Curtiss R3C

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curtiss_R3C

The Curtiss R3C was an American racing aircraft built in landplane and
floatplane form. It was a single-seat biplane built by the Curtiss Aeroplane and
Motor Company.

The R3C-1 was the landplane version and Cyrus Bettis won the Pulitzer Trophy
Race in one on 12 October 1925 with a speed of 248.9 mph (406.5 km/h).

The R3C-2 was a twin float seaplane built for the Schneider Trophy race. In
1925, it took place at Chesapeake Bay in Baltimore, Maryland. With 232.57 mph
(374.274 km/h), pilot Jimmy Doolittle won the trophy with a Curtiss R3C-2. The
other two R3C-2s, piloted by George Cuddihy and Ralph Oftsie, did not reach the
finish line. The next day, with the same plane on a straight course, Doolittle
reached 245.7 mph (395.4 km/h), a new world record. For the next Schneider
Trophy, which took place on 13 November 1926, the R3C-2's engine was further
improved, and pilot Christian Franck Schilt took second place with 231.364 mph
(372.34 km/h).

Role
Racing aircraft

Manufacturer
Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company

First flight
18 September 1925

Introduction
1925

Primary users
US Navy
US Army

Number built
3

Developed from
Curtiss R2C

The R3C-2 that Jimmy Doolitle piloted to victory in the 1925 Schneider Trophy
race is preserved at the National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy
Centre, at Washington Dulles Airport, Virginia. It still wears its '3' 1925
racing number.

Specifications (R3C-2)

General characteristics
Crew: 1
Length: 22 ft 0 in (6.71 m)
Wingspan: 22 ft 0 in (6.71 m)
Height: 10 ft 4 in (3.15 m)
Wing area: 144 sq ft (13.4 m2)
Airfoil: Curtiss C-80
Empty weight: 2,135 lb (968 kg)
Gross weight: 2,738 lb (1,242 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × Curtiss V-1400 V-12 water-cooled piston engine, 565 hp (421 kW)
Propellers: 2-bladed fixed-pitch propeller

Performance
Maximum speed: 245 mph (394 km/h, 213 kn)
Range: 290 mi (470 km, 250 nmi) at full throttle




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