Bellanca 31-40

31-40 Senior Pacemaker
	CF-DCHReynolds-Alberta Museumc. 2006, photo by Ruud Leeuw
Role	Civil utility aircraft
Manufacturer	Bellanca,Northwest Industries(under licence)
First flight	1935
Number built	ca. 20 + 13 under licence

TheBellanca 31-40 Senior Pacemakerand its derivatives were a family of a six- and eight-seat utility aircraft built in theUnited Statesin the late 1930s. They were the final revision of the original late 1920sWright-Bellanca WB-2design. The model numbers used by Bellanca in this period reflected the wing area (in this case, 310 square feet) andenginehorsepower (400 and up in this series), each divided by ten. Like their predecessors, these were high-wing bracedmonoplaneswith conventional tailwheelundercarriage.

A single Senior Skyrocket was bought by theUnited States Navyin1938for use as a utility transport, designatedJE-1.Senior Skyrockets were also built under licence byNorthwest IndustriesinCanadafollowingWorld War II.

In 2007, a single example remains extant - the first Canadian-built aircraft (registrationCF-DCH). It is preserved at theReynolds-Alberta Museum.^[1]

Variants

31-40 Senior Pacemaker-Wright Cycloneengine, 400 hp (298 kW).
31-42 Senior Pacemaker- Fitted with a redesigned tail surface, accommodation for one pilot and five passengers, powered by a 550-hp (410-kW)Pratt & Whitney WaspS3H1 radial piston engine.
31-50 Senior Skyrocket-Pratt & Whitney Hornetengine, 550 hp (410 kW).
- L-11- One 31-50 impressed into service by the United States Army Air Forces in Alaska in 1942.
31-55 Senior Skyrocket
- JE-1- Senior Skyrocket version for US Navy with 570 hp (425 kW) engine.
- de Luxe Senior Skyrocket- 31-55 with improved instrumentation and superior interior and exterior finishes, powered by a 525-hp (391-kW)Pratt & Whitney Waspradial piston engine.
- Model 31-55A- Built under licence in Canada by Northwest Industries.

Operators

United States

Norway

Widerøes Flyveselskap

Specifications (31-55 Senior Skyrocket)

Data fromAmerican Planes and Engines for 1939

General characteristics

Crew:1
Capacity:5 passengers
Length:27 ft 11 in (8.51 m)
Wingspan:50 ft 6 in (15.39 m)
Height:8 ft 6 in (2.59 m)
Wing area:359.0 sq ft (33.35 m²)
Empty weight:3,440 lb (1,560 kg)
Gross weight:5,600 lb (2,540 kg)
Fuel capacity:200 US gal (170 imp gal; 760 L)
Powerplant:1 ×Pratt & Whitney Waspair-cooled 9-cylinder radial engine, 550 hp (410 kW)

Performance

Maximum speed:190 mph (310 km/h, 170 kn) at 5,000 ft (1,500 m)
Cruise speed:180 mph (290 km/h, 160 kn) at 12,000 ft (3,700 m)
Stall speed:64 mph (103 km/h, 56 kn)
Range:600 mi (970 km, 520 nmi)
Service ceiling:25,000 ft (7,600 m)
Rate of climb:1,240 ft/min (6.3 m/s)

References

^"Aviation".Reynolds Museum.Government of Alberta.Retrieved1 December2019.

"American Planes and Engines for 1939: Airplanes of 6 or more Seats".Aviation.Vol. 38, no. 2. February 1939. pp. 46–47.
Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989).Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation.London: Studio Editions. pp. 149–50.
aerofiles.com

[1] "Aviation".Reynolds Museum.Government of Alberta.Retrieved1 December2019.

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