 30'0" length: 20'0" load: 775#. Randolph Hall. *Wheels retracted into pants. High-lift wings had full-length ailerons above and flaps below—a Hall-designed, slotted, "high-lift" automatic-flap arrangement. POP: 1 [X14324], prototype for GA-36. GA = "General Arrangement."

  Cunningham-Hall GA-36 [X14324] (Paul Matt coll via Avn Heritage)
  Cunningham-Hall GA-36 [X14324]

GA-36 1935 = GA-21M rebuilt as 2pClwM with control improvements, and canopied tandem cockpits with dual controls; ff: 1/2/36. After failing to arouse any military interest as a trainer, it was sold in 1941 (advertised in June 1941 Aero Digest for $2,950), stripped of its major components and left to decay in a Detroit pasture. Recovered by members of an EAA Chapter and restored c.1980; on display at Amherst Museum (NY).

Randolph Hall came from the old Thomas-Morse Aircraft Corp to form Cunningham-Hall Corp, a subsidiary of the carriage and automobile firm of James Cunningham, Son & Co, founded in 1838. Hall brought a group of aviation specialists with him and within a year had produced the first aircraft, the PT-6. After experimenting with high-lift devices, Hall designed GA-21 in 1934. By 1936, after extensive modifications, including the change from from side-by-side to tandem seating and a cleaned-up landing gear, the design became GA-36. The ship was all-metal construction except for the fabric covered empennage, ailerons and flaps, and part of the upper wing surface. Stabilizer was adjustable and the ailerons, which had only upward movement, were located in the upper surface of the wings above the flaps. Except at the wing tips, the flaps went full span. The special high-lift wing had a vane aft of the lower leading edge that opened inward, allowing air to enter the wing and flow over the lowered flaps, thus increasing their effiency at low airspeeds. This system operated automatically, and extensive testing proved its effectiveness, but was more complicated and less efficient than the newly developed Fowler flaps. Coupled with the weight of the wing and overall robust construction, it made the GA-36 somewhat slower and more expensive than other aircraft of its class. Proposed further modification to correct those deficiencies were not carried out, and the aircraft was not put into production. (— Ron Ogren 2/4/2001)

  Cunningham-Hall PT-6 [X461E] (Aero Digest)

PT-6 1929 (ATC 177) = 6pCB; 300hp Wright J-6; span (upper) 41'8" (lower) 33'8" length: 29'8" load: 1650# v: 140/118/45 range: 675 ceiling: 20,000'. Randolph Hall, William T Thomas; ff: 4/3/29 (p: Paul Wilson). $13,900; POP: 6; prototype [X/NC461E].

PT-6F 1937 = 2-4p cargo version of PT-6. POP: 6; prototype [NX16967]. Several refitted with 365hp Wright J-6; load: 1675# v: 150/130/55 range: 700. One restored and still active into the late 1990s [NC444].

  Cunningham-Hall X-90

6/26/29: Merger of Curtiss Aeroplane & Motor Co and Wright Aeronautical Corp, forming two parent divisions, wherein Curtiss would focus on aircraft production and Wright on engine and propeller manufacture; corporate office in New York City. 1930: Keys-Hoyt Group as a financial holding organization during the Great Depression. c.1948: Aviation division sold to North American Corp including deisgn rights to Curtiss-Wright airplanes.1941: Curtiss-Wright Airplane Div (airframes manufacture) closed, ending the reign.

(Data: 1930)
Curtiss-Wright Corp
    Curtiss Aeroplane & Motor Co
    Curtiss Aeroplane Export Corp
    Curtiss Airports Inc
    Curtiss-Caproni Corp
    Curtiss-Robertson Airplane Mfg Co
    Curtiss-Wright Flying Service
    Curtiss-Wright Sales Corp
    Curtiss-Wright Export Corp
    Keystone-Loening Aeronautical Corp
    Moth Aircraft Corp
    New York Air Terminals Inc
    New York & Suburban Air Lines
    Reed Propeller Co
    Travel Air Mfg Co
    Wright Aeronautical Corp

1927: Curtis A Wright Aeronautical Corp (unrelated to to Curtiss-Wright Corp), Curtis Wright Airport, Halfway MI (renamed East Detroit in 1929, again in 1992 as Eastpointe MI). c.1945: Los Angeles CA (aka Curtis Wright Industries).

C.W.1A Coupe 1927 = 2pOhwM; 60hp Anzani; span: 33'0" length: 24'0". POP: 1 [C3435]; reg cancelled by CAA 5/17/30.

C.W.1H Air Coach - Recorded only as having the registration [3436] with an unspecified c/n. No record of production found.

C.W.2P 1927 = 2pOM; Anzani-powered. Registered by a Nelson P Coats [179M] c/n 2P-101; reg cancelled 5/3/30. Built in Apr 1927 by the Curtis Wright Aeronautical Syndicate. Unlicensed until Coates (Brooklyn NY) applied for ID [179M] as the "CW-2P" on 9/23/29, where a different handwriting on the application spells "Curtiss Wright;" however, (Glenn H) Curtiss-Wright Corp had not been formed in 1929. Reg cancelled 5/3/30 when Coates failed to reply to CAA about its status.

C.W.4 Commercial 1929 - OhwM; Siemens. [9742] c/n 2-C.

C.W.5 Junior Transport 1929 - hwM; three Anzanis. [9743] c/n 3-C.

  Curtis Wright 21 [NX37601]

CW-21 aka 21 1947 = 4pCmwM; 125hp Lycoming O-290 pusher. Podlike fuselage with twin booms and twin tails; tricycle gear. POP: 1 [NX37601].

CCW-1 1942 = 1pCmwM; two 75hp Lycoming O-145. Willard Custer; US patent #1,708,720 in 1929. Experiment in a half-barrel STOL wingform based on, in Custer's words, aerophysics as opposed to aerodynamics: "The CCW is an aircraft, not an airplane. It does not plane the air to fly... rather it brings the air to the lift surfaces, and reduces pressure in order to fly at 8 to 11mph." POP: 1; ff: 11/12/42 (p: Willard Custer), in a solo flight that was quite unintentional. Custer, a non-pilot, taxied the plane in a demonstration for financial backers, and suddenly became airborne. A hard landing that followed, collapsing one gear, did not dampen his backers' enthusiasm.

CCW-2 1948 = Evolution of CCW-1 as a test bed used an uncovered Taylorcraft BC-12 fuselage. POP: 1 [N1375V]; ff: 7/3/48 (p: Harold Custer). Flown for about 100 hours of testing, with take-offs and landings made in 45' to 65'. Despite the claim of flying "better than conventional aircraft," it was calculated that a stock Piper Cub was more efficient, lifting 18lbs/hp versus the Channel Wing's 11lbs/hp.

  Custer CCW-5 Custer unveils his creation, 1950 (Morris Berman/INS)
  Custer CCW-2 / CCW-5 [N1375V] / [N6257C] (Eaton Chronicles / Bob O'Hara coll)

CCW-5 (Baumann Corp) 1951, 1964 = 5pCmwM rg; two 225hp Continental O-470 pusher; span: 41'2" length: 28'9" load: 2400# v: 220/180/15 (?>original est: 300/260/x) range: 1680 ceiling: 20,000'. The final version of Custer's STOL theory used a Baumann Brigadier fuselage and tail group; ff: 7/13/53 (p: Walker J Davidson). POP: 2, [N6257C, N5855V], the second of which was built in 1964; ff: 6/19/64. Although several firms expressed interest in producing the plane, all failed to provide funds because of various financing difficulties.

I, II c.1909 = OB; 16hp pusher with chain-driven 5'6" prop; span 30'0". No other data except for Jane's report of having a single elevator forward, a single rudder aft, and "fixed planes with considerable upward inclination;" also that model I was "smashed on its first flight," and that model II was an exact duplicate.

CA-61, -61R Mini-Ace 1962 = 1-2pOlwM; 65hp Continental A-65; span: 27'6" length: 18'11" load: (1p) 344# (2p) 500# v: 120/100/42-50 range: (1p) 425 (2p) 370. CA-61R had retractable gear.

CA-65, -65A Skyfly c.1969 = 2pClwM, optional rg; 108-150hp Lycomings; span: 25'0" length: 19'0" load: 600# v: x/155/55. Wood construction; CA-65A was all-metal. Folding-wing option. Marketed plans; POP: c.2,000 plans sold by 1982.

  Cycloplane A-1

A-1 1930 = 1pOhwM; 22hp Cleone. POP: 1 prototype of C-1, c/n 101 [X144W].

  Cycloplane C-2 [966Y] (Frank Rezich coll)

C-1, C-2 1931 (ATC 445, 2-352) = 1pOhwM; 22hp Cyclomotor (Cleone); span: 25'0" length: 19'7" load: 240# v: 65/60/25 range: 200. Omer Woodson. Open-frame fuselage. Penguin-type trainer converted into a flying machine; empty weight: 250#. The two-cylinder motor was mounted on the leading edge of the wing above the seat—manufacture of this was taken over by Myhres as Cyclomotor. $895; POP: 6 [970Y, 996Y, 997Y, NC12202, et al]. C-2 was a cleaned-up design. SEE Champion B-1.

Z-II 1929 = 16pChwMAm; two 460hp Bliss Jupiter in tandem; span: 72'0" length: 48'0" load: 7200# v: 250/200/50 range: 1000. All-metal construction. $75,000; POP: possibly 1, but uncertain.

  Cyclops Z-IV Promotional art (brochure)

Z-IV 1929 = 34pChwM; four motors in tandem. Touted as being able to "carry 34 passengers to Europe in 15 hours," there is no record of the design ever leaving the drafting table.

"It (flying) is not a bad sport, but there's no place to go." — Glenn H Curtiss, 1907