Taylor Chummy
| Chummy | |
|---|---|
| |
| Role | light utility |
| Manufacturer | Taylor Aircraft Company |
| Designer | C. Gilbert Taylor and Gordon Taylor[1] |
| First flight | February 14, 1928[2] |
| Number built | approx. 9[3] |
The Taylor Chummy, originally the Arrowing Chummy is a light utility aircraft made by the Taylor Aircraft Company in the late 1920s. It was the fore-runner of the highly successful Piper Cub series.[1]
Design and development
[edit]The Chummy was designed by brothers C. Gilbert Taylor and Gordon Taylor in 1928.[1] It is a braced, parasol-wing monoplane with two seats side-by-side in an open cockpit.[1] Power was supplied by a tractor-mounted radial engine.[2] Fixed, tailskid undercarriage was fitted, initially with a through-axle, but later with divided main units.[4] The name "Chummy" was chosen by Gilbert because of the side-by-side seating, an unusual feature in an era when tandem seating was the norm.[3]
About nine examples were built, but the exact number is uncertain due to many records being lost in a 1937 factory fire.[3] Additionally, some earlier Chummy models were rebuilt into later models.[3]
Operational history
[edit]On April 24, 1928, Gordon Taylor crashed a Chummy at Ford Airport, Dearborn, Michigan.[5] His passenger, Aaron Rosenbleet, was killed instantly, and Taylor died of his injuries shortly after reaching hospital.[5] Gilbert witnessed the crash.[5] The crash was attributed to the passenger's hand "freezing" on the control stick, and subsequent Chummys included a spring-loaded safety mechanism that allowed the pilot in command to override the other set of controls.[3]
One of the C-2s built had a wing modified with a seven-degree, variable-incidence wing for entry into the Guggenheim Safe Airplane Competition.[6]
The Chummy was expensive and did not sell well, leading to the bankruptcy of the Taylor Brothers company in 1930.[6]
Variants
[edit]- A-2 Chummy
- initial version with 90-hp (67-kW) Anzani radial engine[2][4] and through-axle main undercarriage.[4]
- B-2 Chummy
- refined version with 113-hp (83.4-kW) Ryan-Siemens Yankee 7 engine[2][4] and divided main undercarriage.[4]
- C-2 Chummy
Specifications (B-2)
[edit]Data from "The Airplane Division"
General characteristics
- Crew: 1
- Capacity: one passenger
- Length: 22 ft (6.7 m)
- Wingspan: 34 ft (10 m)
- Height: 7 ft 9 in (2.36 m)
- Wing area: 175 sq ft (16.3 m2)
- Empty weight: 975 lb (442 kg)
- Gross weight: 1,475 lb (669 kg)
- Powerplant: 1 × Ryan-Siemens Yankee 7 7-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine, 113 hp (84 kW)
- Propellers: 2-bladed fixed-pitch propeller
Performance
- Maximum speed: 110 mph (180 km/h, 96 kn)
- Cruise speed: 95 mph (153 km/h, 83 kn)
References
[edit]Bibliography
[edit]
- "2 Killed in Crash at Detroit Airport". The Windsor Star. Windsor, Ontario. April 25, 1928. p. 20.
- "Aircraft Types". The Vintage Piper Aircraft Club. Retrieved May 27, 2024.
- Davisson, Budd (May 25, 2022). "Cub Clones — The Icon That Keeps on Giving". Experimental Aircraft Association. Retrieved May 27, 2024.
- Neely, C. L. (June 1986). "The Model B2 Chummy". Model Builder.
- "Piper Aircraft - 75 Years Young". Piper Flyer Association. November 2012. Retrieved May 27, 2024.
- "The Airplane Division". Aviation. April 16, 1928.