Buhl-Verville CA-3 Airster

CA-3 Airster
Role	Utility aircraft
Manufacturer	Buhl
Designer	Alfred Verville, Etienne Dormoy
First flight	1926
Number built	20

The Buhl-Verville CA-3 Airster (also known as the J4 Airster, after its engine), was a utility aircraft built in the United States in 1926, notable as the first aircraft to receive a type certificate in the US, ·  · (i.e. A.T.C. No. 1) issued by the Aeronautics Branch of the Department of Commerce on March 29, 1927. It was a conventional single-bay biplane with equal-span unstaggered wings and accommodation for the pilot and passengers in tandem open cockpits. Marketed for a variety of roles including crop-dusting, aerial photography, and freight carriage, only a handful were built, some with water-cooled engines as the CW-3, and others with air-cooled engines as the CA-3 . One CA-3 placed second in the 1926 Ford National Reliability Air Tour.

1926 Ford Air Tour, piloted by Louis Meister, and another (designated the CA-3A) placed third in the 1927 Air Derby, piloted by Nick Mamer. One CW-3 and one CA-3 each were evaluated by the United States Army as trainers, but neither were purchased.

General characteristics

Performance

SPAD S.XIII ; SPAD S.XX ; Buhl CA-1 Airster ; Buhl Airsedan

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