The Curtiss Model 54 Tanager was an aircraft constructed in 1929 as Curtiss' entry in the Guggenheim Safe Aircraft Competition .
8-532: The Model 54 was a conventional biplane design with a highly streamlined fuselage similar in outline to the Curtiss Eagle , but of considerably smaller proportions. The wings were fitted with a variety of high-lift devices, including automatic leading edge slots on the upper wing, flaps that extended along the entire span of the upper wing, and "floating" ailerons on the lower wing that, in the absence of pilot input, automatically adjusted themselves parallel to
16-471: A minimum speed below 38 mph. Even before the competition was decided, however, Handley Page was suing Curtiss for the unlicensed use of the leading-edge slot. Curtiss claimed they were using the slots experimentally and would apply for a license for any commercial use. Curtiss counter-sued Handley Page for infringements of six of their patents in the Handley Page machine. They also cited a ruling that
24-483: Is sometimes named as the first American tri-motor aircraft; however Curtiss' own Model H flying boat flew with three engines for a time in 1914 before being converted back to twin-engine configuration. Curtiss had developed the Eagle in preparation for an anticipated post-war boom in civil aviation. In fact, this boom was far smaller than Curtiss had been hoping for, and practically all of the demand for passenger aircraft
32-468: The 1st Provisional Air Brigade , crashed during a thunderstorm while attempting to land at Morgantown, Maryland while returning to Bolling Field , District of Columbia , from Langley Field , Virginia on 28 May 1921 in one of the worst major flying accidents in the US at that time. The pilot and six passengers died. Two United States congressmen had chosen not to make the flight because of airsickness on
40-536: The Model 19 by Curtiss some years later) was an airliner produced in small numbers in the United States shortly after World War I . The aircraft was a conventional biplane with three-bay, unstaggered wings of equal span. The fuselage was a very advanced design for its day, incorporating careful streamlining of its monocoque structure, and offering the crew as well as the passengers a fully enclosed cabin. The Eagle
48-513: The British machine was not permitted to be imported into the US. Following the competition, the Tanager was destroyed in a fire when sparks from its engine set the grass alight. Data from Curtiss Aircraft 1907–1947 General characteristics Performance Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era Curtiss Eagle The Curtiss Eagle (retroactively designated
56-542: The airflow over the wing. The combination of these devices gave the Tanager a stalling speed of just 31 mph (50 km/h) and allowed it to land in only 90 ft (27 m). Only the Tanager and the Handley Page Gugnunc passed the qualifying round of the competition, and ultimately the Tanager beat its rival by only one point to claim the $ 100,000 (£20,000) prize, since the Gugnunc failed to achieve
64-675: Was met by the conversion of war-surplus military aircraft that could be purchased extremely cheaply. As such, only around 20 machines were built. The original trimotor Eagle design was followed by a single example of the Eagle II , with twin engines, and by three Eagle III s with only one engine. These latter aircraft were purchased by the United States Army Air Service , which used them as staff transports and converted one example into an air ambulance. A U.S. Army Air Service Curtiss Eagle air ambulance serial 64243 , of
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