Chummy | |
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Role | light utility |
Manufacturer | Taylor Aircraft Company |
Designer | C. Gilbert Taylor and Gordon Taylor [1] |
First flight | February 14, 1928 [2] |
Number built | approx. 9 [3] |
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. [1]
The Chummy was designed by brothers C. Gilbert Taylor and Gordon Taylor in 1928. [1] It is a braced, parasol-wing monoplane with two seats side-by-side in an open cockpit. [1] Power was supplied by a tractor-mounted radial engine. [2] Fixed, tailskid undercarriage was fitted, initially with a through-axle, but later with divided main units. [4] 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. [3]
About nine examples were built, but the exact number is uncertain due to many records being lost in a 1937 factory fire. [3] Additionally, some earlier Chummy models were rebuilt into later models. [3]
On April 24, 1928, Gordon Taylor crashed a Chummy at Ford Airport, Dearborn, Michigan. [5] His passenger, Aaron Rosenbleet, was killed instantly, and Taylor died of his injuries shortly after reaching hospital. [5] Gilbert witnessed the crash. [5] 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. [3]
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. [6]
The Chummy was expensive and did not sell well, leading to the bankruptcy of the Taylor Brothers company in 1930. [6]
Data from "The Airplane Division"
General characteristics
Performance
Chummy | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Role | light utility |
Manufacturer | Taylor Aircraft Company |
Designer | C. Gilbert Taylor and Gordon Taylor [1] |
First flight | February 14, 1928 [2] |
Number built | approx. 9 [3] |
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. [1]
The Chummy was designed by brothers C. Gilbert Taylor and Gordon Taylor in 1928. [1] It is a braced, parasol-wing monoplane with two seats side-by-side in an open cockpit. [1] Power was supplied by a tractor-mounted radial engine. [2] Fixed, tailskid undercarriage was fitted, initially with a through-axle, but later with divided main units. [4] 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. [3]
About nine examples were built, but the exact number is uncertain due to many records being lost in a 1937 factory fire. [3] Additionally, some earlier Chummy models were rebuilt into later models. [3]
On April 24, 1928, Gordon Taylor crashed a Chummy at Ford Airport, Dearborn, Michigan. [5] His passenger, Aaron Rosenbleet, was killed instantly, and Taylor died of his injuries shortly after reaching hospital. [5] Gilbert witnessed the crash. [5] 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. [3]
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. [6]
The Chummy was expensive and did not sell well, leading to the bankruptcy of the Taylor Brothers company in 1930. [6]
Data from "The Airplane Division"
General characteristics
Performance