Buhl-Verville CA-3 Airster

CA-3 Airster
Role Utility aircraft
Manufacturer Buhl
Designer Alfred Verville, Etienne Dormoy
First flight 1926
Number built 20[1]


The Buhl-Verville CA-3 Airster (also known as the J4 Airster, after its engine), was a utility aircraft built in the United States in 1926, notable as the first aircraft to receive a type certificate in the US,[2] · [3] · [4] (i.e. A.T.C. No. 1) issued by the Aeronautics Branch of the Department of Commerce on March 29, 1927.[5] It was a conventional single-bay biplane with equal-span unstaggered wings and accommodation for the pilot and passengers in tandem open cockpits. Marketed for a variety of roles including crop-dusting, aerial photography, and freight carriage, only a handful were built, some with water-cooled engines as the CW-3, and others with air-cooled engines as the CA-3 . One CA-3 placed second in the 1926 Ford National Reliability Air Tour.[6]

1926 Ford Air Tour, piloted by Louis Meister, and another (designated the CA-3A) placed third in the 1927 Air Derby, piloted by Nick Mamer. One CW-3 and one CA-3 each were evaluated by the United States Army as trainers, but neither were purchased.

Versions

CA

The CW-3 OX5 Airster (1925) with folding wings

CW

Specifications (CA-3)

General characteristics

Performance

See also

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era

SPAD S.XIII ; SPAD S.XX ; Buhl CA-1 Airster ; Buhl Airsedan

See also


References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Buhl-Verville CA-3 Airster.
Notes
  1. "Verville Sport Trainer AT". Aviation-history.com. Retrieved 2014-05-09.
  2. "The First Federal Aircraft Type Certificate". www.faa.gov. 1927.
  3. "ATCs". Aerofiles.com. Retrieved 2014-05-09.
  4. http://www.hoaircraft.com/VintageBuhlpdf.pdf
  5. http://www.faa.gov/aircraft/air_cert/design_approvals/transport/Cert_Update/Edition01-10/media/Edition05.pdf
  6. Forden, Lesley. The Ford Air Tours: 1925-1931. New Brighton Minnesota: Aviation Foundation of America, 2003, First edition 1972. No ISBN.
  7. "Flight Global Magazine, April 8th, 1927, page 209". Flightglobal.com. 1926-04-08. Retrieved 2014-05-09.
Bibliography