From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
W-2 Swift
|
Role
|
Two-seat cabin monoplane
Type of aircraft
|
National origin
|
United States
|
Manufacturer
|
Wendt Aircraft Corporation
|
First flight
|
1939
|
Number built
|
1
|
The
Wendt W-2 Swift
was a two-seat, single-engine, braced high-wing
monoplane
built in the United States just before
World War II
. Only one was built.
Design and development
[
edit
]
The Wendt Aircraft Co. was formed in February 1939 to build the W-2 Swift, the prototype of which turned out to be their only product. It had a
high
braced wing, built around two
spruce
spars. The ribs were made of spruce and
birch
with
steel
wire internal bracing. Its
leading
and
trailing edges
were metal, with
fabric
elsewhere. The wing was braced on either side by pairs of V-form, steel
struts
mounted on the lower
fuselage
longerons
. The fuselage was a
chrome molybdenum steel
tube structure, fabric covered over
plywood
formers and spruce
stringers
. The enclosed cabin, which seated two
side-by-side
with dual control, was under the wing, with the 90 hp (67 kW) single row
radial
LeBlond
engine mounted immediately ahead of it under a clean NACA cowling in the short nose.
[1]
The tail unit was metal framed and fabric covered. The
tailplane
was externally braced and the
elevators
carried
trim tabs
. The
fin
was straight edged but the
rudder
, which extended to the bottom of the fuselage and worked in a cut-out between the elevators, had a full, curved trailing edge.
[1]
The Swift had a fixed,
conventional undercarriage
with
faired
main legs and wheels, rubber
shock absorbers
and half-axles hinged under the fuselage. The main wheels had brakes and the tailwheel was steerable.
[1]
Specifications
[
edit
]
Data from
Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1941
[1]
General characteristics
- Capacity:
Two
- Length:
20 ft 0 in (6.10 m)
- Wingspan:
30 ft 0 in (9.14 m)
- Height:
6 ft 8.5 in (2.045 m)
- Wing area:
145 sq ft (13.5 m
2
)
- Empty weight:
778 lb (353 kg)
- Gross weight:
1,400 lb (635 kg)
- Powerplant:
1 ×
LeBlond (Ken Boyce) 5F
[2]
5-cylinder
[Notes 1]
radial, 90 hp (67 kW)
- Propellers:
2-bladed
Performance
- Maximum speed:
130 mph (210 km/h, 110 kn)
- Cruise speed:
120 mph (190 km/h, 100 kn)
- Range:
525 mi (845 km, 456 nmi) at cruising speed
- Service ceiling:
16,000 ft (4,900 m) service ceiling
- Wing loading:
10.0 lb/sq ft (49 kg/m
2
)
- Power/mass
:
0.067 hp/lb (0.11 kW/kg)
- Landing speed:
35 mph (56 km/h)
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
The LeBlond 5s were 5-cylinder engines, though Jane's 1941 says only that the Swift had a 90 hp, 7-cylinder radial. There were 90 hp LeBlond engines with both 5 and 7 cylinders.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
Bridgman, Leonard (1941).
Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1941
. London: Sampson, Low, Marston and Co. Ltd. p. 233c.
- ^
"Wendt"
. Retrieved
3 August
2012
.