Waco A series

Aircraft Picture - Waco PBA biplane of 1932 at the Historic Aircraft Restoration Museum near St Louis Missouri in 2006 showing the wide side-by-side seating layout

Role: two-seat side-by-side biplane
National origin: United States
Manufacturer: Waco Aircraft Company
Introduction: 1932
Status: a few examples still extant in 2009
Primary user: private owners

The Waco A series is a range of light American-built twin side-by-side seater sporting biplanes of the early 1930s.

Development

The Waco A series was introduced in 1932 as an affordable private-owner aircraft with cross-country range and baggage capacity and a more sporting image than the larger Waco F series. The A series offered a number of engine options which had varying sub-designations. The power range lay between the KBA with a 100 hp (75 kW) Kinner engine and the later UBA with a 210 hp (157 kW) Continental powerplant.

The PLA "Sportsman" of 1933 introduced a longer wider fuselage and a higher useful load and had a 170 hp (127 kW) Jacobs LA-1 radial engine. The last model in the series was the ULA, also of 1933, with a 210 hp (157 kW) powerplant.

Operational history

The A series was bought mainly by private pilot owners with a sporting inclination. Relatively few were produced and the type survives in small numbers in 2009. A PBA is on display in the Historic Aircraft Restoration Museum at Dauster Field near St Louis, Missouri.

Variants

Data from Aerofiles

BBA
165 hp (123 kW) Wright J-5
KBA
100 hp (75 kW) Kinner K-5
IBA
125 hp (93 kW) Kinner B-5
PBA
170 hp (127 kW) Jacobs LA-1
RBA
110 hp (82 kW) later 125 hp (93 kW) Warner Scarab
TBA
160 hp (119 kW) Kinner R-5
UBA
210 hp (157 kW) Continental R-670
ICA
125 hp (93 kW) Kinner K-5
KCA
100 hp (75 kW) Kinner K-5
PCA
170 hp (127 kW) Jacobs LA-1
RCA
110 hp (82 kW) Warner Scarab
TCA
160 hp (119 kW) Kinner R-5
UCA
210 hp (157 kW) Continental R-670
PLA Sportsman
longer and wider fuselage and 170 hp (127 kW) Jacobs LA-1
ULA Sportsman
as PLA with 210 hp (157 kW) Continental R-670

Specifications (RBA variant)

Data from Green, 1965, p. 306

General characteristics

Crew: 1
Capacity: 1 passenger
Length: 21 ft 0 in ( m)
Wingspan: 29 ft 6 in ( m)
Height: 8 ft 8 in ( m)
Empty weight: 1,250 lb ( kg)
Gross weight: 1,949 lb ( kg)
Powerplant: 1 x— Warner Scarab, 125 hp ( kW)

Performance

Maximum speed: 104 mph ( km/h)
Cruise speed: 91 mph ( km/h)
Range: 400 miles ( km)
Service ceiling: 12,800 ft ( m)
Rate of climb: 500 ft/min ( m/s)

Bibliography

Green, William (1965). The Aircraft of the World. Macdonald & Co. (Publishers) Ltd. ISBN none.
Simpson, Rod (2001). Airlife's World Aircraft. Airlife Publishing Ltd. ISBN 1-84037-115-3.

Waco A series Pictures

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Source: WikiPedia