Waco GXE
| Waco 10 | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Waco 10 giving joy rides. | |
| Role | light passenger transport |
| Manufacturer |
Advance Aircraft Waco Aircraft Company |
| Designer | Charles Meyers |
| First flight | 1927 |
| Introduction | 1927 |
| Produced | 1927–1933 |
| Number built | 1,623 |
| Unit cost |
$2,145 minus engine & prop
|
The Waco 10/GXE/Waco O series was a range of three-seat open-cockpit biplanes built by the Advance Aircraft Company, later the Waco Aircraft Company.
The Waco 10 was a larger span development of the Waco 9, both single-engined three-seat single-bay biplanes constructed around steel-tube frames. The wing covering was fabric, and both upper and lower planes carried ailerons, which were strut linked. The two passengers sat side by side in a cockpit under the upper wing and ahead of the pilot, who had a separate cockpit. It had a split-axle fixed undercarriage and a tailwheel. The main undercarriage was fitted with hydraulic shock absorbers, unusual at the time on a light aircraft. The fin could be trimmed on the ground to offset engine torque, and the tailplane could be trimmed in flight. Initially it was powered by a Curtiss OX-5 water-cooled 90° V-8 engine producing 90 hp (67 kW).
Its first flight was in 1927. It was numerically the most important type to be built by Waco, with at least 1,623 built over a period of 7 years from 1927 to 1933 and was fitted with a very large variety of engines of radial and V configuration.
The Waco 10 turned out to have excellent handling, and there was a ready supply of war-surplus Curtiss engines. It was widely used for the popularisation of aeronautics through barnstorming and joyrides, and was also much used as a trainer and by small operators for charter flights.
In 1928, after the Waco 10 had entered production, Waco changed its designation system so that the basic model 10, powered by a 90 hp (67 kW) Curtiss OX-5 engine became the GXE. The OX-5 was also used in the Waco 9, and this led to the confusing popular description of both aircraft as Waco 90, after the power.
Later aircraft used a three-letter designation, the first denoting the engine, the second, S or T meaning Straight or Tapered wing and the final O indicating it belongs to the Waco O series for open cockpit. An -A suffix indicated an armed variant intended for export.
Apart from the Curtiss and Hispano-Suiza, all of these engines were air-cooled radials.
Other engines were fitted experimentally, without unique designations, including Rausie, Siemans, and the 115 hp (86 kW) Milwaukee Tank engine. This was an air-cooled version of the Curtiss OX-5, and was intended as an aircraft engine.
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Wikipedia