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Aeroneer 1-B
The Aeroneer 1-B is an all-metal light aircraft built in the United States in 1936. It did not reach production, despite an attempt to interest the USAAC in it as a trainer, but it appeared in three Hollywood films. DesignThe Aeroneer 1-B was initially developed by the Aero Engineering Corp, which named it. Its later development was taken up by the Phillips Aviation Company,[1] so it appears as the Aeroneer 1-B in contemporary publications,[1][2] though later sources may refer to it as the Phillips Aeroneer 1-B.[3] The Aeroneer is a low wing cantilever design. Its wing is in five separate parts: a short span, rectangular centre section, trapezoidal panels over most of the span and rounded tips. The outer panels carry some dihedral. It is built around a single spar placed at 30% chord. Torsional loads are resisted by a torsion box formed by the riveted Alclad skin that covers the whole wing and an auxiliary spar at 65% chord.[1][2][4] Its ailerons are metal framed but fabric covered, mounted on piano hinges from the upper surface.[4] Split flaps with an area of 24 sq ft (2.2 m2) run under the trailing edge from aileron to aileron.[1][4] The engine is a 125 hp (93 kW) Menasco C-4, an air-cooled, inverted four-cylinder inline, though other 85–150 hp (63–112 kW) Menasco engines could also have been fitted. The fuselage is all-metal, Aclad skinned and stiffened, though immediately behind the engine and around the cockpit the structure is reinforced with chrome-molybdenum steel tubes.[1][4] The enclosed cockpit, under a sliding canopy and seating two side-by-side with dual controls, is over the wing.[2][4] The empennage is conventional, with the tailplane set at mid-fuselage; its elevators are balanced and fitted with trim tabs. The fin is straight-edged but the short, broad, balanced rudder is curved.[1][2] The Aeroneer has a tailwheel undercarriage. Its mainwheels are on parallel, forward-raked oleo strut legs. The wheels have hydraulic brakes and both they and the legs are faired-in.[1] The tailwheel, also fitted with a shock absorber, is free to caster. Floats or skis can replace wheels.[2] DevelopmentThe date of the Aeroneer's first flight is not known but by February 1937 it had completed "extensive tests" and was "ready for production".[4] Nonetheless, it did not receive its Approved Type Certificate until the summer of 1938.[1] In the absence of civil orders, Phillips slightly increased the span as well its power, in the hope that USAAC would order it as a basic trainer.[3] A 160 hp (120 kW) Menasco B-6 six-cylinder inline installation was planned,[1] though another six-cylinder, inverted inline, a 145 hp (108 kW) Ranger 6-410, was finally installed.[3] Operational historyNo order was placed and the Aeroneer may have been sold to MGM; it appears in several films including The House Across the Bay (1940), where it took the rôle of the Crane X-PT, Power Dive (1941), and Sky Raiders (1941).[3][5] The Aeroneer is reported to have survived in storage in Arizona until at least 2005. In 2007 it was advertised as for sale[3] and its current state is unknown. Specifications (Menasco C-4 engine)Data from Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1938[1] General characteristics
Performance
References
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