Curtiss-Reid Courier
Curtiss-Reid · Canada · first flew 1932 · transport aircraft
The Curtiss-Reid Courier was a Canadian mailplane designed in 1931 to keep services running in the harsh Canadian winter. Only one prototype flew.
Recognition (WEFT)
| W — Wings | High-mounted, straight |
|---|---|
| E — Engines | 1 × piston, nose-mounted |
| F — Fuselage | Wings braced to the lower fuselage by V-struts, and outer panels folding back along the fuselage |
| T — Tail | Conventional |
WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.
Spot it by:
- Parasol wing in three parts, with a short-chord metal centre section and fabric-covered outer panels
- Wings braced to the lower fuselage by V-struts, and outer panels folding back along the fuselage
- Open heated cockpit aft of the wing trailing edge, with the mail compartment behind the engine
A parasol-wing single-engined monoplane with outer wing panels that fold back and a short-chord centre section for better upward view.
Specifications
- The Curtiss-Reid Courier has a length of 6.44 m (21 ft).
- It has a wingspan of 9.14 m (30 ft).
- Its maximum speed is 220 km/h (137 mph).
- Typical crew: 1.
Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.
History
Designed by R. N. Bell, it was powered by a 120 hp de Havilland Gipsy III inverted inline engine. The first flight was in mid-January 1932.
Variants
Only one was built, so there were no variants.
Where you'll see it
The depression ended government subsidised airmail contracts and no more were built. The prototype was lost in 1933 during preparations for a private long-distance flight.
Related aircraft
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