US Army Trainer Aircraft Competition of 1939 ?

[hesham]

Hi,

in reference from my dear Apophenia about Harlow PJC-4,there
was a competition for trainer aircraft to the USA Army in 1939,
was there any other known tenders ?.

American airplanes: Ha - Hu

 

[Dynoman]

PJC-4 courtesy of 1000aircraftphotos.com According to Aerofiles.com this aircraft was originally a two seat in tandem, but was converted in to a four seat cabin after Harlow failed to win the contract. Only one airframe built and registered as N37463.

 

[Apophenia]

PJC-4 courtesy of 1000aircraftphotos.com According to Aerofiles.com this aircraft was originally a two seat in tandem, but was converted in to a four seat cabin after Harlow failed to win the contract. Only one airframe built and registered as N37463.

Dynoman: This one is a bit convoluted. The photo is actually of the Atlas H-10, a conversion of the Harlow PCC-10, which in turn was the unfinished 1941 PJC-4 airframe as completed by Max Harlow's students at Pasadena City College in 1945. To make things more confusing, Atlas Aircraft was another Max Harlow commercial venture (where he joined up again with Harlow Aircraft's original President, Jesse Alexander).

hesham: That June 1939 Flying Magazine article mentions five aircraft producers - Ryan (the winner), Harlow, Phillips, Timm, and Vega. As far as I can tell, their entries were:

Harlow PC-5

Phillips Aeroneer 1-B - 1 x 145 hp Ranger 6-410, span 9.91 m
- Developed with CIT Guggenheim Laboratory, all-metal construction, side-by-side seating

Ryan ST

Timm S-160 'Trainer' - Timm's 160 hp Kinner R-5-engined development of Max Harlow's Kinner Sportster.
- S-160: Became PT-160K, then higher-powered PT-175K, and USN N2T-1

I'm guessing that the 'Vega' reference is to the future Vega 35-67. That was Lockheed Vega's 1940 development of the North American NA-35. But it was actually North American which entered the 1939 USAAC primary trainer competition.
- Vega 35: 1 x 125 hp Menasco Pirate D4, span: 9.07 m

 

[Dynoman]

Great information Apophenia! I've seen pictures of the Aeroneer 1B, Ryan ST, NA-35, and the Timm S-160K, which are all available online, however, do you know if their is a photo of the PJC-4 in its tandem configuration? It would be interesting to see the changes to the cabin to support a tandem canopy or an open cockpit design similar to the Timm S-160K, NA-35, and the Ryan ST. The early Harlow's had enclosed cabins as well as the Aeroneer 1B.

 

[hesham]

Many great thanks to you my dear Apophenia,

and for Vega,it's V-125.

 

[Apophenia]

hesham: Thanks for the Type number. For common useage, I've seen both Vega 35-67 and just plain Vega 35.

... a photo of the PJC-4 in its tandem configuration? ...

Dynoman: Here you go. As you can see, the PCC-10 canopy was quite different from both the PC-5 and Harlow's cabin jobs.

PCC-10 image source: Air Classics, 'From H-10 Atlas to Mono-Twin', Howard Carter, June 2018, page 49

BTW, note that the PCC-10 registration - NX37463 - was retained for the Atlas H-10 conversion.

 

[hesham]

Many great thanks to you my dear Apophenia,

and for Vega,it's V-125.

Here it's.

 

[hesham]

From, Western_Aviation_Missiles_and_Space 1940,

I think this Allmetal Aircraft Co. design was involved in it ?.

 

[Dynoman]

As per Apophenia's entry the Aero Engineering Corp Aeroneer 1B first flew in 1936 and reportedly attempted to win a USAAC trainer contract in the 1939 competition as the Phillips X-PT. It was an all metal entry, however the Army was not interested in a side-by-side seating configuration or an enclosed cockpit for a primary trainer.

 

[Dynoman]

Harlow PC-5