Curtiss-Wright CW-12 & CW-16

The Curtiss-Wright CW-12 Sport Trainer and CW-16 Light Sport (also marketed under the Travel Air brand that Curtiss-Wright had recently acquired) were high-performance training aircraft designed by Herbert Rawdon and Ted Wells and built in the United States in the early 1930s.

The CW-12 and CW-16 shared the same basic design as conventional single-bay biplanes with staggered wings braced with N-struts.

The pilot and instructor sat in tandem, open cockpits, the forward cockpit of the CW-12 having a single seat, while the CW-16’s forward cockpit could seat two passengers’ side-by-side.

Both versions of the aircraft were available in a variety of engine choices, and some CW-16s were exported as trainers to the air forces of Bolivia and Ecuador.

Variants

CW-12K 

Version powered by 125 hp (93 kW) Kinner K-5 engine.

Two built.

CW-12Q 

Version powered by 90 hp (67 kW) Wright-built de Havilland Gipsy.

26 built.

CW-12W 

Version powered by 110 hp (82 kW) Warner Scarab.

12 built + 1 replica.

CW-16E 

Version powered by Wright J-6 Whirlwind 5 engine.

10 built.

CW-16K 

Version powered by Kinner B-5 engine.

11 built.

CW-16W 

Version powered by Warner Scarab engine (1 built).

Specifications

CW-12Q

Crew

2

Length

21 ft 5 in (6.53 m)

Wingspan

28 ft 10 in (8.79 m)

Height

8 ft 10 in (2.69 m)

Wing area

206 sq ft (19.1 m²)

Airfoil

Clark Y (15%)

Empty weight

1,071 lb (486 kg)

Gross weight

1,725 lb (782 kg)

Powerplant

1 × Curtiss-Wright license-built de Havilland Gipsy 4-cylinder air-cooled inline piston engine,

90 hp (67 kW)

Propellers

2-bladed fixed-pitch propeller

Performance

Maximum speed

105 mph (169 km/h, 91 kn)

Cruise speed

88 mph (142 km/h, 76 kn)

Range

390 mi (630 km, 340 nmi)

Service ceiling

12,000 ft (3,700 m)

Rate of climb

600 ft/min (3.0 m/s).