| Chummy | |
|---|---|
| |
| Role | light utilityType of aircraft |
| Manufacturer | Taylor Aircraft Company |
| Designer | C. Gilbert Taylor and Gordon Taylor |
| First flight | February 14, 1928 |
| Number built | approx. 9 |
The Taylor Chummy, originally the Arrowing Chummy is a light utility aircraft made by the Taylor Aircraft Company in the late 1920s. It was the fore-runner of the highly successful Piper Cub series.
Design and development
The Chummy was designed by brothers C. Gilbert Taylor and Gordon Taylor in 1928. It is a braced, parasol-wing monoplane with two seats side-by-side in an open cockpit. Power was supplied by a tractor-mounted radial engine. Fixed, tailskid undercarriage was fitted, initially with a through-axle, but later with divided main units. The name "Chummy" was chosen by Gilbert because of the side-by-side seating, an unusual feature in an era when tandem seating was the norm.
About nine examples were built, but the exact number is uncertain due to many records being lost in a 1937 factory fire. Additionally, some earlier Chummy models were rebuilt into later models.
Operational history
On April 24, 1928, Gordon Taylor crashed a Chummy at Ford Airport, Dearborn, Michigan. His passenger, Aaron Rosenbleet, was killed instantly, and Taylor died of his injuries shortly after reaching hospital. Gilbert witnessed the crash. The crash was attributed to the passenger's hand "freezing" on the control stick, and subsequent Chummys included a spring-loaded safety mechanism that allowed the pilot in command to override the other set of controls.
One of the C-2s built had a wing modified with a seven-degree, variable-incidence wing for entry into the Guggenheim Safe Airplane Competition.
The Chummy was expensive and did not sell well, leading to the bankruptcy of the Taylor Brothers company in 1930.
Variants
- A-2 Chummy
- initial version with 90-hp (67-kW) Anzani radial engine and through-axle main undercarriage.
- B-2 Chummy
- refined version with 113-hp (83.4-kW) Ryan-Siemens Yankee 7 engine and divided main undercarriage.
- C-2 Chummy
Specifications (B-2)
Data from "The Airplane Division"
General characteristics
- Crew: 1
- Capacity: one passenger
- Length: 22 ft (6.7 m)
- Wingspan: 34 ft (10 m)
- Height: 7 ft 9 in (2.36 m)
- Wing area: 175 sq ft (16.3 m)
- Empty weight: 975 lb (442 kg)
- Gross weight: 1,475 lb (669 kg)
- Powerplant: 1 × Ryan-Siemens Yankee 7 7-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine, 113 hp (84 kW)
- Propellers: 2-bladed fixed-pitch propeller
Performance
- Maximum speed: 110 mph (180 km/h, 96 kn)
- Cruise speed: 95 mph (153 km/h, 83 kn)
References
- ^ Davisson 2022
- ^ "Aircraft Types
- ^ Neely 1986, p.26
- ^ "The Airplane Division"
- ^ "2 Killed in Crash at Detroit Airport
- ^ "Piper Aircraft - 75 Years Young"
Bibliography
- "2 Killed in Crash at Detroit Airport". The Windsor Star. Windsor, Ontario. April 25, 1928. p. 20.
- "Aircraft Types". The Vintage Piper Aircraft Club. Retrieved May 27, 2024.
- Davisson, Budd (May 25, 2022). "Cub Clones — The Icon That Keeps on Giving". Experimental Aircraft Association. Retrieved May 27, 2024.
- Neely, C. L. (June 1986). "The Model B2 Chummy". Model Builder.
- "Piper Aircraft - 75 Years Young". Piper Flyer Association. November 2012. Retrieved May 27, 2024.
- "The Airplane Division". Aviation. April 16, 1928.
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