General Aircraft XFA

The General Aircraft XFA-1 was an unsuccessful competitor for the role of US airship fighter aircraft won by Curtiss' F9C Sparrowhawk. An all-metal biplane, the XFA-1 was tested by the United States Navy in 1932 and rejected for handling and stability problems.

Although General Aircraft had begun its design work soon after the Navy's specifications were released in 1930, the company, originally a spinoff from Fokker named Atlantic Aircraft, was engaged in another reorganization, which delayed its work.

The XFA-1 was very similar to the Sparrowhawk, in large part because of the strictness of the Navy's requirements. The construction of its fuselage was innovative in that instead of using lap jointing, the edges of each panel were bent inwards, with the rivets fastening them on the inside, instead of being visible on the surface.

Initial flight testing by the Navy showed longitudinal instability, a problem shared with the Sparrowhawk. General Aircraft increased the area of the tail surfaces and made other changes, then returned the prototype for more testing; but now the stability problems were worse. The plane would nose up with more throttle, but then drop its nose when the throttle was reduced. After another round of modifications, and some close calls, the plane was finally classed as unsafe and testing was abandoned.

References

• Lloyd S. Jones, U.S. Naval Fighters (Fallbrook CA: Aero Publishers, 1977, ISBN 0-8168-9254-7), pp. 89-91

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