Bird Wing Imperial
# Bird Wing Imperial

The Bird Wing or later, Bird Wing Imperial was a light sport biplane of the 1920s and 1930s.

## Development

The first Bird Wing took McCrum and his assistants 63 days to build at a cost of US$12,000. The prototype flew over 5000 passengers over a period of 15 months. McCrum revised the plans for the Bird Wing again in the 1950s to install a 450 hp (336 kW) Pratt & Whitney R-985 Wasp Junior radial engine and a 3 inch fuselage widening to convert the design into an agricultural aircraft which never went into production.

## Design

The biplane features welded steel tube fuselage with aircraft fabric covering and spruce wood spar wings.

## Operational history

Among the many pilots who flew the Bird Wing were Hap Arnold and Charles Lindbergh. McCrum offered comprehensive flight training courses which included flight training in a Bird Wing as well as construction of the aircraft from scratch. The Bird Wing Imperial was tested to meet a 1931 requirement for a United States PT trainer. 50 orders were placed, then canceled at the beginning of the Great Depression.

## Variants

* Bird Wing No. 2 - Upper and lower ailerons
* Bird Wing No. 4 - 180 hp (134 kW) Hisso powered
* Bird Wing Imperial - 1930 165 hp (123 kW) Wright Whirlwind R-540 powered. Max speed 118 mph (190 km/h)

## Specifications (Bird Wing Model 1)

Data from Sport Aviation, Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1928

General characteristics

* Crew: 1
* Capacity: 2 pax
* Length: 23 ft 6 in (7.16 m)
* Wingspan: 31 ft 4 in (9.55 m)
* Height: 8 ft 7 in (2.62 m)
* Wing area: 303.5 sq ft (28.20 $m^2)$
* Airfoil: Aeromarine 2
* Empty weight: 1,236 lb (561 kg)
* Gross weight: 2,255 lb (1,023 kg)
* Fuel capacity: 34.5 US gal (28.7 imp gal; 131 L)
* Powerplant: 1 × Curtiss OX-5 V-8 water-cooled piston engine, 90 hp (67 kW)
* Propellers: 2-bladed wooden fixed pitch propeller

Performance

* Maximum speed: 90 mph (140 km/h, 78 kn)
* Cruise speed: 75 mph (121 km/h, 65 kn)
* Landing speed: 30 mph (26 kn; 48 km/h)
* Service ceiling: 10,000 ft (3,000 m)
* Rate of climb: 460 ft/min (2.3 m/s)
* Wing loading: 6.95 lb/sq ft (33.9 $kg/m^2)$
* Power/mass: 0.04 hp/lb (0.066 kW/kg)
