Cunningham-Hall Commercial Monoplane
by Randolph F. Hall
Flight tests are being conducted on the new GA-21M, a two-place, low-wing monoplane manufactured by the Cunningham-Hall Aircraft Corp., Rochester, N. Y. Designed for commercial use, and particularly for the private owner, the GA-21M is equipped with the Cunningham-Hall high-lift wing and a unique lateral control system which was developed to improve the ship’s general performance, safety and utility.
The high-lift wing allows high top and cruising speeds with low landing speed, steep angles of climb and glide, and short landing and take-off runs. Automatic in operation, the wing is said to save weight and add simplicity to the control system; it insures steadiness in flight, avoids dangerous flight attitudes and gives improved flight characteristics near the stall angle.
The high-lift wing allows high top and cruising speeds with low landing speed, steep angles of climb and glide, and short landing and take-off runs. Automatic in operation, the wing is said to save weight and add simplicity to the control system; it insures steadiness in flight, avoids dangerous flight attitudes and gives improved flight characteristics near the stall angle.
All-metal monocoque construction has been utilized in the fuselage which is smooth-skin covered. Wing structures are also all-metal, covered by a combination of fabric and metal, and control surfaces and wing flaps are metal-framed, fabric covered. Control surfaces and the control system are ball-bearing actuated and the rudder is of the balanced type. The adjustable stabilizer is set above the fuselage, placing it in an effective location and permitting good bracing from below.
Streamlining has been carried out by a full NACA cowl, fillets at the junction of the fuselage and wing, and aft where a streamlined tail wheel is used. Streamlined chassis fairings house the semi-retractable wheels of the undercarriage which has a tread of 6 feet 6 inches. The wheels raise 16 inches into the fairings.
The open cockpit accommodates two persons in a side-by-side seating arrangement. A 10 cubic-foot-capacity baggage compartment is accessible through a door in the top of the fuselage and, from the cockpit, through a door in the seat back. When desired, this compartment is arranged to carry a third person.
Power is supplied by a 145 h.p., Warner Super Scarab engine equipped with an 8-foot diameter Hamilton Standard propeller.
Specifications of the Cunningham-Hall GA-21M are as follows:
Wing span..................30 feet
Overall length.............20 feet
Overall height.............7 feet
Wing area..................130 square feet
Wing chord.................56 inches
Weight empty.............1300 pounds
Useful load.................775 pounds
Gross weight..............2075 pounds
Fuel capacity..............32 gallons
Oil capacity................3.75 gallons
Outline drawings of the 145 horsepower Cunningham-Hall
2- place sport monoplane.
Three views of the Cunningham-Hall plane with flaps and wheels lowered.
Aero Digest; New York, NY; January, 1935