AviaBellanca Aircraft

AviaBellanca Aircraft Corporation is an American aircraft design and manufacturing company. Prior to 1983 it was known as the Bellanca Aircraft Company. The company was founded in 1927 by Giuseppe Mario Bellanca.

History

After Giuseppe Mario Bellanca, the designer and builder of Italy's first aircraft, came to the United States in 1911, he began to design aircraft for a number of firms, including the Maryland Pressed Steel Company, Wright Aeronautical Corporation and the Columbia Aircraft Corporation. Bellanca founded his own company, Bellanca Aircraft Corporation of America, in 1927, sited first in Richmond Hill, New York and moving in 1928 to New Castle (Wilmington), Delaware. In the 1920s and 1930s, Bellanca's aircraft of his own design were known for their efficiency and low operating cost, gaining fame for world record endurance and distance flights. Lindbergh's first choice for his New York to Paris flight was a Bellanca WB-2. The company's insistence on selecting the crew drove Lindbergh to Ryan.

Bellanca 77-140

The Bellanca 77-140 Bomber was a bomber aircraft built in small numbers in the United States in the 1930s. It was a derivative of Bellanca's successful Aircruiser civil transport, but the Aircruiser's single, nose-mounted engine was replaced by twin engines on the upper wing. The United States military were not interested in the type, but the Colombian Air Force bought a small number, including a float-equipped version dubbed the 77-320 Junior. This version also differed from the landplane in having a fully enclosed nose turret in place of the open turret of the 77-140.

Specifications (77-140)

General characteristics

Performance

Armament

Bellanca Viking

The Bellanca Viking and Super Viking are a series of single-engine, four seat, high performance, retractable gear, aircraft manufactured in the USA during the 1960s and 1970s. The aircraft developed through modifications of classic designs by the aviation pioneer Giuseppe Bellanca. A total of 1,356 Vikings have been produced with most production between 1968 and 1975 (1019 planes).

Development and design

The Viking is a derivative of the Bellanca Cruisair, a triple-tailed retractable gear taildragger. The 14-13 Cruisair series was developed into the larger, more powerful 14-19 Cruisemaster in the early 1950s. After the original Bellanca company went out of business, Downer Aircraft took over the type certificate and built the 14-19-2 Cruisemaster by mating the airframe with a Continental O-470 of 230 hp. In 1958, Downer redesigned the airplane with a nosewheel and fuel injected IO-470 of 260 hp, and redesignated it the 260. The 14-19-3 260 retained the wire-braced triple tail into the 1962 model year. After that year the triple tail design was modified to a single tail with the same aggregate surface area, and manufactured as the Model 260A. The later Vikings retain the oversized vertical fin that contributes to the distinctive flying characteristics of the aircraft. The Viking model was born out of discussions at Downer for a bigger version of the "Model 260" with at least 300 horsepower. The company was based in Minnesota and employed skilled craftsman who manufactured the wing from spruce and the new 300 hp model was named the "Viking" in respect to the many Scandinavians of the area.