Aeronca C-3

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeronca_C-3

The Aeronca C-3 was a light plane built by the Aeronautical Corporation of
America in the United States during the 1930s.


Role
Ultra-light monoplane

National origin
United States

Manufacturer
Aeronca

Number built
400

Developed from
Aeronca C-2

Its design was derived from the Aeronca C-2. Introduced in 1931, it featured
room for a passenger seated next to the pilot. Powered by a new 36 hp (27 kW)
Aeronca E-113 engine, the seating configuration made flight training much easier
and many Aeronca owners often took to the skies with only five hours of
instruction—largely because of the C-3's predictable flying characteristics.
Both the C-2 and C-3 are often described as “powered gliders” because of their
gliding ability and gentle landing speeds.

The C-3's distinctive razorback design was drastically altered in 1935 with the
appearance of the “roundback” C-3 Master. Retaining the tubular fuselage frame
construction, the C-3 Master featured a smaller vertical stabilizer and rudder
with a “filled out” fuselage shape that created the new “roundback” appearance
and improved the airflow over the tail. With an enclosed cabin (brakes and wing
light still cost extra), the 1935 C-3 Master was priced at only $1,895—just a
few hundred dollars more than the primitive C-2 of 1930. The low price generated
significant sales; 128 C-3 Masters were built in 1935 alone (of 430 C-3s built
in all), and the 500th Aeronca aircraft also rolled off the assembly line that
same year.

A version of the C-3 with fabric-covered ailerons (instead of metal), designated
the Aeronca 100, was built in England under license by Light Aircraft Ltd.
(operating as Aeronautical Corporation of Great Britain Ltd.) but the expected
sales never materialized—only 24 British-built aircraft were manufactured before
production was halted.

Production of the C-3 was halted in 1937 when the aircraft no longer met new
U.S. government standards for airworthiness. Many of the C-3's peculiarities—a
strictly external wire-braced wing with no wing struts directly connecting the
wing panels with the fuselage, extensive fabric construction, single-ignition
engine, and lack of an airspeed indicator—were no longer permitted. Fortunately
for the legion of Aeronca owners, a “grandfather” clause in the federal
regulations allowed their airplanes to continue flying, although they could no
longer be manufactured.

Specifications (C-3)

General characteristics
Crew: 1
Capacity: 1 Passenger
Length: 20 ft 0 in (6.1 m)
Wingspan: 36 ft 0 in (10.98 m)
Height: 7 ft 10 in (2.39 m)
Wing area: 142.2 ft2 (13.2 m2)
Empty weight: 569 lb (258 kg)
Gross weight: 1005 lb (456 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × Aeronca E-113C horizontally opposed 2 cylinder piston engine, 36
hp (27 kW)

Performance
Maximum speed: 95 mph (152 km/h)
Range: 200 miles (322 km)
Service ceiling: 12,000 ft (3659 m)




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