Ahead of its time? The Custer channel wing concept
02.11.2024
Google Banner Ad
In 1929 Willard Ray Custer a USA citizen born in Pennsylvania applied for and was granted a patent for his rather unconventional wing.
Custer's wing is based on the understanding that an aircraft's lift comes chiefly from the low pressure generated on the upper surface by the locally enhanced higher air velocity. This latter may be the result of the movement of the aircraft through the air or, when lift at low air speeds is important for short take-off performance, produced by engine power.
His unique design formed a half circle immediately below the engine and in front of a pusher propeller. Thus, the propeller draws air through the channel, reducing pressure and producing lift. Custer wing and powerplant combination design in addition to just moving an airplane's wings through the air, drew air across the top of the wing at a much higher velocity than the air below draws thus reducing pressure and producing lift.
Custer first prototype was the CCW -1 Bumblebee, a small single-seater with two 75 hp engines and propellers that were mounted behind the large circular channel wing sections in a pusher configuration.
Further development from the Custer stable utilised the fuselages of twins that that were then already in production mated to his wing design.
Custer's second prototype saw the light of day in 1947. This time the donor aircraft was a Taylorcraft BC-12. She flew for an additional 100 hours of testing. Despite impressive take-off performance of under 50 feet, this very light version of the channel wing did not appreciably improve on the take-off and slow flight of the very light Piper Cubs of the day.
Custer's CCW-5 a twin-engine, 5-seat aircraft was the third and last of a series of his channel wing designs. The CCW-5 consisted of the fuselage of a Baumann Aircraft Brigadier that was mated to Custer's wing design.
The whole center section of the Brigadier was replaced with a pair of channels, starting at roots in the lower part of the fuselage. Only beyond the channels did the conventional wings regain their mid-wing configuration.
Two 225 hp (168 kW) Continental O-470 flat six engine was mounted on slender vertical and horizontal struts at the mid sections of each the channels, on the mid-wing line. These drove constant speed pusher propellers.
The first of two CCW-5s flew on 13 July 1953 and was piloted by Walker Davidson at Oxnard, California. Claims circulated that the CCW-5 could take off in three seconds after a 100-foot roll and fly very controllably at speeds between 22 and 200 mph. Its low-speed handling was excellent, the stall gentle, and landings short.
In September 1964 during one of the promotional flights Kevin Brown, Editor of Popular Mechanics, flew the aircraft. He was quoted as saying; “as the 'plane loses speed, the nose comes up to hold altitude, and power is put back on. It's like releasing the clutch and applying the accelerator in a stick-shift auto”.
She subsequently flew for close to 250 hours of test and customer flights. Test flying was completed in 1956 when production was scheduled to begin. However, the lack of funds stopped this from happening. It did not stop the second from being flown extensively all over the during the sixties and into the early seventies in search of business development and markets.
In 1954, the second production prototype was dismantled and fortunately found its way to the Mid-Atlantic Air Museum in Reading, Pennsylvania where it is currently on display. Plans are afoot that should the necessary funds be raised to restore it to static display condition.
