Day A Special
Charles Healy Day · United States · first flew 1931 · light aircraft
The Day A Special, named Errant, was an American two-seat tourer designed by Charles Healy Day to be safe and easy to fly, with the seats side by side. It was an equal-span biplane with a nose-mounted 120 hp Martin 333 inverted inline engine.
Recognition (WEFT)
| W — Wings | Mid-mounted, straight |
|---|---|
| E — Engines | 1 × piston, nose-mounted |
| F — Fuselage | 7.54 m fuselage |
| T — Tail | Conventional |
WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.
Spot it by:
- Equal-span biplane with large stagger of 54 in and rectangular wings with rounded tips
- Forward-leaning N-strut on each side and outward-leaning parallel cabane struts
- Open side-by-side cockpit with a large tailplane mounted high on a trapezoidal fin
The stagger put the side-by-side seats ahead of the lower wing leading edge, giving good fields of view. The ailerons were mounted only on the lower wing, and the tailplane carried large elevators set above the lower wing's downwash.
Specifications
- The Day A Special has a length of 7.54 m (25 ft).
- It has a wingspan of 10.36 m (34 ft).
- Its maximum speed is 169 km/h (105 mph).
- Typical crew: 2.
Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.
History
Day designed it for a competent non-professional pilot wanting a safe and forgiving tourer rather than an aerobatic aircraft, having studied the flight characteristics behind many light plane accidents. It first flew in 1931.
Variants
Only one Day A Special was built, and it carried the name Errant.
Where you'll see it
In 1931 the designer and his wife flew Errant on a seven-month world tour.
Related aircraft
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