ERCO Ercoupe

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ERCO_Ercoupe

The ERCO Ercoupe is a low-wing monoplane aircraft that was designed and built in
the United States. It was first manufactured by the Engineering and Research
Corporation (ERCO) shortly before World War II; several other manufacturers
continued its production after the war. The final model, the Mooney M-10, first
flew in 1968 and the last model year was 1970. It was designed to be the safest
fixed-wing aircraft that aerospace engineering could provide at the time, and
the type continues to enjoy a faithful following.

Fred Weick

In 1931, aeronautical engineer Fred Weick was assistant chief of the aeronautics
division of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). In 1934 he
asked permission to build an aircraft based on the 1931 Stout Skycar, using
fabric instead of aluminum covering, and control modifications based on NACA
research. Weick and a group of co-workers designed and assembled the
experimental aircraft with a group of his colleagues who worked on the project
in their spare time and paid for it themselves. The resulting aircraft, known as
the W-1, featured tricycle landing gear, a parasol wing, and a pusher propeller
configuration.

Fred Weick listed the W1 design goals that were tested in later seminars:

*Tricycle landing gear with castering nosewheel, steerable if desired

*Suitable longitudinal and lateral stability with limited up-elevator
deflection, to prevent loss of control due to stalling and spinning.

*A glide-control flap

*Two-control operation using controls for pitch and roll.

In 1934, the Bureau of Air Commerce approached Weick's team looking for
standards for a competition for a safe and practical $700 aircraft. In 1936 the
winner of the competition was the Stearman-Hammond Y-1, incorporating many of
the safety features of the W-1. Two other winners were the Waterman Aeroplane
and a roadable autogyro, the Autogiro Company of America AC-35. The W-1 was not
intended for production to qualify as a competitor, but was purchased by the
Bureau for continued experimental tests in spin-control safety. After the
prototype W-1 underwent a forced landing, an updated W-1A was built by
Fairchild, incorporating leading edge cuffs.

ERCO

Weick left NACA in 1936 and joined Engineering and Research Corporation's (ERCO)
fledgling aircraft team as chief designer, primarily to continue improving his
aircraft design. Focusing his efforts on a number of design issues, primarily
simplicity and safety, Weick strove to create a reasonably priced aircraft that
would not stall or spin.
Retaining the tricycle gear for ease of maneuvering on the ground, and limited
stall-spin features, Weick switched to a low-wing monoplane configuration in his
new model, powered by an engine in tractor configuration.

The ERCO 310, which included a fully cowled engine, made its first flight in
October 1937 at College Park Airport and was soon renamed the "Ercoupe". The
easy-to-fly design included unique design features, including a large glazed
canopy for improved visibility. The prototype 310 featured an ERCO-made inverted
four-cylinder engine, the ERCO I-L 116, which was quickly dropped due to its
high manufacturing cost compared to the new Continental A-65 horizontal. Lacking
rudder pedals, the Ercoupe was flown using only the control wheel. A two-control
system linked the rudder and aileron systems, which controlled yaw and roll,
with the steerable nosewheel. The control wheel controlled the pitch and the
steering of the aircraft, both on the ground and in the air, simplifying control
and coordinated turning and eliminating the need for rudder pedals. A completely
new category of pilot's license was created by the CAA for Ercoupe pilots who
had never used a rudder pedal.


Role
Light aircraft

National origin
United States

Manufacturer
Engineering and Research Corporation

Designer
Fred Weick

First flight
1937

Produced
1940–1969

Number built
5,685

Unit cost

US$2,665–9,295 (1941)
($45.4 thousand–158 thousand in 2018 dollars)


Variants
Alon X-A4 Aircoupe
Mooney M10 Cadet
Bryan Autoplane

Although World War II had interrupted production of the Ercoupe, general
aviation manufacturers were enthusiastic about the prospects of a postwar
aviation boom. Thousands of men and women were trained as pilots by the
government, and the hope was that they would want to include flying in their
civilian life. Production of the model 415-C resumed in 1945, and in 1946 alone
4,311 aircraft were produced and sold at a cost of US$2,665. This was the same
price as in 1941. At its peak, ERCO was turning out 34 Ercoupes per day,
operating three shifts per day. The aircraft was aggressively marketed through
unconventional outlets such as the men's department of the Macy's department
store chain.

However, private aircraft sales slumped after the war and the bottom dropped out
of the civil aircraft market in late 1946, ending prospects for a boom market
for civil aircraft sales. A 30-day layoff at the factory in November resulted in
rivets tossed around the factory and some aircraft sides and signs being
painted. The year ended with an Ercoupe flown by a test pilot and mechanic
breaking up in flight.

Other production
Aeronca

Aeronca obtained a licence to produce the Ercoupe 415 as the Aeronca 12AC Chum
in 1946 and built two prototypes: NX39637, with the Ercoupe twin-tail, and
NX83772 with a larger, single tail, metal wings and trailing-link struts in the
main undercarriage. The Chum was powered by a Continental C-85J with a 108 mph
(174 km/h) cruise speed. No production ensued.

Sanders Aviation
In 1947 ERCO sold its remaining Ercoupe inventory to Sanders Aviation, which
continued to produce the aircraft in the same ERCO-owned factory. A total of 213
aircraft were sold by 1950. During this time, ERCO's chief engineer Fred Wieck
moved on to Texas A&M, where he developed the agricultural Piper Pawnee aircraft
and eventually the popular Piper Cherokee with John Thorp and Karl Bergey.

Military

Three model 415-C aircraft were procured by the United States Army Air Forces
for use during World War II.

On 12 August 1941, the first USAAF rocket-assist takeoff was made by a Wright
Field test pilot, Capt. Homer Boushey, using a small civilian-type Ercoupe
aircraft. Subsequent refinements of this technique were made for assisting
heavily loaded aircraft in taking off from limited space. The tests were
conducted between 6 August and 23 August 1941, at March Field, California, using
various combinations of rocket units mounted under the wings of NC28655.

An additional Ercoupe was evaluated by the Royal Air Force in 1947. This
aircraft was serial number 4784, carried Royal Air Force markings VX 147 and was
polished metal all over with RAF roundels.

Specifications (Ercoupe 415-C)

General characteristics
Crew: one
Capacity: one passenger
Length: 20 ft 9 in (6.32 m)
Wingspan: 30 ft 0 in (9.14 m)
Height: 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Wing area: 142.6 ft² (13.25 m²)
Empty weight: 749 lb (339 kg)
Useful load: 511 lb (233 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 1,260 lb (572 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × Continental C-75-12, 75 hp (56 kW) at 2,300 rpm

Performance
Never exceed speed: 125 knots (144 mph, 232 km/h)
Maximum speed: 96 knots (110 mph, 177 km/h)
Cruise speed: 83 knots (95 mph, 153 km/h)
Stall speed: 42 knots (48 mph, 77 km/h)
Range: 261 NM (300 mi, 482 km)
Service ceiling: 13,000 ft (4,000 m)
Rate of climb: 550 ft/min (2.79 m/s)
Wing loading: 8.83 lb/ft² (43.17 kg/m²)
Power/mass: 0.13 hp/lb (210 W/kg)





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