Curtiss Tanager

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Tanager
Type	Technology desmonstrator
Manufacturer	Curtiss
Designed by	Theodore Paul Wright
Maiden flight	12 October 1929
Number built	1

The Curtiss Model 54 Tanager was an aircraft constructed in 1929 as Curtiss' entry in the Guggenheim Safe Aircraft Competition. It was a conventional biplane design with a highly streamlined fuselage similar in outline to the Curtiss Eagle, but of considerably smaller proportions. The wings were fitted with a variety of high-lift devices, including automatic leading-edge slots on the upper wing, flaps that extended the entire span of the upper wing, and "floating" ailerons on the lower wing that in the absence of pilot input, automatically adjusted themselves parallel to the airflow over the wing. The combination of these devices gave the Tanager a stall speed of just 31 mph (50 km/h) and allowed it to land in only 90 ft (27 m).

Only the Tanager and the Handley Page Gugnunc passed the qualifying round of the competition, and ultimately, the Tanager was to beat its rival by only one point to claim the $100,000 prize. Even before the competition was decided, however, Handley Page was suing Curtiss for patent infringement over the use of the leading-edge slot. Curtiss counter-sued for infringements of six of their patents in the Handley Page machine.

Following the competition, the Tanager was destroyed in a fire.

[edit] Specifications

General characteristics

• Crew: One pilot
• Capacity: 2 passengers
• Length: 26 ft 8 in (8.13 m)
• Wingspan: 43 ft 10 in (13.36 m)
• Powerplant: 1 × Curtiss Challenger, 170 hp (127 kW)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 112 mph (180 km/h)

[edit] References

• Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions, 278. 
• Time 6 January 1930

[edit] See also

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