Arrow Model F
# Arrow Model F

The Arrow Model F or the Arrow Sport V-8 was a two-seat low-wing braced monoplane aircraft built in the United States between 1934 and 1938. It was built originally to a request by the US Bureau of Air Commerce to investigate the feasibility of using automobile engines to power aircraft. Accordingly, the Model F was fitted with a modified Ford V8 engine. Like the Arrow Sport before it, the Model F seated its pilot and passenger side-by-side in an open cockpit and was marketed for $1500.

## Development

The Arrow Sport F was specifically built to accommodate the low-cost, yet heavy Arrow F V-8 engine, an aircraft modification of the Ford V-8. The engine was designed by Ford Engineer David E. Anderson with an aluminum oil pan, aluminum cylinders, and a 2:1 gear reduction to drive the prop at reasonable rpm ranges. The engine weighed 402 lbs for 85 hp vrs 182 lbs for an equivalent Continental aircraft engine.

## Variants

* Arrow Sport F Master – Open cockpit
* Arrow Sport F Coupe – Closed cockpit variant
* Arrow Sport F De Lux Coupe – Closed cockpit with advanced instruments.
* Arrow Sport M - Open cockpit with a Menasco Pirate engine.

## Survivors

* A preserved Sport F Master (ex-NC18722, serial 85) is on display at San Francisco International Airport's Terminal 3.
* A disassembled Sport F is being rebuilt by the Dakota Territory Air Museum in North Dakota.
* A Sport M (N18764, serial 105) is private ownership.
* Two Sport F's (N17093, serial 13 & N18765, serial 106) preserved at the Western Antique Aeroplane & Automobile Museum in Oregon.
* A Sport F (N18018, serial 31) in private ownership in California.
* A 1936 Sport Model F (NC16470 Serial 2) preserved at the Mid Atlantic Air Museum at Reading Regional Airport in Reading, Pennsylvania.
* A disassembled Sport F (N18000) is being rebuilt by The Nebraska Chapter of the Antique Airplane Association in Hastings Nebraska

## Specifications

Data from American Airplanes and Engines for 1938

General characteristics

* Crew: 1
* Capacity: 1 passenger
* Length: 21 ft 4 in (6.50 m)
* Wingspan: 36 ft 7 in (11.15 m)
* Height: 8 ft 10 in (2.69 m)
* Wing area: 180.5 sq ft (16.77 $m^2)$
* Empty weight: 1,097 lb (498 kg)
* Gross weight: 1,675 lb (760 kg)
* Fuel capacity: 20 US gal (17 imp gal; 76 L)
* Powerplant: 1 × Ford V-8 water-cooled converted automobile engine, 82 hp (61 kW)

Performance

* Maximum speed: 100 mph (160 km/h, 87 kn) at sea level
* Cruise speed: 90 mph (140 km/h, 78 kn)
* Stall speed: 40 mph (64 km/h, 35 kn)
* Range: 300 mi (480 km, 260 nmi)
* Service ceiling: 12,000 ft (3,700 m)
* Rate of climb: 800 ft/min (4.1 m/s)
