Williams Texas-Temple Sportsman

Williams Texas-Temple Sportsman
The sole surviving Sportsman monoplane on display at the Frontiers of Flight Museum at Dallas, Texas
Role sporting monoplane
National origin United States
Manufacturer Texas Aero Manufacturing Co
Designer George W Williams
First flight 1929
Status one example preserved
Primary user private pilot owners
Produced 1929
Number built 3

The Williams Texas-Temple Sportsman is an American-built light single-seat high-wing sporting monoplane of the late 1920s.

Contents

Design and development

George W. Williams founded the Texas Aero Manufacturing Co in 1908, based at Temple, Texas and built a series of one-off aircraft designs the last of which, in 1929, was named the Williams Texas-Temple Sportsman.[1]

The Sportsman was a parasol winged monoplane, equipped with two seats arranged in tandem. The cockpit had an open layout. A fixed tail-wheel undercarriage was fitted. The tailplane was set low on the fin. A 100 h.p. Cirrus III was initially fitted.[1]

Operational history

Three examples of the Sportsman were completed: N480 manufacturers number 1; N853H and N987N manufacturers number 107.[1] The type was suitable for operation by individual sporting pilots. Williams was killed during 1930 in the crash of one of his designs, and the company was reformed as the Texas Aero Corp at Dallas, Texas.[1]

Surviving aircraft

The third Sportsman survived the Second World War and was rebuilt in 1990 by J.D. Ferrel with a radial engine of unknown manufacture. It is still extant, but without a valid permit to fly.[2] N987N is publicly displayed (2007) in the Frontiers of Flight Museum at Dallas (Love Field) airport.[3]

Specifications

Not available. The aircraft was originally fitted with a 100 h.p. ADC Cirrus III engine.[1]

References

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e "American airplanes - Wh - Wy". www.aerofiles.com. 1 May 2009. http://aerofiles.com/_wh.html. Retrieved 5 December 2010. 
  2. ^ "FAA Registry - N987N". 4 December 2010. http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=987N. Retrieved 5 December 2010. 
  3. ^ Ogden, P. 499

Bibliography

  • Ogden, Bob (2007). Aviation Museums and Collections of North America. Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. ISBN 0-85130-385-4.