| Spartan C2 | |
|---|---|
| |
| Role | sport aircraft |
| National origin | United States |
| Manufacturer | Spartan Aircraft Company |
| Designer | Willis Brown[1] |
| First flight | 1931[2] |
| Number built | over 56[1] |
The Spartan C2 is a light aircraft produced in the United States in the early 1930s as a low-cost sport machine that would sell during the Great Depression.
The C2 is a conventional, low-wing monoplane design with two seats side-by-side in an open cockpit.[2][3] The wing was braced with struts and wires and it carried the main units of the divided fixed undercarriage. Power was supplied by a small radial engine mounted tractor-fashion in the nose, which drove a two-bladed propeller.
Spartan introduced the C2 in 1931 with a 55-hp engine, and sold 16 examples before ongoing economic circumstances brought production to a halt.[2] Spartan then built 2 examples with 165-hp engines to use in their own flying school. These latter aircraft were fitted with hoods that could be closed over the cockpit for training pilots in instrument flying.[1][4] Spartan offered this version to the U.S. military as a trainer,[5] but officials at the time believed that low-wing monoplanes were unsuitable for pilot training.[4] Spartan also tendered a proposal to the U.S. Bureau of Air Commerce to provide its inspectors with a two-seat light aircraft.[5] The design in question was probably the C2-60,[5] but in any case, the tender was not accepted.[5]
Three C2s are preserved in museums — a restored example on display at the Tulsa Air and Space Museum,[6] a restored and flyable example at the Western Antique Aeroplane & Automobile Museum in Hood River, Oregon, and an example awaiting restoration at the Golden Wings Flying Museum, Blaine, Minnesota.[7]
Data from Jane's all the World's Aircraft 1931,[8] Aerofiles: Spartan[1]
General characteristics
Performance
