Bellanca CE

Maryland Pressed Steel Company · United States · first flew 1917 · light aircraft

The Bellanca CE was the first aircraft designed for the Maryland Pressed Steel Company by Giuseppe Mario Bellanca. It was also called the CE Tractor Biplane.

Recognition (WEFT)

W — WingsMid-mounted, straight
E — Engines1 × piston, nose-mounted
F — Fuselage5.64 m fuselage
T — TailConventional

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A two-seat biplane that used ailerons for roll control, in place of the wing warping of Bellanca's earlier aircraft.

Specifications

Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.

History

The company hired Bellanca in 1916 to develop a two-seat biplane to sell to the government during the war effort. It was built in Hagerstown, Maryland, and first flew in September 1917.

Variants

The prototype aircraft, the Bellanca CD, was built with a 35 hp engine.

Where you'll see it

It did not enter full production after the end of the First World War halted new contracts. Clarence Chamberlin bought it in 1919 and flew it to Glens Falls, New York.

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