Waco N series
| {{Infobox Aircraft Begin
| name=Waco N series | image=Waco AVN-8 NC19361 (4498696403).jpg | caption=Waco AVN-8 in 1938 }}{{Infobox Aircraft Type | type=Four-seat tricycle undercarriage cabin biplane | national origin=United States | manufacturer=Waco Aircraft Company | designer= | first flight=1937 | introduced= | retired= | status=a few still airworthy in 2009 | primary user=private owner pilots | number built=approx 20 | developed from=Waco C series | variants with their own articles= }} |
The Waco N series is a range of 1930s American-built cabin biplanes with a fixed tricycle undercarriage produced by the Waco Aircraft Company.
Design and development
Waco introduced the luxury N-series biplane in 1937. It was based on the Waco C-series five-seat custom-cabin Waco with that model's curved pointed wings, but with an unusual fixed tricycle undercarriage and a modified tail with a lower rudder extension to give increased side area. The Waco N was fitted with flaps on all four wings to improve the aircraft's landing characteristics.Simpson, 2001, p. 575
Operational history
File:Waco AVN-8 N19378 HARM St Louis 10.06.06R.jpg.]]
The prototype, was designated ZVN-7, with the '7' indicating its year of manufacture (1937), and was powered by the {{convert|285|hp|kW|0|abbr=on}} Jacobs L-5 engine.Green, 1965, p. 306 Only around 20 examples of the N series were completed, as the AVN-8, and ZVN-8. A few were impressed by the USAAC during the Second World War as the UC-72J and UC-72L. One AVN-8 was used by the Royal Aircraft Establishment at Farnborough, Hampshire, for trials with tricycle landing gear.
An example of the AVN-8 is maintained in airworthy condition by the Historic Aircraft Restoration Museum at Creve Coeur Airport near St Louis Missouri.
Variants
;ZVN-7 and ZVN-8: {{convert|285|hp|kW|0|abbr=on}} Jacobs L-5
;AVN-8: {{convert|330|hp|kW|0|abbr=on}} Jacobs L-6 engine
Specifications (AVN-8)
File:Waco_ZVN-7_3-view_L'Aerophile_January_1938.jpg
{{Aircraft specs
|ref=Green, 1965, p. 306
|prime units? = imp
|crew=1
|capacity=3 passengers
|length ft=27
|length in=7
|span ft=34
|span in=9
|height ft=8
|height in=6
|wing area sqft=246
|empty weight lb=2,493
|gross weight lb=3,800
|eng1 number=1
|eng1 name=Jacobs L-6 seven-cylinder radial air-cooled
|eng1 hp=330
|max speed mph=161
|cruise speed mph=151
|ceiling ft=14,200
|climb rate ftmin=900
}}
References
{{commons category|Waco VN Series}}
;Notes
{{reflist}}
;Bibliography
{{refbegin}}
- {{cite book|last=Green|first=William|title=The Aircraft of the World|year=1965|publisher=Macdonald & Co. (Publishers) Ltd}}
- {{cite book|last=Simpson|first=Rod|title=Airlife's World Aircraft|year=2001|publisher=Airlife Publishing Ltd|isbn=1-84037-115-3}}
{{refend}}
{{WACO}}
Category:1930s United States civil utility aircraft