The NAS (National Airways System) Air King was a US light biplane transport aircraft designed in 1926 to carry three passengers in two open cockpits. Only one was built but in 1928 it was revised to carry two passengers and was more successful, with over twenty produced.
The Air King Model 26 was a single bay biplane with wings of rectangular plan, though with rounded, steel tube tips. The rest of the wing structure was a mixture of spruce and ash, with all wing surfaces fabric-covered. Because its upper and lower wings were interchangeable, the span of the upper one was only about 90% that of the lower, the latter mounted on the lower fuselage. They were braced together by inward-leaning, N-form interplane struts with 14 in (360 mm) of stagger and supported over the fuselage on short, outward-leaning cabane struts, an inverted V forwards and a single strut aft on each side. Only the lower wing was set with dihedral (2.5°). Ailerons on upper and lower wings were externally interconnected though, unusually, port and starboard pairs could be separately controlled.[1][2]
The fuselage was a fabric-covered, trussed steel tube structure with the readily available Curtiss OX-5 water-cooled V-8 under a rather pointed cowling in the nose. Its honeycomb radiator was mounted under the upper wing. There were two wide, open cockpits, each with a bench seat for two. The tail surfaces were very angular and constructed from dural, with a tailplane externally braced to the fin and fuselage. Its control surfaces were broad chord; the elevators had a deep cut-out for rudder movement.[1][2]
The Air King's fixed undercarriage was conventional for its time, its wheels on a single axle mounted on short, vertical legs with trailing drag struts attached to the lower fuselage and a rear tailskid.[1]
The date of the Air King's first flight in uncertain but it had been completed by January 1927. No more four-seaters were built but in early 1928 the prototype reappeared as the Model 28 with a smaller rear cockpit seating only the pilot. The engine cowling was cleaned up, totally enclosing the OX-5, and the cabane struts revised with a forward single strut and a transverse V aft on each side. It had a wider track, split axle undercarriage with longer main legs from mid-fuselage. The vertical tail was also modified, with the external bracing removed and a rounded fin and rudder. It was 7 in (180 mm) shorter but its other dimensions were unchanged, as, largely, was the performance. Slightly cheaper, this two passenger version proved more popular and twenty-three were completed.[3][4]
NAS Air King Model 28
Variantsedit
Model 26
1926 first prototype, three passengers.
Model 28
1928 two passenger version with cleaned-up engine cowling and new, two axle wider track undercarriage. 23 built.
king, national, airways, system, king, light, biplane, transport, aircraft, designed, 1926, carry, three, passengers, open, cockpits, only, built, 1928, revised, carry, passengers, more, successful, with, over, twenty, produced, model, role, civil, light, tran. The NAS National Airways System Air King was a US light biplane transport aircraft designed in 1926 to carry three passengers in two open cockpits Only one was built but in 1928 it was revised to carry two passengers and was more successful with over twenty produced NAS Air King NAS Air King Model 26 Role Civil light transport National origin United States Manufacturer National Airways System Lomax IL First flight 1926 7 Number built 23 Contents 1 Design and development 2 Variants 3 Specifications Air King Model 26 4 ReferencesDesign and development edit nbsp NAS Air King Model 26 The Air King Model 26 was a single bay biplane with wings of rectangular plan though with rounded steel tube tips The rest of the wing structure was a mixture of spruce and ash with all wing surfaces fabric covered Because its upper and lower wings were interchangeable the span of the upper one was only about 90 that of the lower the latter mounted on the lower fuselage They were braced together by inward leaning N form interplane struts with 14 in 360 mm of stagger and supported over the fuselage on short outward leaning cabane struts an inverted V forwards and a single strut aft on each side Only the lower wing was set with dihedral 2 5 Ailerons on upper and lower wings were externally interconnected though unusually port and starboard pairs could be separately controlled 1 2 The fuselage was a fabric covered trussed steel tube structure with the readily available Curtiss OX 5 water cooled V 8 under a rather pointed cowling in the nose Its honeycomb radiator was mounted under the upper wing There were two wide open cockpits each with a bench seat for two The tail surfaces were very angular and constructed from dural with a tailplane externally braced to the fin and fuselage Its control surfaces were broad chord the elevators had a deep cut out for rudder movement 1 2 The Air King s fixed undercarriage was conventional for its time its wheels on a single axle mounted on short vertical legs with trailing drag struts attached to the lower fuselage and a rear tailskid 1 The date of the Air King s first flight in uncertain but it had been completed by January 1927 No more four seaters were built but in early 1928 the prototype reappeared as the Model 28 with a smaller rear cockpit seating only the pilot The engine cowling was cleaned up totally enclosing the OX 5 and the cabane struts revised with a forward single strut and a transverse V aft on each side It had a wider track split axle undercarriage with longer main legs from mid fuselage The vertical tail was also modified with the external bracing removed and a rounded fin and rudder It was 7 in 180 mm shorter but its other dimensions were unchanged as largely was the performance Slightly cheaper this two passenger version proved more popular and twenty three were completed 3 4 nbsp NAS Air King Model 28Variants editModel 26 1926 first prototype three passengers Model 28 1928 two passenger version with cleaned up engine cowling and new two axle wider track undercarriage 23 built Specifications Air King Model 26 editData from Aero Digest 1927 1 General characteristicsCrew one Capacity three passengers Length 26 ft 7 9 m Upper wingspan 30 ft 11 in 9 42 m Lower wingspan 33 ft 10 m another source has 34 ft 1 in 10 39 m 4 Height 8 ft 8 in 2 64 m Empty weight 1 095 lb 497 kg Fuel capacity 35 US gal 29 imp gal 130 L Useful load 850 lb 390 kg Powerplant 1 Curtiss OX 5 water cooled V 8 90 hp 67 kW Propellers 2 bladed Hartzell Propeller Performance Maximum speed 99 mph 159 km h 86 kn Cruise speed 85 mph 137 km h 74 kn Range 400 mi 640 km 350 nmi Service ceiling 17 000 ft 5 200 m Rate of climb 550 ft min 2 8 m s Landing speed 31 mph 50 km h 27 kn References edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to NAS Air King Model 26 a b c d The Air King Aero Digest 10 2 132 February 1927 a b Revue de l etranger L Air 9 117 24 15 March 1927 Model 28 Air King Aero Digest 11 4 758 October 1928 a b Aerofiles Retrieved 31 January 2020 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title NAS Air King amp oldid 998672154, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
