Oh my...

M

Mtns2Skies

Final Approach
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Mtns2Skies
I don't want to cheat on my Skywagon... but I just saw a Bellanca Cruiseair for the first time in person and I fell in love. The elegance of that unbelievably smooth wing with that tailwheel, retractable gear coupled with that gorgeous tail... oh my I need a moment.

My photography skills don't come close to doing it justice. I guess sometimes the planes that look the best aren't the ones that fulfill our mission.

IMG_20181215_162559.jpg IMG_20181215_162611.jpg
 
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I once worked at the airport in Alexandria, MN, where the planes are made. The wooden wings were made in a shop away from the field and brought to the airport where the planes were made. The wooden wings were in bare wood form then and were a work of art...absolutely perfect.

One item aside...Alexandria, MN, was reported to be a place where ancient Vikings once visited. The town had a large statute of a Viking in the middle to town at one street intersection....everybody called the statue "Ole"....one Halloweene the high school kids hung a large sausage on ole....
 
One of my favorite airplanes except I like the 14-19 better for the big engine.
 
JohnWF said:
I once worked at the airport in Alexandria, MN, where the planes are made. The wooden wings were made in a shop away from the field and brought to the airport where the planes were made. The wooden wings were in bare wood form then and were a work of art...absolutely perfect...
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Don't know about the Cruisair, but apparently there are some 1500 separate wood parts in the wing structure of a Viking.

Labor must have been a lot less expensive in the day...

Stopped in Alexandria on the way to OSH in '13 and again in '17. The locals still talk about the early 1970s and the factory turning out airplanes in quantities, lined up on the ramps waiting for the ferry pilots to deliver them to new owners.
 
GRG55 said:
Don't know about the Cruisair, but apparently there are some 1500 separate wood parts in the wing structure of a Viking.

Labor must have been a lot less expensive in the day...
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When you consider that in 1946 the $27,000 hand-built Staggerwing was replaced by the $4500 somewhat mass-produced Bonanza, I don’t think it was much less expensive.
 
Mtns2Skies said:
I don't want to cheat on my Skywagon... but I just saw a Bellanca Cruiseair for the first time in person and I fell in love.
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They say lusting is just as bad as cheating you know...
 
JohnWF said:
I once worked at the airport in Alexandria, MN, where the planes are made. The wooden wings were made in a shop away from the field and brought to the airport where the planes were made. The wooden wings were in bare wood form then and were a work of art...absolutely perfect.
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didn't change much, tri tail left then mostly bigger engines both lyc & conti including a factory turbo,

new tail issue
http://www.bellanca-aircraft.com/uploads/3/2/2/8/3228738/tail_cracks.pdf

https://www.caa.govt.nz/assets/legacy/Airworthiness_Directives/Bellanca.pdf

http://www.bellanca.us/Bellanca_17-30_FAA_AD.pdf
 
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Good little performers too, not a bad bang for the buck
 
Here is a photo of a nice one that stopped at KOFP on its way to Florida a couple of weeks ago!
e04c1a866d4ec8c2faedb032dcfe6d4c.jpg


Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk
 
first small plane i became aware can have a symmetrical airfoil elevator
 
There is a really nice one on trade-a-plane right now... No, it's gone now...
My favorite is the Turbo Viking.
 
the fuselage also provides some lift, early ones had a radial engine,

bud of mine was gonna go exp with an walter
 
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Wow. . .beauty in the life experience of the beholder. . .when I first saw a Staggerwing, I thought it a most butt-ugly airplane. Like a Vildebeest, with the top wing shoved back. But others find them attractive.
 
Mtns2Skies said:
I don't want to cheat on my Skywagon... but I just saw a Bellanca Cruiseair for the first time in person and I fell in love. The elegance of that unbelievably smooth wing with that tailwheel, retractable gear coupled with that gorgeous tail... oh my I need a moment.
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Ah, the Cardboard Connie! ;) That's definitely on the list of planes I have previously wanted to own at some point.

Don't worry, though, I would be happy to be your Skywagon's rebound relationship or side piece or whatever... I'll take care of her when you're whoring yourself out with the Bellanca anyway. :)
 
some history
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wright-Bellanca_WB-2
  • Missed opportunity with Lindbergh In late 1926, an enterprising Charles Lindbergh had convinced Earl Thompson, and Major Albert Bond Lambert to back him on an attempt to win the $25,000 Orteig Prize for a non-stop transatlantic flight. He specifically wanted a single pilot, and a single engine to reduce weight and chances of failure. The ideal plane was the Wright-Bellanca WB-2. Lindbergh set out by train to New York in a new suit to look professional for a face-to-face meeting with Columbia Aircraft to buy the only WB-2. In the meeting, Levine said the aircraft was worth $25,000, but would discount it to $15,000 due to the free publicity that would be made from the flight, well above the approximate $10,000 price that had been anticipated by Lindbergh and his backers. Lindbergh returned to St. Louis, and had a check signed to him personally for $15,000 and a request to name the WB-2 The Spirit of St. Louis. Lindbergh said he would have the plane back in St. Louis in a week.
The second meeting in New York was attended by Levine, Bellanca, and Chamberlin. With check in hand, Levine added a stipulation that Columbia Aircraft would select the crew on the flight, which Lindbergh objected to.
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vman said:
first small plane i became aware can have a symmetrical airfoil elevator
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Most do. Cambered tail surfaces are rare on small airplanes. Here's an exception:

4648166734_e236585a35.jpg
 
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