Cessna CR-3
| {{Infobox Aircraft Begin
| name=Cessna CR-3 | image=Cessna CR-3.jpg | caption= }}{{Infobox Aircraft Type | type=Air racer | national origin=United States of America | manufacturer=Cessna | designer=Clyde Cessna, Eldon Cessna | first flight=June 11, 1933 | introduced=June 17, 1933 | retired=August 1933 | status=Crashed | primary user= | more users= | produced= | number built=1 | program cost= | unit cost= | developed from=Cessna CR-2 | variants with their own articles= | developed into = }} |
The Cessna CR-3 was a follow on racing aircraft to the Cessna CR-2 that raced in the 1932 National Air Races.{{cite journal|journal=Sport Aviation|date=Feb 1958}}
Development
The CR-3 was ordered by air racer Johnny Livingston in response to the performance he saw when competing against the Cessna CR-2 in the 1932 National Air Races. The CR-3 was of shoulder-wing design.
Design
The CR-3 was a mid-wing radial engined taildragger racer with manual retractable landing gear and a tail skid. The propeller was from a clipped wing Monocoupe racer #14. The tail surface was designed to be neutral, without downforce in flight. The elevators experienced significant vibration in test flights without the wing root fairings installed.
Operational history
The CR-3 lasted 61 days, winning every event it competed in:
- Omaha Air Races at Omaha, Nebraska, June 17, 1933: First place.{{cite web|title=Cessna CR-3 History|url=http://www.aeroaces.com/cr3history.htm|accessdate=16 April 2011}}
- Minneapolis Air Races and Minneapolis, Minnesota, June 24, 1933: First place.
- American Air Races at Chicago, Illinois, July 1, 1933: The CR-3 first raced against Cessna CR-2 at these races. The CR-3 won the Baby Ruth Trophy at a speed of 201.42 mph (324.35 km/h).{{cite web|title=Cessna CR-3|url=http://www.air-racing-history.com/aircraft/Cessna%20CR-3.htm|accessdate=16 April 2011}} It also set a world speed record for aircraft with engines of under 500-cubic-inches′ (8.2 liters′) capacity at 237.4 mph (382.3 km/h).{{citation needed|date=May 2017}}
- Aero Digest Trophy race, July 4, 1933: First place.
En route to an airshow in August 1933, the CR-3 experienced a failure of both the tail skid and a landing gear weld that would not allow the gear to lock. Livingston bailed out over Columbus, Ohio and the CR-3 was destroyed in its ensuing crash.
Specifications
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See also
References
{{commons category|Cessna CR-3}}
{{Reflist}}
{{Cessna}}
Category:1930s United States sport aircraft
Category:Single-engined tractor aircraft
Category:Aircraft first flown in 1933
Category:Aircraft with retractable conventional landing gear