Waco Aircraft Company

Founded: 1919
Defunct: 1947
Headquarters: Troy, Ohio, United States
Products: Light aircraft

Airplane Picture - Waco GXE (Model 10) of 1928 with Curtiss OX-5 engine

The Waco Aircraft Company (WACO) was an aircraft manufacturer located in Troy, Ohio, USA. Between 1919 and 1947, the company produced a wide range of civilian biplanes.

The company initially started under the name Weaver Aircraft Company of Ohio but changed its name to the Waco Aircraft Company in 1928/29.

Company name

WACO (referring to the aircraft) is usually pronounced "wah-co" (the first syllable pronounced as in "water"), not "way-co" like Waco, Texas, whose name is entirely unrelated. The name comes from a field near Troy, Ohio - Waco field, which in turn received its name from a local war-cry, which had several variations. Although an acronym, the company was universally referred to as "Waco".

Several companies operated under the Waco name, with the first company being the Weaver Aircraft Company, a firm founded by George E. Weaver, Clayton Bruckner, and Elwood Junkin in 1920 in Lorain and Medina, Ohio after they had already been collaborating for several years. In the spring of 1923 this became the Advance Aircraft Company in Troy, Ohio, after the departure of Weaver.

Airplane Picture - 1929 model Advance Aircraft Company/Waco ATO 'Taperwing' of Vintage Wings of Canada.

At some point (when is not at all clear from the records but 1928 or 1929) it was changed from Advance Aircraft Company to Waco Aircraft Company. The firm is often confused with Western Aviation Company, the name of four unrelated aircraft enterprises in Chicago, Illinois; San Antonio, Texas; and Burbank, California.

History

Waco's history started in 1919 when businessmen Clayton J. Brukner and Elwood Junkin met barnstorming pilots Charley Meyers and George Weaver. Although their initial floatplane design was a failure, they went on to found the Waco company in 1920 and established themselves as producers of reliable, rugged planes that were popular with travelling businessmen, postal services and explorers, especially after the company began producing closed-cabin biplane models after 1930 in addition to the open cockpit biplanes.

The Waco name was extremely well represented in the US civil aircraft registry between the wars, with more Wacos registered than the aircraft of any other company. Production types including open cockpit biplanes, cabin biplanes and cabin sesquiplanes (known by Waco as Custom Cabins) as well as numerous experimental types.

During World War II, Waco produced large numbers of military gliders for the RAF and US Army Air Forces for airborne operations, especially during the Normandy Invasion and Operation Market Garden. The Waco CG-4 was the most numerous of their glider designs to be produced. At the same time Waco produced over 600 of its UPF-7 open biplanes and 21 VKS-7F cabin biplanes for the Civilian Pilot Training Program, which supplemented the output of the military training establishments. 42 privately-owned models of sixteen types were impressed into service as light transports and utility aircraft with the USAAF under the common designation C-72/UC-72.

Airplane Picture - 1940 WACO UPF-7

The Waco company ceased operations in 1947, having suffered the fate of a number of general aviation companies when an anticipated boom in aviation following World War II failed to develop. The final Waco relied on an experimental Franklin engine which, with the cancellation of other contracts became so expensive the Aristocraft that relied on it was cancelled.

The Waco name was briefly revived for a scheme to produce a series of Italian lightplanes under licence in the US.

The WACO Classic Aircraft company (unrelated to the original Waco) began building its WACO Classic YMF in 1986, an upgraded version based on Waco's original type certified design.

A large number of survivors exist, with the largest single collection residing at the Historic Aircraft Restoration Museum at Dauster Field, Creve Coeur, near St Louis, Missouri..

Models

Note: Waco civilian designations describe the configuration of the aircraft. The first letter lists the engine used, the second the specific type, and the third the general series. The coding system was changed in 1929 with several letters reassigned, and later with the introduction of the Custom Cabin series, the third letter 'C' was initially replaced with C-S (Cabin-Standard) and finally S. The numeral suffix represents the first year of production if it is 6 or higher (6=1936), or a sub type if 2 or less. Thus EGC-7 is a Wright R-760-E2 (350hp) engined, cabin biplane airframe, custom cabin model first manufactured in 1937.

Open cockpit biplanes and monoplanes

Cootie
Single seat biplane/parasol monoplane, 1 produced, then re-built
Waco 4-7
Used many Curtiss JN-4 parts with new interchangeable wing panels and powered by a 90 hp (67 kW) Curtiss OX-5.
Waco 8
First Waco cabin biplane, powered by 200 hp (149 kW) Liberty - 1 built
Waco 9
First mass-production model, steel-tube framing, powered by OX-5, equipped for EDO floats. Many re-engined. 270 built.

Airplane Picture - Waco 10 giving joy rides, c.1930

Waco 10 :Most produced model of any Waco aircraft, 1,623 built between 1927 and 1933. Refinement of Waco 9 with 90 hp (67 kW) Curtiss OX-5 V8 engine. Redesignated GXE by Waco in 1928.
240 :1 conversion of Waco 10 with 240 hp (179 kW) Continental W-670 radial engine.
ASO :Waco 10 variant with 220 hp (164 kW) Wright J-5 radial engine, known as J-5 Straightwing, Waco Sport, and Whirlwind Waco. 95 built.
BSO :Variant of ASO 165 hp (123 kW) Wright J-6-5 radial engine. 45 built.
CSO :Variant of ASO with 225 hp (168 kW) Wright J-6-7 radial engine. 59 built.
DSO :Variant of ASO with 180 hp (134 kW) Hispano-Suiza A/E V8 engine. 62 built.
ATO :Taperwing variant of ASO. 54 built.
CTO :Taperwing variant of CSO. 35 built.
HTO :Modified from HSO. 1 built.
JTO :300 h.p. Wright J-6-9. 1 built.
JYO :U.S. Navy version of JTO for evaluation. 2 built.

Airplane Picture - Preserved 1929-built JYM mailplane of Northwest Airways

JWM
Straightwing mailplane with 330 hp (246 kW) Wright R-975 engine. Derivative of ASO with 14" fuselage stretch. 2 built.
JYM
Taperwing mailplane with 300 hp (224 kW) Wright J-6-9 radial engine. Derivative of ATO with 14" fuselage stretch. 4 built for Northwest Airways

IBA
Improved KBA, side by side two seat biplane with optional canopy and 125 hp (93 kW) Kinner B-5 engine. 3 built.
KBA
100 hp (75 kW) Kinner K-5 radial engine. 50 built.
PBA
IBA variant with 170 hp (127 kW) Jacobs LA-1 radial engine. 4 built.
RBA
IBA variant with 110 hp (82 kW) Warner Scarab radial engine. 4 built.
UBA
IBA variant with 210 hp (157 kW) Continental R-670 radial engine. 6 built.
PLA
Improved IBA, known as Waco Sportsman, with Jacobs LA-1 radial engine and greater range. 4 built.
ULA
PLA variant with 210 hp (157 kW) Continental R-670 radial engine. 1 built.

Airplane Picture - Waco PBA side-by-side biplane of 1932

CHD
Multipurpose military biplane with 250 hp (186 kW) Wright R-760 radial engine. 6 built (may include JHD).
JHD
Multipurpose Military Biplane with 365 hp (272 kW) Wright R-975 engine. 6 built for Uruguay.
S3HD
Multipurpose Military Biplane with 400 hp (298 kW) P & W Wasp Jr. TB. 1 built.
WHD
Multipurpose Military Biplane with 420 hp (313 kW) Wright R-975 engine.
CMD
Multipurpose Military Biplane with 250 hp (186 kW) Wright J-6-7. None built.

Airplane Picture - Waco UBF of 1932 flown by Texaco in the early 1930s

OBF
210 hp (157 kW) Kinner C-5 engine. Unknown if built.
PBF
170 hp (127 kW) Jacobs LA-1 engine. 4 built.
TBF
160 hp (119 kW) Kinner R-5(?) engine. None built.
UBF & UBF-2
210 hp (157 kW)p Continental R-670 engine. Around 11 built. US Navy trainer XJW-1 for airship skyhook.

PCF
170 hp (127 kW) Jacobs LA-1 radial engine. 3 built.
QCF
165 hp (123 kW) Continental A-70 radial engine. 31 built.
UCF
210 hp (157 kW)p Continental R-670 radial engine. None built, became UBF.

Airplane Picture - A brand new 2006 model WACO Classic Aircraft YMF-F5C at Sun 'n Fun 2006

UMF-3 & UMF-5
210 hp (157 kW) Continental R-670 radial engine. 18 built.
YMF-3
225 hp (168 kW) Jacobs L-4 radial engine. 18 built -3 & -5.
YMF-5
245 hp (183 kW) Jacobs L-4 radial engine. Basis for YMF-5 Super currently in production.

INF
125 hp (93 kW) Kinner B-5 radial engine. 50 built.
KNF
100 hp (75 kW) Kinner K-5 radial engine. 20 built.
MNF
125 hp (93 kW) Menasco C-4 Pirate inline engine. 4 built.
QNF
165 hp (123 kW) Continental A-70 radial engine. 1 built.
RNF
110 hp (82 kW) Warner Scarab radial engine. 150+ built.

Airplane Picture - Waco QF2

CPF & CPF-6
250 hp (186 kW) Wright R-760 radial engine. 41 built, redesignated DPF.
DPF-6 & DPF-7
285 hp (213 kW) Wright R-760 radial engine. Was CPF.
EPF-6
320 hp (239 kW) Wright R-760 radial engine. 1 built.
LPF-6
300 hp (224 kW) Lycoming R-680 radial engine. Possibly not built.
UPF-6
210 hp (157 kW) Continental R-670 radial engine. Prototype for UPF-7.
UPF-7
Second-most produced variant, over 600 built. Continental W-670 220 hp (164 kW) engine. Widely used in the Civilian Pilot Training Program. 14 became YPT-14 trainers, but not adopted by USAAF for operational use.
VPF-6 & VPF-7
240 hp (179 kW) Continental W-670 radial engine. 6 built.

Airplane Picture - Waco YPF at Sun 'n Fun 2006

YPF-6 & YPF-7
225 hp (168 kW) Jacobs L-4 radial engine. 8 built.
ZPF-6 & ZPF-7
285 hp (213 kW) Jacobs L-5 radial engine. 5 built.

CRG
240 hp (179 kW) Wright R-760 radial engine, later a different Wright R-760.

RPT-1
Low wing open cockpit monoplane trainer prototype, similar in concept to Fairchild PT-19. 1 built.

Standard Cabin Biplanes

OEC
with 210 hp (157 kW) Kinner C-5 engine. 3 built.
UEC
with 210 hp (157 kW) Continental R-670 engine. 40 built.
BEC
with 165 hp (123 kW) Wright R-540 engine. 1 built (converted from OEC or UEC).

CJC & CJC-S
with 250 hp (186 kW) Wright R-760 engine. 41 CJC & DJC built.
DJC, DJC-S & DJS
with 285 hp (213 kW) Wright R-760 engine.

UKC, UKC-S & UKS-6
with 210 hp (157 kW)p Continental R-670. 40 built.
VKS-7
with 225 hp (168 kW) Continental R-670-B engine. 18 built.
VKS-7F
VKS-7 for CPTP with flaps. 21 built.
YKC, YKC-S & YKS-6
with 225 hp (168 kW) Jacobs L-4

Airplane Picture - Waco YKS-6 cabin tourer of 1936

ZKC, ZKC-S & ZKS with 285 hp (213 kW) Jacobs L-5 engine. 60 YKC built, 22 YKC-S built, 65 YKS-6 built.

BDC
with 165 hp (123 kW) Wright R-540 engine. None built.
ODC
with 210 hp (157 kW) Kinner C-5 engine. modified to QDC.
PDC
with 170 hp (127 kW) Jacobs LA-1 engine. 2 built on special order.
QDC
with 165 hp (123 kW) Continental A-70 engine. 37 built.
UDC
with 210 hp (157 kW) Continental R-670 engine. None built.

Airplane Picture - Waco UIC standard cabin biplane

UIC with 210 hp (157 kW) Continental R-670 engine. 83 built.

Custom Cabin Biplanes (Sesquiplanes)

AGC-8
300 hp (224 kW) Jacobs L-6 engine. 17 built, 2 modified to EGC-8.
DGC-7
285 hp (213 kW) Wright R-760 engine. 2 built.
EGC-7, EGC-8,
320 hp (239 kW) Wright R-760 engine. 38 built. 3 used by US Navy & Coast Guard as J2W.
MGC-8
Menasco Pirate inline engine. Unknown number built.
UGC-7
210 hp (157 kW) Continental R-670 engine. None built.

Airplane Picture - Waco UIC

VGC-7
240 hp (179 kW) Continental W-670 engine. None built.
YGC-7, YGC-8
225 hp (168 kW) Jacobs L-4 engine. Possibly none built.
ZGC-7, ZGC-8
285 hp (213 kW) Jacobs L-5 engine. 28 built.

AQC-6
300 hp (224 kW) Jacobs L-5 engine. 7 built.
CQC-6
250 hp (186 kW) Wright R-760 engine. None built.
DQC-6
285 hp (213 kW) Wright R-760 engine. 11 built.

Airplane Picture - Waco EQC-6 Custom at the Calgary Aerospace Museum in 1996 showing the longer cabin glazing of late C series aircraft

EQC-6
320 hp (239 kW) Wright R-760 engine. 20 built. USCG used 3 as J2W-1.
SQC-6
300 hp (224 kW) Pratt & Whitney Wasp Jr engine. None built.
UQC-6
210 hp (157 kW) Continental R-670 or 225 hp (168 kW) W-670-K or 220 hp (164 kW) W-670-6. Probably none built.
VQC-6
250 hp (186 kW) Continental W-670 engine.
YQC-6
225 hp (168 kW) Jacobs L-4 engine. 13 built. 1 ex-RAAF example re-engined with 200 hp (149 kW) DeHavilland Gypsy 6 inline engine.
ZQC-6
285 hp (213 kW) Jacobs L-5 engine. 68 built.

Airplane Picture - Waco CUC of 1935 showing the extended cabin and windows of the later C series models. Anoka-Blaine airport near Minneapolis, June 2006

CUC
250 hp (186 kW) Wright R-760-E engine. 30+ built of all CUC types.
CUC-1
285 hp (213 kW) Wright R-760-E1 engine.
CUC-2
320 hp (239 kW) Wright R-760 engine.

UOC
210 hp (157 kW) Continental R-670-A or 225 hp (168 kW) Continental R-670-B engine. 4 built.
YOC
225 hp (168 kW) Jacobs L-4 engine. 50+ YOC & YOC-1 built.
YOC-1
285 hp (213 kW) Jacobs L-5 engine.

AVN-8
Nosewheel Type with 300 hp (224 kW) Jacobs L-6 engine. 15 built.
ZVN-7 & ZVN-8
Nosewheel Type with 285 hp (213 kW) Jacobs L-5 engine. 6 built.

ARE Aristocrat
300 hp (224 kW) Jacobs L-6 engine. 4 built.
HRE Aristocrat
285 hp (213 kW) Lycoming R-680 engine. 5 built.
SRE Aristocrat
450 hp (336 kW) Pratt & Whitney R-985 engine. 21 built.
WRE Aristocrat
420 hp (313 kW) Wright R-975 engine. None built.

Gliders

Airplane Picture - Waco CG-4A troop glider.

WACO Primary Glider :single place trainer
Waco CG-3 :Troop Glider intended for training CG-4 pilots
Waco CG-4 also known as "Hadrian", military glider
Waco CG-13 :troop Glider
Waco CG-15 :troop Glider

Transports

XPG Powered version of CG-4 Glider Waco YC-62 All-wood twin-engine Transport (Not built) Waco W 'Aristocraft' Monoplane pusher cabin transport with engine in nose. Last Waco design to be built. 1 Prototype only.

Bibliography

Juptner, Joseph P. U.S. Civil Aircraft Vol. 1 Los Angeles, California: Aero Publishers, Inc., 1962. Library of Congress # 62-15967.
Brandly, Raymond H. Waco Aircraft Production 1923-1942 Troy, Ohio: Waco Aircraft Co., 1986 (2nd Edition). ISBN 978-0960273454
Kobernuss, Fred O. Waco - Symbol of Courage and Excellence unk : Mystic Bay Publisher, 1999. ISBN 1-887961-01-1.
O'Neill, Terry. from Sport Aviation March/April 1964
Various. Aerofiles Waco Page

Waco Aircraft Company Pictures

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Source: WikiPedia