Pacer Monoplane
| Role | Four seat civil transport |
|---|---|
| National origin | US |
| Manufacturer | Pacer Aircraft Co. |
| Designer | Frank R. Seesock |
| First flight | early 1928 |
The Pacer Monoplane was a parasol wing, four seat, light aircraft, flown and produced in the US in the late 1920s.
Design and development[edit]
The Pacer Monoplane, designed by Frank R. Seesock, was a parasol wing, open cockpit four-seater, offered with a choice of engines. Its wings were rectangular in plan out to tips tapered on their leading edges and were built around twin, solid spars and plywood ribs, with fabric covering.[1] They were joined to the lower fuselage longerons by parallel pairs of struts[2] to the spars at about 2/3 span. These had a broad chord, airfoil section and, with a combined area of 35.5 sq ft (3.30 m2), made a useful contribution to the Pacer's lift. The wing centre-section was held over the fuselage with pairs of longitudinal, vertical, inverted-V cabane struts from the spars to the upper fuselage longerons on each side.[1]
The Pacer was designed to accept a variety of engines with outputs greater than about 100 hp (75 kW) but the first flights were made with a licence-built Hispano-Suiza 8, a water-cooled V-8 dating from 1914 developed to produce 180 hp (130 kW). It had a "tunnel type" radiator mounted under the engine and a 90 US gal (75 imp gal; 340 L) fuel tank in the wing centre-section. Behind the engine the fuselage had a flat-sided, welded steel tube structure with fabric covering. The upper fuselage had a curved decking. Each wide, open cockpit seated two side by side; the forward cockpit, under the wing, was accessed through a door and the rear, from which it was flown, was almost under a trailing edge gently cut away to improve the upward, forward field of view and offered dual controls with a Y-type, central column. Aft, a straight-tapered, round-tipped tailplane was mounted on top of the fuselage and braced from below with a pair of parallel struts to the lower longeron on each side. The elevators were similar in plan but with a large cut-out for rudder movement. The fin was trapezoidal in profile and its round-topped balanced rudder had a vertical trailing edge.[1]
Its split-axle main undercarriage had its steel tube axles, legs and drag struts mounted on the lower longerons. The wheels were large and the track wide. There was a short tailskid.[1]
Operational history[edit]
The date of the first flight is not known but was well before April 1928, when some results of test flights with the Hispano engine, including a trial carrying four and their baggage, had been released. Pacer intended production at their Fords, New Jersey factory to begin on 15 April[1] and had appointed two agencies committed to purchase production aircraft, one to cover New York and the other New York State. At the same time a Whirlwind-powered airframe was being completed for the Detroit Air Show and for flight shortly afterwards.[3] Production continued until 1930,[4] though only two are known from US civil registers. One, registered in 1928, was powered by a 220 hp (160 kW) Wright J-5 Whirlwind and the other, registered in 1930, by a 300 hp (220 kW) J-6 Whirlwind.[5]
Specifications (Whirlwind J-5)[edit]
Data from Aero Digest (April 1928)[1]
General characteristics
- Crew: one
- Capacity: three passengers
- Length: 22 ft 9 in (6.93 m)
- Wingspan: 32 ft 6 in (9.91 m)
- Height: 8 ft 7 in (2.62 m)
- Wing area: 200 sq ft (19 m2)
- Fuel capacity: 70 US gal (58 imp gal; 260 L)
- Powerplant: × Wright Whirlwind J-5 9-cylinder radial, 220 hp (160 kW)
Performance
- Maximum speed: 147 mph (237 km/h, 128 kn)
- Cruise speed: 120 mph (190 km/h, 100 kn)
- Range: 750 mi (1,210 km, 650 nmi)
- Service ceiling: 21,000 ft (6,400 m)
- Rate of climb: 1,650 ft/min (8.4 m/s)
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e f Horsefall, J.E., ed. (April 1928). "The Pacer Monoplane". Aero Digest. New York City: Aeronautical Digest Publishing Corp. p. 604.
- ^ "Pacer Aircraft Corp". Aero Digest. April 1928. p. 578.
- ^ "New York Air News". Aero Digest. April 1928. p. 674.
- ^ Gunston, Bill (1993). World Encyclopaedia of Aircraft Manufacturers: from the pioneers to the present day. Sparkford, Somerset: Patrick Stephens Limited. p. 229. ISBN 9 781852 602055.
- ^ "Aerofiles". Retrieved 30 March 2020.