Fairchild KR-34

Fairchild KR-34
KR-34
Role	Utility biplane
Manufacturer	Kreider-Reisner Aircraft Fairchild Aircraft
First flight	1928

The Kreider-Reisner Challenger (later the Fairchild KR series) was an American utility biplane aircraft designed and produced by the Kreider-Reisner Aircraft Company, which was later taken over by the Fairchild Aircraft Company.

Development[]

The Challenger was related to the earlier Waco 10, later renamed as the Waco GXE. A poorly documented Kreider-Reisner aircraft, the C-1, was used to modify the Waco in stages to the Challenger.^[1]

The Challenger was a conventional mixed-construction biplane with a fixed tailskid landing gear. It had two open tandem cockpits for a pilot (at the rear), and passenger (forward) and was powered by a 90 hp (67 kW) Curtiss OX-5 inline engine. A number of variants were built designated the C-3 Challenger and C-4 Challenger which had detailed differences and different engines fitted. Late in 1928 the company introduced a new and slightly smaller design designated the C-6 Challenger.

In 1929 the company was bought by the Fairchild Aircraft Company who continued the production of the C-4 as the Fairchild KR-34 and the C-6 as the Fairchild KR-21. Although not built by Fairchild the C-2 was redesignated the Fairchild KR-31.

To act as an engine testbed a KR-21 was modified to use a Fairchild 6-390 engine (later named Ranger) and changes were made to the wing and landing gear geometry. The modified aircraft was known as the Fairchild KR-125. In 1931 a similar aircraft without the geometry changes but with a Ranger engine was sold under the designation KR-135.

In 1930, the KR-34CA, a military version of the Fairchild KR-34 based on the Kreider-Reisner C-4C Challenger design, was built in Farmingdale, New York. A light attack craft, it had two .30 caliber Browning machine guns mounted on the nose, firing through the propellers. The Chinese version had bomb racks under the fuselage. Two of this military version of the Fairchild KR-34 were sold to the warlord generals Liu Wenhui and Liu Xiang in Szechwan Province.

Variants[]

Fairchild type numbers in brackets^[1]

Kreider-Reisner C-4C Challenger

C-2 Challenger (KR-31)

Initial production version, 90 hp (67 kW) Curtiss OX-5 V-8 engine

C-3 Challenger

C-2 with detail changes and 110 hp (82 kW) Warner Scarab radial engine

C-4 Challenger (KR-34)

C-2 with detail changes and 130 hp (97 kW) .

C-6 Challenger (KR-21)

Smaller (6% span reduction) version of C-2 with 110 hp (82 kW) Warner Scarab.

KR-21B

KR-34CA

1930 attack aircraft version of the C-4C^{[citation needed]}

KR-125

One KR-21 modified to an engine test bed for the 125 hp (93 kW) Fairchild 6-390.

KR-135

Production version of KR-21 with inline engine.^{[citation needed]}

Parks P-1

Challenger C-2 with radiator between undercarriage legs. About 45 built.^[2]

Parks P-2

Challenger with 115 hp (86 kW) Axelson radial and split-axle undercarriage. Parks P-2A had 165 hp (123 kW) radial. Less than 20 built.^[2]

Ryan Speedster

later name for Parks P-2 and Parks 2A .^[2][3]

Parks P-2A with wide track undercarriage. Seven built.^[4][5]

Specifications (KR-34)[]

Data from The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985), 1985, Orbis Publishing, Page 1674.

General characteristics

• Crew: two
• Length: 23 ft 2 in (7.06 m)
• Wingspan: 30 ft 1 in (9.17 m)
• Height: 9 ft 3 in (2.82 m)
• Wing area: 285 sq ft (26.48 m²)
• Empty weight: 1,524 lb (691 kg)
• Gross weight: 2,368 lb (1,074 kg)
• Powerplant: 1 × Wright J-6 Whirlwind Five 5-cylinder radial piston engine , 165 hp (123 kW)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 120 mph (193 km/h, 100 kn)
• Range: 510 mi (821 km, 440 nmi)
• Service ceiling: 14,000 ft (4,265 m)

References[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fairchild KR-34.

• Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions.
• The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985), 1985, Orbis Publishing, Page 1674