Arrow Model F
The Arrow Model F or the Arrow Sport V-8 was a two-seat low-wing braced monoplane aircraft built in the United States between 1934 and 1938. It was built originally to a request by the US Bureau of Air Commerce to investigate the feasibility of using automobile engines to power aircraft. Accordingly, the Model F was fitted with a modified Ford V8 engine. Like the Arrow Sport before it, the Model F seated its pilot and passenger side-by-side in an open cockpit and was marketed for $1500.[1]
Model F | |
---|---|
Role | Recreational aircraft |
Manufacturer | Arrow Aircraft and Motor Corporation |
First flight | 1934 |
Number built | 103 |
A preserved example is on display at San Francisco International Airport.[2]
Development
The Arrow Sport F was specifically built to accommodate the low-cost, yet heavy Arrow F V-8 engine, an aircraft modification of the Ford V-8. The engine was designed by Ford Engineer David E. Anderson with an aluminum oil pan, aluminum cylinders, and a 2:1 gear reduction to drive the prop at reasonable rpm ranges. The engine weighed 402 lbs for 85 hp vrs 182 lbs for an equivalent Continental aircraft engine.[3]
Variants
- Arrow Sport F Master – Open cockpit
- Arrow Sport F Coupe – Closed cockpit variant [4]
- Arrow Sport F De Lux Coupe – Closed cockpit with advanced instruments.
Specifications
Data from American Airplanes and Engines for 1938[5]
General characteristics
- Crew: 1
- Capacity: 1 passenger
- Length: 21 ft 4 in (6.50 m)
- Wingspan: 36 ft 7 in (11.15 m)
- Height: 8 ft 10 in (2.69 m)
- Wing area: 180.5 sq ft (16.77 m2)
- Empty weight: 1,097 lb (498 kg)
- Gross weight: 1,675 lb (760 kg)
- Fuel capacity: 20 US gal (17 imp gal; 76 L)
- Powerplant: 1 × Ford V-8 water-cooled converted automobile engine, 82 hp (61 kW)
Performance
- Maximum speed: 100 mph (160 km/h, 87 kn) at sea level
- Cruise speed: 90 mph (140 km/h, 78 kn)
- Stall speed: 40 mph (64 km/h, 35 kn)
- Range: 300 mi (480 km, 260 nmi)
- Service ceiling: 12,000 ft (3,700 m)
- Rate of climb: 800 ft/min (4.1 m/s)
References
- "Arrow Sport F". Retrieved 5 May 2011.
- May, Joseph (2 September 2012). "Arrow Sport Model F in SFO's Terminal 3". Seattle PI. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
- Sport Aviation. 5 May 1958. Missing or empty
|title=
(help) - Air Trails: 24. Summer 1971. Missing or empty
|title=
(help) - Aviation February 1938, pp. 36–37.
- "American Airplanes and Engines for 1938". Aviation. Vol. 37 no. 2. February 1938. pp. 35–66.
- Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions. p. 81.
See also