Country of origin:

United States of America

Description:

Two-seat parasol wing light sport aircraft

Power Plant:

[not yet available]

Specifications:

History:

In 1912 Harvey Crawford, who lived in Los Angeles, placed an entry in the Third International Air Meeting at Domingues Hills near the city and took part in the event. He subsequently showed an interest in flying and a year later he and his brother William established the Crawford Flying School at Sunset Field near Los Angeles, California.

By 1924 the brother’s operation had its name changed to the Crawford Airplane and Supply Company and, to meet the Company’s needs, it moved to new premises in Venice in California.

About three years later the Company’s interest in designing aircraft became known in the United States and its name was changed to the Crawford Airplane and Motor Manufactory. It then moved to new premises with an airstrip to the south of Los Angeles known as Seal Beach, which became known as Crawfords Airport.

Subsequently the brothers and their Company designed several powered aircraft, including the Crawford Monoplane Model A-1, which was released to builders in 1928, sets of plans of which were very popular, with 600 being sold to interested builders. Many were completed and American records indicated 115 were completed in the United States alone.

A further design was the Crawford Special which became available in 1929, this aircraft having a 10.97 m (36 ft) chrome steel airframe,  which was powered by three 26 kw (35 hp) Szekely radial engines. The next design was the Model CLM which appeared in 1931 and was a transport aircraft of all-metal construction with a cantilever wing.

In later years the brothers designed a series of powered gliders. These were manufactured at the Company’s premises at Seal Beach and were fitted with Lawrence, Henderson, Szekely or Velie engines.

Sets of plans to build the Model A-1 were sold in Australia and two examples are known to have been constructed. Edwin Blore of Cundletown near Taree, NSW commenced construction of an example in late 1929. At that time the Crawford brothers indicated the aircraft could be built with a steel or wood fuselage, depending on the requirements of the builder. This Australian aircraft was completed by April 1930 and was fitted with a 60 kw (80 hp) Le Rhone rotary engine.

The set of plans supplied by the Crawford Company comprised 13 drawings and, when an application was made to register the aircraft, the Civil Aviation Board (CAB) stated the technical details were not sufficient for its purposes. Mr  T D J Leech of Sydney University was approached to carry out a stress investigation. Nothing further seems to have happened but it is known the fuselage of the aircraft survived at Cundletown in 1960.

A further example, being a two-seater, was noted in Adelaide, SA in June 1930. It was described as a high-wing monoplane with side-by-side seating of all-wood construction with an all-moving tailplane. It was fitted with the Anzani engine that had formerly been fitted to the Wittber Biplane, an aircraft built by Mr Wittber. Construction of the aircraft was carried out by Clifford Cosh of St Peters, South Australia. Later a 60 kw (80 hp) Le Rhone radial engine was installed. Material to construct the aircraft was obtained from LASCo of Melbourne, VIC and the aircraft became known as the “Cosh Flutter Bie”.

CAB inspectors informed the builder there was insufficient data in the drawings for it to be registered. Mr Cosh was advised that Mr Leech at Sydney University be approached but, in the event, as the builder considered he had made too many changes to the design, he decided he would prepare the necessary drawings himself and submit them to the Board.

When completed the aircraft was taken to a field near Parafield, SA where ground testing was carried out for a short time. At about this time the builder was seriously injured in a motor cycle accident and could not take part in testing. Mr G K Rice-Oxley, Chief Flying Instructor of the Aero Club of South Australia, flew the aircraft on 5 April 1931, and it was also flown by the Managing Director of the Commercial Aviation Company, Horrie Miller, but reports indicated its flying qualities left a lot to be desired.

The aircraft was then dismantled and the fuselage extended by 91.4 cm (3 ft), the headrests were removed and the covering of the fuselage was changed to fabric instead of plywood. It was also fitted with a conventional fixed tailplane and elevator. It was ready for further testing by 15 August 1931. An inspector from CAB then examined the aircraft and found it required a number of modifications before it could be registered. It seems these were not carried out and the aircraft was placed in a shed in Maylands, near Adelaide, and was eventually broken up.