Curtiss Kingbird

Curtiss · United States · first flew 1929 · airliner

The Curtiss Model 55 Kingbird was an airliner built in small numbers in the United States in the early 1930s.

Recognition (WEFT)

W — Wings	High-mounted, straight
E — Engines	2 × piston, wing-mounted
F — Fuselage	Two engine nacelles mounted on the struts either side of the fuselage that brace the wing
T — Tail	Twin fin

WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.

Spot it by:

Two engine nacelles mounted on the struts either side of the fuselage that brace the wing
Blunt nose located behind the propeller arcs, allowing the engines to sit close to the centreline
Twin tails, with a second horizontal stabiliser between the fins on the D-2

A high-wing twin with engines on struts beside a blunt-nosed fuselage, and twin tails with an extra horizontal stabiliser between them.

Specifications

The Curtiss Kingbird has a length of 10.49 m (34 ft).
It has a wingspan of 16.61 m (54 ft).
Its maximum speed is 229 km/h (142 mph).
Typical crew: 1.

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

History

It was a twin-engined aircraft with a fuselage derived from the single-engined Curtiss Thrush. The Thrush's single fin was replaced by twin tails to reduce asymmetric thrust problems if an engine failed.

Variants

The main production model was the D-2 with two 300 hp Wright Whirlwind J-6-9 engines, of which 14 were built. Other models included the Kingbird C, D-1, D-3, J-1, J-2 and J-3.

Where you'll see it

Eastern Air Transport flew 14 Kingbirds for a few years. The US Marine Corps bought one as the JC-1, later RC-1, using it as an air ambulance, and Turkish Airlines also operated the type.

Related aircraft

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