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Fairchild KR-34

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The Kreider-Reisner Challenger (later the Fairchild KR series) was an American utility biplane aircraft designed and produced by the Kreider-Reisner Aircraft Company, which was later taken over by the Fairchild Aircraft Company.

Development

The C-2 Challenger was the first commercial aircraft developed by the Kreider-Reisner Aircraft Company. The Challenger was a conventional mixed-construction biplane with a fixed tailskid landing gear. It had two open tandem cockpits for a pilot (at the rear), and passenger (forward) and was powered by a 90 hp (67 kW) Curtiss OX-5 inline engine. A number of variants were built designated the C-3 Challenger and C-4 Challenger which had detailed differences and different engines fitted. Late in 1928 the company introduced a new and slightly smaller design designated the C-6 Challenger.

In 1929 the company was bought by the Fairchild Aircraft Company who continued the production of the C-4 as the Fairchild KR-34 and the C-6 as the Fairchild KR-21. Although not built by Fairchild the C-2 was re-designated the Fairchild KR-31.

To act as an engine test-bed a KR-21 was modified to use a Fairchild 3-690 engine (later named Ranger) and changes were made to the wing and landing-gear geometry. The modified aircraft was known as the Fairchild KR-125. In 1931 a similar aircraft without the geometry changes but with a Ranger engine was sold under the designation KR-135.

Variants

C-2 Challenger
Initial production version, later KR-31.
C-3 Challenger
C-2 with detail and engine changes.
C-4 Challenger
C-2 with detail and engine changes, later KR-34
C-6 Challenger
Smaller version of C-2, later KR-21.
KR-21
Re-designation of the C-6.
KR-31
Re-designation of the C-2.
KR-34
Redesignation of the C-4
KR-34CA
1930 attack aircraft version of the C-4C
KR-35
Re-designation of the C-4.
KR-125
One KR-21 modified to an engine test bed for the Fairchild 6-390.
KR-135
Production version of KR-21 with in-line engine.

Specifications (KR-34)

Template:Aerospecs


References

  • Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions. 
  • The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985), 1985, Orbis Publishing, Page 1674


This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Fairchild KR-34".