Spartan C3

The Spartan C3 was a three-seat open cockpit United States biplane of the late 1920s.

Spartan C3
C3-165
Role	open cockpit biplane
National origin	United States
Manufacturer	Spartan Aircraft Company
First flight	25 October 1926
Introduction	1928
Status	two airworthy in 2001
Primary user	Flying schools and barnstorming
Number built	approx 122 [1]

Development

The type originated as the Mid-Continent Spartan of 1926. The company was reorganised as Spartan Aircraft Company in 1928 and a series of Spartan C3 planes was built between that year and 1930 . The C3 was a tube, wood and fabric aircraft with two open cockpits accommodating three people, and the tail unit had a distinctive "rounded square" shape. Around 122 examples were completed with various engines leading to differing designations.^[1]

Operational history

The C3 was used by schools of flying for training instruction. Other firms utilised the aircraft's two-passenger capability in "barnstorming operations". Three C3 aircraft survived in the USA in 2001, of which two were airworthy. Currently, as of 2009, there is only one left that is airworthy. This plane is owned and operated by Lee Kunze of Howards Grove, Wisconsin, USA^[1]

Variants

A Spartan C3-225 on display at EAA AirVenture Museum in Oshkosh, Wisconsin

(data from http://www.aerofiles.com)

C3-1 

125 h.p. Ryan-Siemens radial (main production version - approx 100 examples);

C3-2 

120 h.p. Walter (also known as the C3-120);

C3-3 

170 h.p. Curtiss Challenger;

C3-4 

115 h.p. Axelson A;

C3-165 

165 h.p. Wright J-6-5 (initially known as the C3-5);

C3-166 

165 h.p. Comet 7-E;

C3-225 

225 h.p. Wright J-6;

Specifications (C3-165)

C3-165 on display at the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome Museum near New York in June 2005

Data from Simpson, 2001, p. 518

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Capacity: 2 passengers
• Length: 23 ft 10 in (7.26 m)
• Wingspan: 32 ft 0 in (9.75 m)
• Height: 8 ft 10 in (2.69 m)
• Empty weight: 1,650 lb (748 kg)
• Gross weight: 2,618 lb (1,188 kg)
• Powerplant: 1 × Wright J6-5-165, 165 hp (123 kW)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 118 mph (190 km/h)
• Cruise speed: 100 mph (161 km/h)
• Range: 600 miles (965 km)
• Rate of climb: 800 ft/min (4.1 m/s)

References

Notes

Bibliography

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Spartan C3.

• A three-page summary history of Spartan Aircraft Co. and its planes