Curtiss Eagle

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title: "Curtiss Eagle" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1910s-united-states-airliners", "curtiss-aircraft", "trimotors", "biplanes", "aircraft-first-flown-in-1919", "aircraft-with-fixed-conventional-landing-gear"] topic_path: "geography/united-states" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curtiss_Eagle" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox aircraft"]

FieldValue
nameEagle
imageCurtiss Eagle I.jpg
captionEagle in trimotor configuration
typeAirliner
manufacturerCurtiss
designerWilliam Gilmore
first_flightAugust 1919
number_builtca. 24
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|name=Eagle |image=Curtiss Eagle I.jpg |caption=Eagle in trimotor configuration |type=Airliner |manufacturer=Curtiss |designer=William Gilmore |first_flight=August 1919 |introduction= |retired= |status= |primary_user= |more_users= |produced= |number_built=ca. 24 |variants=

The Curtiss Eagle (retroactively designated the Model 19 by Curtiss some years later) was an airliner produced in small numbers in the United States shortly after World War I. The aircraft was a conventional biplane with three-bay, unstaggered wings of equal span. The fuselage was a very advanced design for its day, incorporating careful streamlining of its monocoque structure, and offering the crew as well as the passengers a fully enclosed cabin. The Eagle is sometimes named as the first American tri-motor aircraft; however Curtiss' own Model H flying boat flew with three engines for a time in 1914 before being converted back to twin-engine configuration.

Development

Curtiss had developed the Eagle in preparation for an anticipated post-war boom in civil aviation. In fact, this boom was far smaller than Curtiss had been hoping for, and practically all of the demand for passenger aircraft was met by the conversion of war-surplus military aircraft that could be purchased extremely cheaply. As such, only around 20 machines were built. The original trimotor Eagle design was followed by a single example of the Eagle II, with twin engines, and by three Eagle IIIs with only one engine. These latter aircraft were purchased by the United States Army Air Service, which used them as staff transports and converted one example into an air ambulance.

Operational history

A U.S. Army Air Service Curtiss Eagle air ambulance serial 64243, of the 1st Provisional Air Brigade, crashed during a thunderstorm while attempting to land at Morgantown, Maryland while returning to Bolling Field, District of Columbia, from Langley Field, Virginia on 28 May 1921 in one of the worst major flying accidents in the US at that time.

The pilot and six passengers died. Two United States congressmen had chosen not to make the flight because of airsickness on the flight from Washington to Langley. The Army's Inspector General conducted an investigation of the crash and theorized that the aircraft stalled when it encountered an updraft at low altitude while trying to clear trees near the unfamiliar field and fell nose first, into the ground.

Variants

;Curtiss Eagle :Three-engined passenger airliner, accommodating two pilots and eight passengers, powered by three 150-hp (112-kW) Curtiss K-6 piston engines. ;Eagle II :Twin-engined version, powered by two 400-hp (298-kW) Curtiss C-12 engines; one built. ;Eagle III :Single-engined version, powered by a 400-hp (298-kW) Liberty L-12 engine; three built.

Operators

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Specifications (Eagle I)

|ref=Curtiss Aircraft 1907–1947, Aerofiles : Curtiss |prime units?=imp General characteristics

|crew=2 |capacity=6 pax / 2320 lb payload |length ft=36 |length in=9 |length note= |span ft=61 |span in=4 |span note= |height ft=12 |height in=4 |height note= |wing area sqft=900 |wing area note= |aspect ratio= |airfoil= |empty weight lb=5130 |empty weight note= |gross weight lb=7450 |gross weight note= |max takeoff weight lb= |max takeoff weight note= |fuel capacity= |more general= Powerplant

|eng1 number=3 |eng1 name=Curtiss K-6 |eng1 type= |eng1 hp=150 |eng1 note=at 1,700 rpm

|prop blade number=2 |prop name=fixed-pitch propellers |prop dia ft= |prop dia in= |prop dia note=

Performance

|max speed mph=107 |max speed note= |cruise speed mph=75 |cruise speed note= |stall speed mph=55 |stall speed note= |never exceed speed mph= |never exceed speed note= |minimum control speed mph= |minimum control speed note= |range miles=350 |range note= to 475 mi |combat range miles= |combat range note= |ferry range miles= |ferry range note= |endurance= |ceiling ft= |ceiling note= |g limits= |roll rate= |climb rate ftmin= |climb rate note= |time to altitude=4075 ft in 10 minutes |wing loading lb/sqft= |wing loading note= |fuel consumption lb/mi= |power/mass= |thrust/weight=

|more performance= |avionics=

References

References

  1. Johnson, David E., "Fast Tanks and Heavy Bombers: Innovation in the U.S. Army, 1917–1945", Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York, hdbk 1998, ppbk 2003, {{ISBN. 0801488478, page 83
  2. [https://www.nytimes.com/1921/05/30/archives/big-curtisseagle-falls-driven-to-ground-near-indian-head-by.html "BIG CURTISS-EAGLE FALLS"] ''The New York Times'', May 30, 1921, Monday, Page 1
  3. Aerial Age. (15 March 1920)
  4. (1979). "Curtiss aircraft, 1907-1947". Putnam.
  5. "Curtiss # to J".
  6. (1921). "Airplane Engine Encyclopedia". THE OTTERBEIN PRESS.

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1910s-united-states-airlinerscurtiss-aircrafttrimotorsbiplanesaircraft-first-flown-in-1919aircraft-with-fixed-conventional-landing-gear