Aeronca C-2

The Aeronca C-2 is an American light monoplane designed by Jean A. Roche and built by Aeronca Aircraft.

Aeronca C-2
Aeronca C-2 in the Canada Aviation and Space Museum
Role Monoplane
National origin United States
Manufacturer Aeronca Aircraft
Designer Jean A. Roche
First flight 1929
Number built 164
Unit cost
$1495 in 1929
Developed from 1925 Roche Monoplane
Variants C-1 Cadet, Aeronca C-3 Master

Development

Roche Monoplane

Jean A. Roche was a U.S. Army engineer at McCook Field airfield in Dayton, Ohio. Roche developed an aircraft with automatic stability and was granted U. S. Patent No. 1,085,461. Roche published his engineering ideas for the aircraft in Aerial Age Weekly and Slipstream Monthly magazines. The prototype was started in Ohio in 1923 with the assistance of fellow engineer Quinten Dohse. The aircraft used a triangular cross-section welded steel tube fuselage, with wood wings, was fabric-covered, and used wire bracing throughout. A Henderson engine was installed, but did not perform well. Next a custom 29 hp two-cylinder Morehouse engine was developed for the aircraft. On September 1, 1925, the aircraft was successfully test flown. Many pilots including Jimmy Doolittle tried out the aircraft. Wright Aeronautical hired Morehouse and rights to his Wright-Morehouse WM-80 engine. Left without an engine, They turned to Robert E. Galloway of the Aeronautical Corporation of America to use the Aeronca E-107 engine. The rights to the aircraft were sold to Aeronca in 1928 as the basis for the C-2 Design.[1]

Aeronca C-2

The Aeronca C-2, powered by a tiny two-cylinder engine, made its first flight in October[2] 1929, with its public debut in St. Louis in February 1930.[2] It was flying at its most basic—the pilot sat on a bare plywood board. The C-2 featured an unusual, almost frivolous design with an open-pod fuselage that inspired its nickname, The Flying Bathtub. (It was also nicknamed "Airknocker" and "Razorback".[2]) The general design of the C-2 could have been inspired by Jean Roche's initial flight experiences with an American-built copy of the Santos-Dumont Demoiselle, which had a similar triangular "basic" fuselage cross-section, and wire-spoked main landing gear wheels against the fuselage sides.

Equipped with only four instruments (altimeter, oil temperature, oil pressure, and tachometer),[2] a stick, and rudder pedals (brakes and a heater at extra cost), the C-2 was priced at a low $1,555 (later US$1,245),[2] bringing the cost of flying down to a level that a private citizen could perhaps reach.[3] Aeronca sold 164 of the economical C-2s at the height of the Great Depression in 1930-1931, helping to spark the growth of private aviation in the United States.

The Aeronca C-2 also holds the distinction of being the first aircraft to be refueled from a moving automobile. A can of gasoline was handed up from a speeding Austin automobile to a C-2 pilot, (who hooked it with a wooden cane) during a 1930 air show in California. A seaplane version of the C-2 was also offered, designated the PC-2 and PC-3 ("P" for pontoon) with floats replacing the wheeled landing gear.

A single Aeronca C-2 was converted to a glider by H.J. Parham in England after an inflight engine failure and forced landing. The nose was faired in after the removal of the engine. It first flew as a glider 15 May 1937 and went to the Dorset Glider Club but was destroyed in the club hangar during a storm in November 1938.[4]

Variants
Aeronca C-2
Single-seat light sporting aircraft, powered by a 26-hp (19-kW) Aeronca E-107A piston engine.
Aeronca C-2 Deluxe
Improved version, with a wider fuselage and a number of design improvements.
Aeronca C-2N Scout De luxe at Langley
Aeronca C-2N Scout
Deluxe sporting aircraft, powered by a 36-hp (27-kW) Aeronca E-112 or E-133A piston engine. Four built.[5]
Aeronca PC-2
Seaplane version of the C-2.
Aeronca PC-2 Deluxe
Seaplane version of the C-2 Deluxe.

Surviving aircraft
Aeronca C-2N exhibited at the Virginia Aviation Museum
Canada
United States

Specifications (C-2)

Data from Aeronca C-2: The Story of the Flying Bathtub[21]

General characteristics

  • Crew: one
  • Length: 20 ft 0 in (6.10 m)
  • Wingspan: 36 ft 0 in (10.98 m)
  • Height: 7 ft 6 in (2.28 m)
  • Wing area: 142.2 sq ft (13.2 m2)
  • Empty weight: 406 lb (184 kg)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Aeronca E-107 1.75L flathead piston engine, 26–30 hp (19–22 kW)

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 80 mph (128 km/h, 70 kn)
  • Cruise speed: 65 mph (104 km/h, 56 kn)
  • Stall speed: 31 mph (50 km/h, 27 kn)
  • Range: 240 mi (384 km, 210 nmi)
  • Service ceiling: 16,500 ft (5,032 m)
  • Wing loading: 4.92 lb/sq ft (24 kg/m2)
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See also

Related development

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era

References
  1. "none". Sport Aviation. June 1958.
  2. Payne, Stephen, ed. Canadian Wings (Douglas & McIntyre, Ltd., 2006), p.163.
  3. Donald M. Pattillo. A History in the Making: 80 Turbulent Years in the American General Aviation Industry. p. 18.
  4. Ellison, Norman (1971). British Gliders and Sailplanes. London: A & C Black Ltd. p. 80. ISBN 0-7136-1189-8.
  5. "1933 Aeronca C-2-N Deluxe Scout - NC13089". EAA. EAA. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
  6. "COLLECTION HIGHLIGHTS – AERONCA C-2". Canada Aviation and Space Museum. Canada Science and Technology Museums Corporation. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
  7. "RESEARCH – AERONCA C-2". Canada Aviation and Space Museum. Canada Science and Technology Museums Corporation. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
  8. "Aircraft CF-AOR Data". Airport-Data.com. Airport-Data.com. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
  9. "Aeronca C-2". Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
  10. Federal Aviation Administration (17 November 2016). "N-Number Inquiry Results – N626N". Retrieved 17 November 2016.
  11. "Aeronca C-2 Sport". Yanks Air Museum. Yanks Air Museum. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  12. "FAA REGISTRY [N647W]". Federal Aviation Administration. U.S. Department of Transportation. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
  13. "Where is it now. Collections from the Former Ohio History of Flight Museum". Ohio History Connection Blog. Ohio History Connection. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
  14. "Craig MacVeigh's Aeronca C-2 Project". Antique Airfield. Antique Aircraft Association and Airpower Museum. 24 January 2009. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
  15. "FAA REGISTRY [N11276]". Federal Aviation Administration. U.S. Department of Transportation. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
  16. "CIVILIAN AIRCRAFT". Virginia Aviation Museum. Virginia Aviation Museum. Archived from the original on 17 April 2016. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
  17. "Airframe Dossier - Aeronca C-2, c/n A151, c/r N11417". Aerial Visuals. AerialVisuals.ca. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
  18. "Shannon's rebirth". AOPA Pilot Magazine. February 2018. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  19. "Aeronca Aircraft On Display EAA Museum, Oshkosh, Wisconsin (Part 1)" (PDF). National Aeronca Association Magazine. 13 (4): 10. 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 March 2016. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
  20. "Aeronca C-2". The Museum Of Flight. The Museum Of Flight. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
  21. Spenser, Jay P. (1978). Aeronca C-2: The Story of the Flying Bathtub. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 71. ISBN 0-87474-879-8.
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