Davis D-1
Two seat American parasol-winged monoplane
title: "Davis D-1" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1920s-united-states-civil-utility-aircraft", "parasol-wing-aircraft", "single-engined-tractor-aircraft"] description: "Two seat American parasol-winged monoplane" topic_path: "geography/united-states" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davis_D-1" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Two seat American parasol-winged monoplane ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox aircraft"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Davis D-1 |
| image | Davis D-1-W NC854N Bartow 04.09R.jpg |
| caption | Airworthy Davis D-1-W with 145 h.p. Warner Scarab at Bartow Municipal Airport, Florida, in April 2009 |
| aircraft_type | light sports aircraft |
| national_origin | United States |
| manufacturer | Davis Aircraft Corporation |
| status | some still flying |
| primary_user | private pilot owners |
| construction_date | 1929-1930 |
| introduction | 1929 |
| :: |
| name = Davis D-1 | logo = | logo_size = | image = Davis D-1-W NC854N Bartow 04.09R.jpg | alt = | caption = Airworthy Davis D-1-W with 145 h.p. Warner Scarab at Bartow Municipal Airport, Florida, in April 2009 | long_caption = | other_names = | aircraft_type = light sports aircraft | aim = | outcome = | related = | national_origin = United States | manufacturer = Davis Aircraft Corporation | design_group = | designer = | builder = | issuer = | status = some still flying | owners = | primary_user = private pilot owners | more_users = | service = | major_applications = | proposals = | prototypes = | number_built = | construction_number = | civil_registration = | military_serial = | radio_code = | requirement = | aircraft_carried = | flights = | total_hours = | total_distance = | construction_date = 1929-1930 | introduction = 1929 | retired = | first_flight = | initiated = | in_service = | last_flight = | expected = | developed_from = | variants = | developed_into = | preservation = | fate = | predecessors = | successors = | concluded = The Davis D-1 is an American light two-seat parasol-winged monoplane of the late 1920s.
Development and design
The Davis D-1 was developed from the Davis V-3, which in turn was developed from the Vulcan American Moth. The Davis Aircraft Corporation had its factory at Richmond, Indiana. The D-1 is a parasol-winged aircraft of mixed construction with a two-spar wing and a rectangular welded steel-tube fuselage, the whole being covered by fabric. There are tandem open cockpits and it is fitted with a fixed tailwheel undercarriage which is attached by struts to the fuselage top and bottom. The wing is braced by struts from the lower fuselage. Various engines of between 60 and have been fitted.
Operational history
The D-1 was used from 1929 by sporting pilots and by private pilot owners for leisure flying. In September 1930, Art Chester bought a Davis D-1-85 parasol, and flew it to victory in the 1930 National Air Races. A late model D-1W "The Whistler II" was built in 1933 for Davis with a canopy. It was raced in the 1934 Miami air race by Art Davis winning the category at 133.478 mph. It was later owned by movie star Richard Arlen, and restored to become a Grand Champion antique.
Most Davis aircraft were sold in the United States but at least one went to Argentina. Fourteen examples remained in 2001 in various states of airworthiness and several are still airworthy in 2011.
Variants
(Data from Aerofiles) ;D-1 : 60 hp LeBlond 5D (23 built) ;D-1-166 : 85 hp LeBlond 5DF (4 built) ;D-1-K : 100 hp Kinner K-5 (10-15 built) ;D-1-L : prototype of the D-1-166 with 90 hp Lambert R-266 (1 built - also known as D-1-85) ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/07/DavisD-1W.jpg" caption="Davis D-1-W"] ::
;D-1-W : 125 hp Warner Scarab (8 converted from D-1-K)
Specifications (D-1-W)
|ref=Green |prime units?=imp General characteristics
|genhide=
|crew=one |capacity=one passenger |length m= |length ft=20 |length in=4 |length note= |span m= |span ft=30 |span in=2 |span note= |height m= |height ft=7 |height in=3 |height note= |wing area sqm= |wing area sqft= |wing area note= |aspect ratio= |airfoil= |empty weight kg= |empty weight lb=925 |empty weight note= |gross weight kg= |gross weight lb=1461 |gross weight note= |fuel capacity= |more general= Powerplant
|eng1 number=1 |eng1 name=Warner Scarab |eng1 type=seven-cylinder radial air-cooled piston |eng1 kw= |eng1 hp=125
Performance
|perfhide=
|max speed kmh= |max speed mph=142 |max speed kts= |max speed note= |cruise speed kmh= |cruise speed mph=122 |cruise speed kts= |cruise speed note= |stall speed kmh= |stall speed mph=46 |stall speed kts= |stall speed note= |never exceed speed kmh= |never exceed speed mph= |never exceed speed kts= |never exceed speed note= |range km= |range miles=480 |range nmi= |range note= |endurance= |ceiling m= |ceiling ft=14800 |ceiling note= |g limits= |roll rate= |glide ratio= |climb rate ms= |climb rate ftmin= |climb rate note= |time to altitude= |lift to drag= |wing loading kg/m2= |wing loading lb/sqft= |wing loading note= |power/mass= |thrust/weight= |more performance= |avionics=
|see also= |related= |similar aircraft= |lists=
Notes
References
- Green, William, The Aircraft of the World, 1965, MacDonald & Co (Publishers) Ltd, no isbn
- Simpson, R.W., Airlife's World Aircraft, Airlife Publishing Ltd, 2001,
References
- Green p.223
- "Davis D-1-W".
- Jack Cox. (September 1993). "Sun and Fun Grand Champion Davis D-1W".
- Simpson p.176-177
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::