Today we’re looking at two aircraft that are not very well known outside certain aviation circles:
the Bellanca Aircruiser (or the Airbus, depending on what specific model you are looking at),
and the even more obscure Bellanca model 77-140 bomber.
The development of the latter was directly related to the development of the former,
hence why both are being included in this video. Also, I apologise if the technical details are
a bit lacking for this video, but the sources on these planes are both scarce,
and sometimes conflicting, so I shall only discuss what I am confident to
be true. Anyway, lets take a look at them. The Aircruiser can trace its origins back to 1928.
In that year, Giuseppe Bellanca built the Bellanca Model K for Italian WW1 Ace Ceasare Sabelli,
who had commissioned the design of an aircraft that could fly non-stop from New York to Rome.
Unfortunately for Sabelli, he ran out of money and the flight never took place, Bellanca’s
design survived, however, and he shifted his design focus towards the commercial market.
This resulted in the P-100 Airbus and its descendants, the first of which was built
and completed in 1930. It was a unique design, both for its looks and its surprisingly high
fuel efficiency. It was instantly recognisable due to its wing configuration. Built as a sesquiplane,
the lower wing resembled an inverted gull, with a sharp anhedral on the inner sections;
the outer section was especially strange, as it performed the dual role of being a lifting
surface as well as a support strut, tapering down to the point where it connected to the upper wing.
This unique appearance earned Bellanca’s aircraft the nickname of ‘the flying W’.
In 1931 the P-100 demonstrated its efficiency by flying 4400 miles in a single flight that lasted
35 hours. The test pilot, George Haldeman, had mixed opinions about its flight handling.
Though it was not outright unstable, it did suffer from aileron drag and the rudder felt
especially heavy, which for long distance flying was not ideal, however other than
that the aircraft did perform well. The P-100 did not secure any sales
due to reliability concerns over its water-cooled Curtiss Conqueror engine,
however the P-200 and P-300 – powered by air-cooled radials – got a much better reception.
Unfortunately, their development was poorly timed; firstly, the Great Depression reduced
the demand for air travel, which in turn reduced sales opportunities, and secondly in 1934 a
new regulation outlawed the use of single engine transport aircraft by US airlines.
Though their chance of commercial success in the United States was now all but gone, the Bellancas
did see a brief stint of military use. In 1932, the US Army Air Corps purchased
four Airbuses, and this was followed by the purchase of another 10 in 1933. These would
be re-designated as the C-27, and all but one of them would eventually be upgraded as the C-27C,
which was powered by a 750hp Wright Cyclone. Capable of carrying a 3000 pound payload,
which was impressive for their size and weight, the C-27s would be used during the
1934 air mail crisis -much like the Douglas XB-7 which we covered in a previous video.
The Aircruiser was an improved development of the airbus. This was conceived before the
aforementioned events that curtailed Bellanca’s prospects in the United States. It was built as
a more luxurious model of the Airbus, but it still maintained the same seating capacity of
12 to 14 passengers. The seats were covered in leather, there was good ventilation for both
fresh air and heating, and large cabin windows offered excellent views for the passengers.
Ironically, the Aircruiser, designed for luxury and comfort,
would find its greatest successes as a Canadian bush aircraft.
With a more powerful engine than the Airbus, the Aircruiser boasted the ability to lift a
payload greater than its own weight at speed of up to 155 mph. It could also take off in a
shorter distance compared to other transports of similar size or weight carrying capacity.
These two factors made the Aircruiser suitable for a specific niche in Canada,
where a mining boom had created the need for a transport that could carry heavy
loads across large distances whilst also being able to take off from small, remote airfields.
The most famous of the Canadian Bellancas was an example purchased by W. Leigh Brintnell,
who bought it to carry uranium concentrate from the Eldorado Mine at Port Radium to Edmonton,
and it was dubbed the “Eldorado Radium Express”. These flights involved supplying the mines on
the inbound trip, and then flying out with up to 3500 pounds on uranium concentrate, worth $20,000,
in woven cloth bags. Stan McMillan, who also flew the Aircruiser on this particular route,
once said that the Aircruiser was “one of the ugliest, most efficient aircraft for its period”,
and it would continue to fly this route for well over a decade.
The failure of the Airbus to secure commercial success in the United States, combined with
the praise of the C-27 and Aircruisers, prompted Giuseppe Bellanca to develop a
bomber version of the aircraft to offer to the US Military, and this resulted in the model 77-140.
This new design featured several major changes compared to its predecessor.
The most obvious change was the removal of the nose-mounted engine, which was replaced
by a pair of 715hp Wright Cyclones that were mounted on the upper wing. They were housed in
nacelles that were fitted at the point where the support struts connected with the main wing spars.
To both support the additional weight of the engines, and also maintain the required lift,
the upper wing was both strengthened and had its span increased from 65 feet to 77 feet.
Like on the Aircruiser, the upper wing was constructed of two spars, but the ribs were more
closely spaced together to improve load handling. The wing itself was entirely fabric covered,
and despite looking like a fixed unit, the outer section along with its lower counterpart could be
folded back for easier storage and transportation. The centre section of the lower wing,
which supported the landing gear, was built from a steel frame, and clad in duraluminium panelling.
The design and arrangement of the control surfaces, particularly on the tail, were modified
so that control of the aircraft could be easily maintained under the power of just one engine.
The addition of two auxiliary rudders on the tail unit is the biggest of these particular changes,
and they allowed for single-engine flight without manoeuvring the aircraft
into awkward positions to maintain control. In terms of crew members, the few scraps of source
information seen to wildly vary between as little as two or as many as six. However, the stations
on the aircraft, as well as the defensive armament give some indication on what it should have been.
There was at the very least a gunner in the nose, of which several photos make this
glaringly obvious. On the prototype, this front turret was enclosed, but it was later changed to
an open turret for all other models. Then you had the pilot, which was apparently necessary,
unless you wanted your plane to be a static display, so that makes two. There was then a
bomb-aimers station which was located to the right and just below the pilot’s seat, so that’s three.
Aft of the pilot’s cockpit was the main cabin, which we’ll get to shortly,
and behind this was the rear gunner’s station. So, at the very least you needed four crew members.
Due to the aircraft’s high payload capacity and good range, it was designed to fill a number of
roles as needed. Firstly, as a bomber, it could carry over 2800 pounds of bombs and ammunition,
the bombload itself could consist of a pair of 1100 pound bombs,
or a collection of smaller bombs ranging from 600 down to 100 pounds in various loadouts.
Secondly, it could be operated as both a troop transport and an ambulance, courtesy of the large
central cabin. It was particularly well suited to the role of an ambulance, and had it been
used as such it would have done well. In terms of capacity, it could easily carry nine stretchers,
plus all the relevant attending medical personnel and equipment.
Loading the wounded onto the plane would have been made particularly easy,
as there was a large door on the starboard side that was used for cargo loading.
Thirdly, its range and good fuel efficiency meant that it could be operated as a reconnaissance
plane. And indeed, this was particularly emphasised to the US navy, as the aircraft
was also being designed as a floatplane. In 1934, its 1500-mile range, the capacity to
carry a 3000-pound payload, and a top speed of 175 mph would have made it one of the best performing
aircraft in its class…but in the end neither the Army Air Corps nor the US Navy were interested.
Ultimately, the only customer to purchase Bellanca’s bomber would be Columbia.
The Columbian Air Force placed an order for four bombers to be modified as seaplanes,
which were known as the model 77-320. These aircraft entered service in 1935, operating mostly
out of coastal air bases, and they would continue to do so until 1942, though none of them took part
in any combat during the second world war. No example of the bombers can be found today,
but two examples of the Aircruisers are known to exist. One of them is the last flying Aircruiser,
built in 1938, and its on display at the Erickson Aircraft Collection in Oregon.
The other is the famous plane from the Eldorado Radium Express. It crashed in northern Ontario
in 1947, but it is now undergoing a restoration project with the Royal Aviation Museum of Western
Canada, and hopefully we’ll see it returned to its former glory sooner rather than later.
As always thank you all very much for watching, and a special thank you of course to the Patreons,
with a special shoutout to Dellairdo, Kevin, Bane, FB, Christopher R, and Tronathon for their support
as wing commander tier patreons. Thank you all so much, and I’ll catch you all next time, goodbye.