Elias AJE Air Express
| AJE Air Express | |
|---|---|
| Role | Mail plane |
| National origin | United States |
| Manufacturer | Elias |
| First flight | c.1927 |
| Number built | 1 |
| Developed from | Elias M-1 Mailplane |
The Elias AJE Air Express was a prototype mailplane built in the United States around 1927 by G. Elias and Brother.[1][2] The design was intended to be adaptable to a number of other roles,[1][2] but failed to attract any orders and did not progress beyond its single prototype.[1]
Design
The AJE Air Express was a development of the company's Elias M-1 Mailplane,[3] with which it was marketed side-by-side in 1926.[4] It was a single-bay, equal-span, unstaggered biplane of conventional configuration.[5] Its fuselage incorporated a 65-cubic-foot (1.8 m3) duralumin-lined mail compartment[2][3] and an open cockpit for the pilot.[2][5] The tail was of conventional design, and it was equipped with fixed, tailskid undercarriage.[2][5] Power was supplied by a piston engine in the nose driving a tractor propeller.[2][5] The ends of the wings were braced with N-struts, and in place of bracing wire, interplane bracing was achieved with steel tube.[2]
The fuselage and tail were built from welded steel tube, and the wings from wood.[2] The whole aircraft was covered in fabric.[2]
From the outset, Elias hoped that the mail compartment could also be fitted with cameras for aerial survey work, or be used as a chemical hopper for crop-dusting.[1][2] Despite this forward thinking, the aircraft failed to find a market.[1]
Specifications
Data from Grey & Bridgman 1928, p.219
General characteristics
- Crew: 1 pilot
- Capacity: mail compartment of 65 cubic feet (1.8 m3) with normal load of 1,200 pounds (540 kg)
- Length: 29 ft 2 in (8.89 m)
- Wingspan: 44 ft (13 m)
- Height: 11 ft 8 in (3.56 m)
- Wing area: 540 sq ft (50 m2)
- Empty weight: 2,890 lb (1,311 kg)
- Gross weight: 4,960 lb (2,250 kg)
- Powerplant: 1 × Liberty L-12 water-cooled, 12-cylinder V engine
Performance
- Maximum speed: 126 mph (203 km/h, 109 kn)
- Range: 550 mi (890 km, 480 nmi)
- Service ceiling: 15,800 ft (4,800 m)
Notes
References
Bibliography
- Aircraft Year Book 1926. New York: Aeronautical Chamber of Commerce of America. 1926.
- The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft. London: Aerospace Publishing.
- Grey, C.G.; Bridgman, Leonard (1928). Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1928. London: Sampson Low Marston.
- McLaughlin, George F. (August 1926). "American Commercial Airplanes". Aero Digest. Vol. 9, no. 2. New York: Aeronautical Digest Publishing. pp. 90–94.