The Curtiss Model 22 Cox Racers were two specialised racing aircraft built by the American Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company. The type was flown as a

monoplane A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing con ...

, biplane and

triplane A triplane is a fixed-wing aircraft equipped with three vertically stacked wing planes. Tailplanes and canard foreplanes are not normally included in this count, although they occasionally are. Design principles The triplane arrangement m ...

Design and development

In 1920 the American oil millionaire S.Cox had two specialised racing monoplanes built for him by the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company to take part in the Gordon Bennett Trophy race to be held in France in September 1920. The two aircraft, named ''Texas Wildcat'' and ''Cactus Kitten'', were single-engined, braced, high-wing monoplanes powered by a Curtiss C-12 inline piston engine. They had streamlined wooden fuselages with the pilot sitting in an enclosed cockpit towards the rear of the fuselage, under a forward sliding canopy. The wing, which had a special double

camber Camber may refer to a variety of curvatures and angles: * Camber angle, the angle made by the wheels of a vehicle * Camber beam, an upward curvature of a joist to compensate for load deflection due in buildings * Camber thrust in bike technology * ...

airfoil section, was high-mounted, and was braced by struts to the mainwheels of the fixed

conventional landing gear Conventional landing gear, or tailwheel-type landing gear, is an aircraft undercarriage consisting of two main wheels forward of the center of gravity and a small wheel or skid to support the tail.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Term ...

. The V-12 engine drove a two-bladed

tractor A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or construction. Most commo ...

propeller, and was cooled by radiators mounted on the side of the fuselage between the cockpit and the wings.Bowers 1979, pp. 224–225.

Operational history

The ''Texas Wildcat'' was briefly tested in the United States before shipment, being fitted with a different wing with a more conventional airfoil for operation out of the confined Curtiss Field. First flying on July 25, it demonstrated a speed of , with a speed of expected when fitted with the high speed racing wing. Both aircraft were then sent by ship to France, with no testing carried out on the high speed wing and ''Cactus Kitten'' unflown before sailing. ''Texas Wildcat'' was reassembled at the

Morane-Saulnier Aéroplanes Morane-Saulnier was a French aircraft manufacturing company formed in October 1911 by Raymond Saulnier (1881–1964) and the Morane brothers, Léon (1885–1918) and Robert (1886–1968). The company was taken over and diversified ...

factory with the high speed wing, but was found to be unstable at high speeds when flown by test pilot Roland Rohlfs. A set of biplane wings were therefore quickly designed and fitted to ''Texas Wildcat''.Bowers 1979, p. 225. ''Texas Wildcat'' was wrecked in a landing accident when being flown to

Étampes Étampes () is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southwest from the center of Paris (as the crow flies). Étampes is a sub-prefecture of the Essonne department. Étampes, together with the neighboring ...

prior to the race.Bowers 1979, p. 226. Although the ''Cactus Kitten'' was taken to France it remained unflown and was returned to the United States. It was then rebuilt with a set of short-span

wings modified from those of a Curtiss 18T, with the enclosed cockpit replaced by a more conventional open cockpit. Thus modified, it was entered into the 1921 Pulitzer Trophy Race, where, flown by Clarence Coombs at an average speed of , it gained second place behind a Curtiss CR piloted by

Bert Acosta Bertrand Blanchard Acosta (January 1, 1895 – September 1, 1954) was a record-setting aviator and test pilot. He and Clarence D. Chamberlin set an endurance record of 51 hours, 11 minutes, and 25 seconds in the air. He later flew in the Span ...

.Bowers 1979, p. 226.''Flight'' December 1, 1921, p. 805. It was later sold to the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

as a trainer for high-speed racing aircraft.Bowers 1979, p. 228.

Specifications (''Cactus Kitten'')

References

Notes

Bibliography

* * * {{Curtiss-Wright aircraft High-wing aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft 1920s United States sport aircraft

Cox Cox may refer to: * Cox (surname), including people with the name Companies * Cox Enterprises, a media and communications company ** Cox Communications, cable provider ** Cox Media Group, a company that owns television and radio stations ** ...

Racing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1920