The Curtiss Eagle (retroactively designated the Model 19 by Curtiss some years later) was an airliner produced in small numbers in the United States shortly after World War I. The aircraft was a conventional biplane with three-bay, unstaggered wings of equal span. The fuselage was a very advanced design for its day, incorporating careful streamlining of its monocoque structure, and offering the crew as well as the passengers a fully enclosed cabin. The Eagle is sometimes named as the first American tri-motor aircraft; however Curtiss' own Model H flying boat flew with three engines for a time in 1914 before being converted back to twin-engine configuration.
Development
Curtiss had developed the Eagle in preparation for an anticipated post-war boom in civil aviation. In fact, this boom was far smaller than Curtiss had been hoping for, and practically all of the demand for passenger aircraft was met by the conversion of war-surplus military aircraft that could be purchased extremely cheaply. As such, only around 20 machines were built. The original trimotor Eagle design was followed by a single example of the Eagle II, with twin engines, and by three Eagle IIIs with only one engine. These latter aircraft were purchased by the United States Army Air Service, which used them as staff transports and converted one example into an air ambulance.
The pilot and six passengers died.[2] Two United States congressmen had chosen not to make the flight because of airsickness on the flight from Washington to Langley. The Army's Inspector General conducted an investigation of the crash and theorized that the aircraft stalled when it encountered an updraft at low altitude while trying to clear trees near the unfamiliar field and fell nose first, into the ground.
Variants
Curtiss Eagle
Three-engined passenger airliner, accommodating two pilots and eight passengers, powered by three 150-hp (112-kW) Curtiss K-6 piston engines.
Eagle II
Twin-engined version, powered by two 400-hp (298-kW) Curtiss C-12 engines; one built.[3]
Eagle III
Single-engined version, powered by a 400-hp (298-kW) Liberty L-12 engine; three built.
Data from Curtiss Aircraft 1907–1947,[4] Aerofiles: Curtiss[5]
General characteristics
Crew: 2
Capacity: 6 pax / 2,320lb (1,050kg) payload
Length: 36ft 9in (11.20m)
Wingspan: 61ft 4in (18.69m)
Height: 12ft 4in (3.76m)
Wing area: 900sqft (84m2)
Empty weight: 5,130lb (2,327kg)
Gross weight: 7,450lb (3,379kg)
Powerplant: 3 × Curtiss K-6 , 150hp (110kW) each at 1,700 rpm[6]
Propellers: 2-bladed fixed-pitch propellers
Performance
Maximum speed: 107mph (172km/h, 93kn)
Cruise speed: 75mph (121km/h, 65kn)
Stall speed: 55mph (89km/h, 48kn)
Range: 350mi (560km, 300nmi) to 475mi (413nmi; 764km)
Time to altitude: 4,075ft (1,242m) in 10 minutes
References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Curtiss Eagle.
↑Johnson, David E., "Fast Tanks and Heavy Bombers: Innovation in the U.S. Army, 1917–1945", Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York, hdbk 1998, ppbk 2003, ISBN0801488478, page 83
