The J.V. Martin K.III Kitten, also known as the J.V. Martin K.III Scout, was marketed as an "altitude fighter" for the U.S. Army. It is considered the first aircraft in the United States with retractable landing gear.[1]
James V. Martin was a consultant to the U.S. Air service, and an associate to General Billy Mitchell. He held patents on aerospace technologies including the retractable landing gear and once held the World's speed record of 70 mph in an airplane.[1] The Kitten design was too late for the war effort, it could not go into production before the end of World War I.
The aircraft featured manual retractable landing gear. The wheels used flexible spokes for shock absorption. When viewed from the side, the wing supports formed a letter "K" shape. The fuselage was all wood with plywood and fabric covering. The aircraft featured air tanks, and electrical power for flightsuit heating.
Operational historyedit
In 1918, the aircraft was delivered to McCook Field where it was considered structurally unsound. Martin appealed to Congress in 1920 to no avail.[2] In 60 test flights at Dayton, Ohio, the high altitude aircraft could only reach 295 ft of altitude. The prototype K.III Kitten was donated to the National Air and Space Museum in 1924.[3]
Variantsedit
The J.V. Martin K.IV was a model III with a more powerful 60 hp Lawrance engine and floats. 3 were built and sold to the U.S. Navy.
^ abSport Aviation. March 1958. {{cite journal}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
^Aviation History. March 1996. {{cite journal}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
^. Archived from the original on 2 April 2011. Retrieved 21 April 2011.
December 20, 2023
martin, kitten, also, known, martin, scout, marketed, altitude, fighter, army, considered, first, aircraft, united, states, with, retractable, landing, gear, role, interceptornational, origin, united, states, americadesigner, james, martinintroduction, 1919, c. The J V Martin K III Kitten also known as the J V Martin K III Scout was marketed as an altitude fighter for the U S Army It is considered the first aircraft in the United States with retractable landing gear 1 J V Martin K III KittenRole InterceptorNational origin United States of AmericaDesigner James V MartinIntroduction 1919 Contents 1 Design and development 2 Operational history 3 Variants 4 Specifications 5 ReferencesDesign and development editJames V Martin was a consultant to the U S Air service and an associate to General Billy Mitchell He held patents on aerospace technologies including the retractable landing gear and once held the World s speed record of 70 mph in an airplane 1 The Kitten design was too late for the war effort it could not go into production before the end of World War I The aircraft featured manual retractable landing gear The wheels used flexible spokes for shock absorption When viewed from the side the wing supports formed a letter K shape The fuselage was all wood with plywood and fabric covering The aircraft featured air tanks and electrical power for flightsuit heating Operational history editIn 1918 the aircraft was delivered to McCook Field where it was considered structurally unsound Martin appealed to Congress in 1920 to no avail 2 In 60 test flights at Dayton Ohio the high altitude aircraft could only reach 295 ft of altitude The prototype K III Kitten was donated to the National Air and Space Museum in 1924 3 Variants editThe J V Martin K IV was a model III with a more powerful 60 hp Lawrance engine and floats 3 were built and sold to the U S Navy Specifications editData from EAAGeneral characteristicsCapacity 1 Length 13 ft 3 in 4 04 m Wingspan 20 ft 2 in 6 15 m Height 7 ft 4 in 2 24 m Wing area 105 sq ft 9 8 m2 Empty weight 350 lb 159 kg Fuel capacity 9 US gallons 34 litres Powerplant 1 ABC Gnat 2 cylinder 45 hp 34 kW Performance Maximum speed 117 kn 135 mph 217 km h References edit a b Sport Aviation March 1958 a href Template Cite journal html title Template Cite journal cite journal a Missing or empty title help Aviation History March 1996 a href Template Cite journal html title Template Cite journal cite journal a Missing or empty title help Martin Kitten K III Archived from the original on 2 April 2011 Retrieved 21 April 2011 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title J V Martin K III Kitten amp oldid 1124041582, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
