The Pitcairn PA-2 Sesquiwing "Arrow" is an early

biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...

designed for air racing and commercial airmail service.

Design

The Sesquiwing featured a quick change motor mount to accommodate a Curtiss C-6 or

Curtiss OX-5 The Curtiss OX-5 was an early V-8 American liquid-cooled aircraft engine built by Curtiss. It was the first American-designed aircraft engine to enter mass production, although it was considered obsolete when it did so in 1917.Smith, 1981, pa ...

engine, and wheel fairings for speed.

Operational history

A specially built PA-2 was flown by Jim Ray in the 1926

Ford National Reliability Air Tour The Ford Reliability Tour, properly called "The National Air Tour for the Edsel B. Ford Reliability Trophy", was a series of aerial tours sponsored in part by Ford from 1925 to 1931 and re-created in 2003. Top prize was the Edsel Ford Reliabili ...

. It placed second in a race for engines under 800 cubic inches displacement, then it had its engine swapped to an OX-5 for a race the next day, and again back to a Curtiss C-6 engine the next day to win the Detroit race.

Specifications (Pitcairn PA-2 Sesquiwing - C-6 engine)

References

Notes

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pitcairn Pa-2 Sesquiwing PA-02 1920s United States mailplanes Single-engined tractor aircraft Biplanes Aircraft first flown in 1926