The Funk Model B is a 1930s American two-seat cabin monoplane designed by Howard and Joe Funk. Originally built by the Akron Aircraft Company later renamed Funk Aircraft Company.

Development

The Model B was the first powered aircraft designed by brothers Howard and Joe Funk, whose previous experience was in homebuilt gliders and sailplanes. The Model B was a strut-braced high-wing

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 wings. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing con ...

with a conventional tail unit and fixed tailwheel landing gear. The design uses mixed construction with fabric-covered wooden wings and a welded steel-tube fuselage. The aircraft was powered by the brothers' own Model E

engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power ge ...

developed from a Ford "B" motor-car engine. The prototype first flew in late 1933.Simpson, 2005, p. 141

Production and operations

When the test flights proved to be successful the brothers formed the Akron Aircraft Company in 1939 to build the Funk B. After production began, the engine was changed to a 75 hp (56 kW) Lycoming GO-145-C2 horizontally opposed four-cylinder engine and was re-designated the Model B-75-L. In 1941 the company moved from

Akron Akron () is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the fifth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 190,469 at the 2020 census. The Akron metropolitan area, covering Summit and Portage counties, had ...

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

and the company was renamed the Funk Aircraft Company. Production was stopped during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and one aircraft was impressed into service in 1942 with the

United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical ri ...

as the UC-92. After the war in 1946 production was resumed using a Continental C85-12 engine and the aircraft was redesignated the Model B-85-C and named the Bee. It did not sell well and production was halted in 1948. 380 aircraft of all variants had been built.

Variants

;Model B :Prototype and initial production aircraft with Funk E engine. ;Model B-75-L :Pre-war production aircraft with a 75hp (56 kW) Avco Lycoming GO-145-C2 piston engine. ;Model B-85-C Bee :Post-war production aircraft with a Continental C85-12 engine. ;UC-92 :Army designation for one impressed Model B-75-L (s/n 42-79548).

Specifications (B-85-C)

References

Bibliography

* John Andrade, U.S. Military Aircraft Designations and Serials since 1909, Midland Counties Publications, 1979, (Page 171) * Bridgman, Leonard. ''Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1951–52''. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Company, Ltd, 1951. * Simpson, Rod, Airlife's World Aircraft, 2001, Airlife Publishing Ltd, (Page 248) * Simpson, Rod. The General Aviation Handbook. 2005. Midland Publishing. * The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985), 1985, Orbis Publishing

External links

"We Fly the Funkiest (did we actually say that) Classic Around,"
by Budd Davisson, November 1990, ''Air Progress'' {{USAF transports B 1930s United States sport aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft High-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1933 Aircraft with fixed conventional landing gear