YO-50

Role	Army observation aircraft Type of aircraft
Manufacturer	Bellanca
First flight	1940
Number built	3

The Bellanca YO-50 was a United States prototype observation aircraft, built for the United States Army in 1940. Typical for aircraft of its type, it was a high-wing braced monoplane with fixed tailwheel undercarriage and extensive cabin glazing. Its inverted "V" engine made it resemble its German equivalent, the Fieseler Storch.

Three examples were purchased for evaluation against the Stinson YO-49 and Ryan YO-51 Dragonfly. The Stinson won the production contract, and no further YO-50s were built.

Specifications

Data from Plane Facts: Bellanca's "Storch"^[1]

General characteristics

Crew: two
Length: 35 ft 2 in (10.72 m)
Wingspan: 55 ft 6 in (16.92 m)
Gross weight: 3,887 lb (1,763 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × Ranger V-770-1 air-cooled inverted V12 engine, 420 hp (310 kW)

Performance

Maximum speed: 126 mph (203 km/h, 109 kn)
Cruise speed: 105 mph (169 km/h, 91 kn)

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bellanca YO-50.

^ Air International July 1981, p. 32.

"Plane Facts: Bellanca's "Storch"". Air International. Vol. 21, no. 1. July 1981. p. 32. ISSN 0306-5634.
Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions. p. 150.
aerofiles.com

Bellanca/AviaBellanca aircraft

Aircraft

Letter/letter-number designation	CD CE CF WB-1 WB-2 CH-200 CH-300 CH-400
Numerical designation	14-7 14-9 14-10 14-12 14-13 14-14 14-19 17-30 17-20 19-25 28-70 28-90 28-92 28-110 31-40 31-42 31-50 31-55 66-70 66-75 77-140 77-320
Name	Airbus Aircruiser Aries Bomber Champion Citabria Cruisair Cruisemaster Decathlon Junior Pacemaker Scout Senior Pacemaker Senior Skyrocket Skyrocket Skyrocket II Standard Tandem Experimental Sesquiplane (TES) Viking
Military Designation	C-27 X-855e XSE XSOE YO-50

Companies

People

United States observation aircraft designations, USAAC/USAAF and Tri-Service systems

USAAC/USAAF sequence
(1924–1942)

O-1
O-2
O-3
O-4
O-5
O-6
O-7
O-8
O-9
O-10
O-11
O-12
O-13
O-14
O-15
O-16
O-17
O-18
O-19
O-20
O-21
O-22
O-23
O-24
O-25
O-26
O-27
O-28
O-29
O-30
O-31
O-32
O-33
O-34
O-35
O-36
O-37
O-38
O-39
O-40
O-41
O-42
O-43
O-44
O-45
O-46
O-47
O-48
O-49
O-50
O-51
O-52
O-53
O-54
O-55
O-56
O-57
O-58
O-59
O-60
O-61
O-62
O-63

Tri-service sequence
(1962–present)

O-1
O-2
O-3
O-4¹
O-5
O-6

Related designations	OV-1 OV-10 OV-12

¹ Unconfirmed

Specifications

See also

References