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The Curtiss R3C is an American racing aircraft built in landplane and floatplane form. It was a single-seat biplane built by the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company.

Curtiss R3C
Curtiss R3C-2
Role	Racing aircraft Type of aircraft
Manufacturer	Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company
First flight	18 September 1925
Introduction	1925
Primary users	US Navy US Army
Number built	3
Developed from	Curtiss R2C

The R3C-1[1] was the landplane version and Cyrus Bettis won the Pulitzer Trophy Race in one on 12 October 1925 with a speed of 248.9 mph (406.5 km/h).

The R3C-2 was a twin float seaplane built for the Schneider Trophy race. In 1925, it took place at Chesapeake Bay in Baltimore, Maryland. With 232.57 mph (374.274 km/h), pilot Jimmy Doolittle won the trophy with a Curtiss R3C-2. The other two R3C-2s, piloted by George Cuddihy and Ralph Oftsie, did not reach the finish line. The next day, with the same plane on a straight course, Doolittle reached 245.7 mph (395.4 km/h), a new world record. For the next Schneider Trophy, which took place on 13 November 1926, the R3C-2's engine was further improved, and pilot Christian Franck Schilt took second place with 231.364 mph (372.34 km/h).

Operators

 United States

• United States Navy - two examples
• United States Army Air Service - one example

Survivors

The R3C-2 that Jimmy Doolitle piloted to victory in the 1925 Schneider Trophy race is preserved at the National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Centre, at Washington Dulles Airport, Virginia. It still wears its '3' 1925 racing number.

Specifications (R3C-2)

Data from Curtiss Aircraft 1907–1947[2]

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Length: 22 ft 0 in (6.71 m)
• Wingspan: 22 ft 0 in (6.71 m)
• Height: 10 ft 4 in (3.15 m)
• Wing area: 144 sq ft (13.4 m²)
• Airfoil: Curtiss C-80[3]
• Empty weight: 2,135 lb (968 kg)
• Gross weight: 2,738 lb (1,242 kg)
• Powerplant: 1 × Curtiss V-1400 V-12 water-cooled piston engine, 565 hp (421 kW)
• Propellers: 2-bladed fixed-pitch propeller

Performance

• Maximum speed: 245 mph (394 km/h, 213 kn)
• Range: 290 mi (470 km, 250 nmi) at full throttle

See also

• Curtiss CR

In culture

• A Curtiss R3C appears in Hayao Miyazaki's Porco Rosso animated movie featuring a romanticized interwar aviation. The Curtiss R3C is flown by a pilot himself named Curtis. The dialogues also reference the 1925 Schneider Trophy.

References

• Angelucci, Enzo. World Encyclopedia of Civil Aircraft. London:Willow Books, 1984. ISBN 0-00-218148-7.
• Bowers, Peter M. Curtiss Aircraft 1907–1947. London:Putnam, 1979. ISBN 0-370-10029-8.
• Swanborough, Gordon and Bowers, Peter M. United States Navy Aircraft since 1911. London:Putnam, 1976. ISBN 0-370-10054-9.
• The Golden Age of Aviation – Curtiss R3C-2
• Pulitzer Trophy web site
• Schneider Trophy 1925 web site (french)
• German edition “Flugzeuge”, Enzo Angelucci, 1974 ISBN 3-8068-4024-5
• results of the Schneider Trophy from the Society of Air Racing Historians

External links

• The Curtiss R3C Page
• computer-designed picture (and photo) at www.hydroretro.net
• photo of the R3C-2 in the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum

На других языках

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[de] Curtiss R3C-2

Die Curtiss R3C-2 war ein US-amerikanisches Wasserflugzeug, das zur Teilnahme an der Schneider-Trophy gebaut wurde.

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- [en] Curtiss R3C

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[fr] Curtiss R3C

Le Curtiss R3C est un avion de course américain construit en version terrestre puis modifié en hydravion. C'était un biplan monoplace construit entièrement par la Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company.

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[it] Curtiss R3C

Il Curtiss R3C era un monomotore biplano da competizione realizzato dall'azienda statunitense Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company nel 1925 allo scopo di conquistare il primato di velocità per aerei della sua categoria.

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