Bellanca TES

The Bellanca TES (Tandem Experimental Sesquiplane) was an experimental aircraft constructed by Giuseppe Mario Bellanca. Aircraft registration was NR855E.

Aircraft was originally built in 1929 for the price of $25,000 price for the first non-stop flight from Seattle to Tokyo ^[1]. In 1930 was refitted with two 600hp Curtiss Conqueror engines and overbuilded for the Chicago Daily News as a cargo plane named The Blue Streak.

The aircraft crashed on 1931-05-26, when rear propeller drive shaft was broken due the vibration. All crew (Shirley J. Short - the pilot, Richard K. Peck - the copilot, Louis Rice - the radio operator, Robert W. Gormley - a mechanic) perished.

Specifications (with Pratt & Whitney Wasp engines)

Data from ^[2]

General characteristics

• Crew: 4
• Length: 44 ft 2 in / fuselage 25 ft 0 in (13,46 m / fuselage 7,62 m)
• Wingspan: 83 ft 2 in (25,35 m)
• Height: ()
• Wing area: ft (85 m²)
• Empty weight: lb (3,170 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: lb (9,500 kg)
• Powerplant: 2 × Pratt & Whitney R-1340 Wasp, 425 hp (317 kW) each

Performance

• Maximum speed: mph (240 km/h)
• Range: mi (5 000 - 15 000 km)
• Endurance: up to 100 hours

References

1. ^ Bellanca's Secret, Time, 1929-05-06
2. ^ Letec magazine, volume V, issue 11, page 582-583, November 1929, in Czech

Bibliography

• Alan Abel and Drina Welch Abel: Bellanca's Golden Age, Stockton : Wild Canyon Books, 2004, ISBN 1-891118-46-3

External references

• Page dedicated to Shirley S. Short
• Bellanca TES images from the archive of San Diego Air & Space Museum