From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The
Bellanca 31-40 Senior Pacemaker
and its derivatives were a family of a six- and eight-seat utility aircraft built in the
United States
in the late 1930s. They were the final revision of the original late 1920s
Wright-Bellanca WB-2
design. The model numbers used by Bellanca in this period reflected the wing area (in this case, 310 square feet) and
engine
horsepower (400 and up in this series), each divided by ten. Like their predecessors, these were high-wing braced
monoplanes
with conventional tailwheel
undercarriage
.
A single Senior Skyrocket was bought by the
United States Navy
in
1938
for use as a utility transport, designated
JE-1
. Senior Skyrockets were also built under licence by
Northwest Industries
in
Canada
following
World War II
.
In 2007, a single example remains extant - the first Canadian-built aircraft (registration
CF-DCH
). It is preserved at the
Reynolds-Alberta Museum
.
[1]
Variants
[
edit
]
- 31-40 Senior Pacemaker
-
Wright Cyclone
engine, 400 hp (298 kW).
- 31-42 Senior Pacemaker
- Fitted with a redesigned tail surface, accommodation for one pilot and five passengers, powered by a 550-hp (410-kW)
Pratt & Whitney Wasp
S3H1 radial piston engine.
- 31-50 Senior Skyrocket
-
Pratt & Whitney Hornet
engine, 550 hp (410 kW).
- L-11
- One 31-50 impressed into service by the United States Army Air Forces in Alaska in 1942.
- 31-55 Senior Skyrocket
- JE-1
- Senior Skyrocket version for US Navy with 570 hp (425 kW) engine.
- de Luxe Senior Skyrocket
- 31-55 with improved instrumentation and superior interior and exterior finishes, powered by a 525-hp (391-kW)
Pratt & Whitney Wasp
radial piston engine.
- Model 31-55A
- Built under licence in Canada by Northwest Industries.
Operators
[
edit
]
-
United States
-
Norway
Specifications (31-55 Senior Skyrocket)
[
edit
]
Data from
American Planes and Engines for 1939
General characteristics
- Crew:
1
- Capacity:
5 passengers
- Length:
27 ft 11 in (8.51 m)
- Wingspan:
50 ft 6 in (15.39 m)
- Height:
8 ft 6 in (2.59 m)
- Wing area:
359.0 sq ft (33.35 m
2
)
- Empty weight:
3,440 lb (1,560 kg)
- Gross weight:
5,600 lb (2,540 kg)
- Fuel capacity:
200 US gal (170 imp gal; 760 L)
- Powerplant:
1 ×
Pratt & Whitney Wasp
air-cooled 9-cylinder radial engine, 550 hp (410 kW)
Performance
- Maximum speed:
190 mph (310 km/h, 170 kn) at 5,000 ft (1,500 m)
- Cruise speed:
180 mph (290 km/h, 160 kn) at 12,000 ft (3,700 m)
- Stall speed:
64 mph (103 km/h, 56 kn)
- Range:
600 mi (970 km, 520 nmi)
- Service ceiling:
25,000 ft (7,600 m)
- Rate of climb:
1,240 ft/min (6.3 m/s)
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Aviation"
.
Reynolds Museum
. Government of Alberta
. Retrieved
1 December
2019
.
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Aircraft
| Letter/letter-number designation
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Numerical designation
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Name
| |
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Military Designation
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|
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Companies
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People
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USN
/
USMC
transport designations pre?1962
|
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T-series (pre?1931)
| |
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R-series (1931?1962)
| |
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- 1
Not assigned
- 2
Assigned to a different manufacturer's type
- 3
Sequence restarted
- 4
Assigned to a different class of aircraft
|
USN
/
USMC
utility aircraft designations 1935?1962
|
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Utility (J)
(1935?1955)
| |
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Utility transport (JR)
| |
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Utility (U)
(1955?1962)
| |
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