Taylor Chummy
The Taylor Chummy was a light utility aircraft made by the Taylor Aircraft Company in the late 1920s. It was the fore-runner of the highly successful Piper Cub series.
| Chummy | |
|---|---|
 Taylor A-2 Chummy in 1928 | |
| General information | |
| Type | light utility |
| Manufacturer | Taylor Brothers Aircraft Company |
| Designer | C. Gilbert Taylor and Gordon Taylor[1] |
| Number built | 8 |
| History | |
| Manufactured | 1927–1930 |
| First flight | February 14, 1928[2] |
| Developed into | Taylor Cub |
The Taylor Chummy was a light utility aircraft made by the Taylor Aircraft Company in the late 1920s. It was the fore-runner of the highly successful Piper Cub series.[1]
Design and development
[edit]The Chummy was designed by brothers Clarence Gilbert Taylor and Gordon Taylor in 1928.[1] It is a braced, parasol-wing monoplane with two seats side-by-side in an open cockpit.[1] Power was supplied by a tractor-mounted radial engine.[2] Fixed, tailskid undercarriage was fitted, initially with a through-axle, but later with divided main units.[3] The name "Chummy" was chosen because of the side-by-side seating.[2]
Operational history
[edit]The first B-2 prototype was rebuilt with a seven-degree variable-incidence wing for entry into the Guggenheim Safe Airplane Competition under the designation C-2.[4][5]
The Chummy was expensive and did not sell well, leading to the bankruptcy of the Taylor Brothers company in 1930 after only eight aircraft were built.[4][5]
Variants
[edit]
- A-2 Chummy
- Two prototypes through-axle main undercarriage.[3][6] The first, construction number (c/n) 3, was designated Arrowing A-2 Chummy and was powered by a 90 hp (67 kW) Anzani radial engine.[2][3] The second, c/n 4, was designated Taylor A-2 Chummy and was powered by a 96 hp (72 kW) Ryan-Siemens engine.[6]
- B-2 Chummy
- Refined version based on the A-2 with divided main undercarriage.[3] Originally offered with a 90 hp (67 kW) Kinner K-5 or 96 hp (72 kW) Ryan-Siemens Yankee 7 engine, though the latter option was later replaced with a 90 hp (67 kW) Brownbach Tiger engine following the completion of the first production aircraft.[2][3][7] Two built; two prototypes (c/n 7 and 8) and four production aircraft (c/n 9, 12, 13, and 14), all powered by Kinner engines.[7] Several aircraft had their construction numbers changed after completion; the unflown second prototype (c/n 8) became c/n 10 while the third production aircraft (c/n 13) became c/n 15.[8]
- C-2 Chummy
- The first prototype B-2 (c/n 7) rebuilt with a variable-incidence wing and assigned a new construction number, c/n 10.[5]
Accidents and incidents
[edit]On April 24, 1928, Gordon Taylor crashed A-2 Chummy prototype c/n 4, registered X4901, at an exhibition at Ford Airport in Dearborn, Michigan.[9][10] His passenger, Aaron Rosenbleet, was killed instantly, and Taylor died of his injuries shortly after reaching hospital.[9] Clarence Taylor witnessed the crash.[9]
Replica
[edit]A Taylor Chummy replica is on display at Greater Rochester International Airport.[11]
Specifications (B-2)
[edit]
Data from [10]
General characteristics
- Crew: 1
- Capacity: one passenger
- Length: 22 ft 6 in (6.86 m)
- Wingspan: 34 ft 0 in (10.36 m)
- Height: 7 ft 6 in (2.29 m)
- Empty weight: 1,082 lb (491 kg)
- Gross weight: 1,643 lb (745 kg)
- Fuel capacity: 24 U.S. gal (91 L) usable fuel
- Powerplant: 1 × Kinner K-5 5-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine, 90 hp (67 kW)
- Propellers: 2-bladed fixed-pitch propeller
Performance
- Maximum speed: 110 mph (180 km/h, 96 kn)
- Cruise speed: 90 mph (140 km/h, 78 kn)
- Stall speed: 38 mph (61 km/h, 33 kn) with flaps down
- Range: 400 mi (640 km, 350 nmi) with reserve fuel
- Rate of climb: 750 ft/min (3.8 m/s) at sea level
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d Davisson, Budd (May 25, 2022). "Cub Clones — The Icon That Keeps on Giving". Experimental Aircraft Association. Retrieved May 27, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e "Aircraft Types". The Vintage Piper Aircraft Club. Retrieved May 27, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e "The Airplane Division". Aviation. April 16, 1928.
- ^ a b "Piper Aircraft - 75 Years Young". Piper Flyer Association. November 2012. Retrieved May 27, 2024.
- ^ a b c Peperell 1987, p. 9–13.
- ^ a b Peperell 1987, p. 9–11.
- ^ a b Peperell 1987, p. 11–13.
- ^ Peperell 1987, p. 13.
- ^ a b c "2 Killed in Crash at Detroit Airport". The Windsor Star. Windsor, Ontario. April 25, 1928. p. 20.
- ^ a b Peperell 1987, p. 11.
- ^ "Frederick Douglass Greater Rochester International Airport (ROC) - Art & Culture Exhibits". www.rocairport.com. Archived from the original on 2025-12-12. Retrieved 2026-03-20.
Bibliography
[edit]
- Peperell, Roger W.; Smith, Colin M. (1987). Piper Aircraft and their forerunners. Air-Britain (Historians) Limited. ISBN 0-85130-149-5.