The Burnelli CB-16, also known as the Uppercu-Burnelli CB-300, was a passenger aircraft designed by the American company Burnelli in 1928. It was the first twin-engined aircraft to have

retractable landing gear Landing gear is the undercarriage of an aircraft or spacecraft that is used for taxiing, takeoff or landing. For aircraft, it is generally needed for all three of these. It was also formerly called ''alighting gear'' by some manufacturers, s ...

. Only one was built.

Design and development

The CB-16 was built for and financed by Paul W. Chapman, chairman of Sky Lines Inc. in 1928, following the success of the Burnelli RB-2. The CB-16 was a twin-engined

high-wing 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 config ...

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 ...

, constructed of metal. The slightly tapered wing was braced from the lower fuselage by pairs of parallel struts. The fuselage was 36 ft (11 m) long and 12 ft (3.7 m wide) wide externally, with an

airfoil An airfoil (American English) or aerofoil (British English) is a streamlined body that is capable of generating significantly more Lift (force), lift than Drag (physics), drag. Wings, sails and propeller blades are examples of airfoils. Foil (fl ...

cross section. As with the earlier RB-1 and RB-2, the twin engines were embedded within the leading edge of the fuselage though, unlike them, the rest of this surface was largely filled with radiators. To reduce yaw after an engine failure, the 500 hp (370 kW) water cooled Curtiss Conqueror inline engines were mounted with slight toe out. The internal dimensions of the cabin, which could seat 12-20 passengers, were 18 ft (5.49 m) by 11 ft 4 in (3.45 m) long, with a height of 5 ft 6 in (1.71 m). This provided both seating and lounge space. At the rear of the cabin there was a small kitchen and toilets. The pilots sat in open cockpits placed at the wing leading edge.''Flight'', 1929_03_28 Earlier Burnelli lifting body designs had fuselages which were rectangular in plan, with the

empennage The empennage ( or ), also known as the tail or tail assembly, is a structure at the rear of an aircraft that provides stability during flight, in a way similar to the feathers on an arrow.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third ed ...

directly attached, but the CB-16's fuselage tapered and the tail unit was mounted beyond the lifting body's trailing edge on a pair of thin panels extending from its sides. The alteration was motivated by the difficulties of pitch and yaw control encountered with the earlier arrangement. The panels swept upwards into a pair of fins and

balanced rudder Balanced rudders are used by both ships and aircraft. Both may indicate a portion of the rudder surface ahead of the hinge, placed to lower the control loads needed to turn the rudder. For aircraft the method can also be applied to elevator (air ...

s carrying a high set

tailplane A tailplane, also known as a horizontal stabilizer, is a small lift (force), lifting surface located on the tail (empennage) behind the main lifting surfaces of a fixed-wing aircraft as well as other non-fixed-wing aircraft such as helicopters ...

with three balanced

elevators An elevator (American English) or lift (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) is a machine that vertically transports people or freight between levels. They are typically powered by electric motors that drive tracti ...

, the rudders working between them. The single wheels of the still novel retracting undercarriage were mounted on V-struts hinged at the lower, outer fuselage, retracting inwards. The completed aircraft was shipped to

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

. In January 1929 Leigh Wade piloted the aircraft on a 40-minute test flight. Further tests were then conducted at Curtiss Field at

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

and

Bolling Field The origins of the surname Bolling: English language, English: from a nickname for someone with close-cropped hair or a large head, Middle English bolling "pollard", or for a heavy drinker, from Middle English bolling "excessive drinking". German ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

. In 1929, during a test, the CB-16 stalled and crashed at takeoff, though the two pilots survived.

Specifications

Burnelli_CB-16_3-view_Aero_Digest_February_1929

Notes

References

*. *''AAHS journal, Volume 42''. American Aviation Historical Society. 1997. * * * *
"Cutaway Drawing of Burnelli transport in flight" ''Popular Mechanics'', December 1930
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burnelli Cb-16 CB-16 1920s United States airliners Lifting bodies High-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1929 Twin piston-engined tractor aircraft