Spartan 12W Executive
Spartan 12W Executive
Role Personal luxury transport
National origin United States
Manufacturer Spartan Aircraft Company
First flight circa 1946[1]
Status only one prototype completed
Produced circa 1946
Number built 1
Developed from Spartan Executive

The Spartan 12W Executive was a tricycle gear post-war development of the Spartan 7W Executive, produced by the Spartan Aircraft Company.[2] The 12W was intended to have higher performance and be more economical than the 7W.[1]

Design and development

After World War II, Spartan aircraft Company president J. Paul Getty was unsure of the market potential of a new executive aircraft.[3] After building just one model 12W Executive (NX21962), the manufacturer lost interest in luxury aircraft and focused on constructing travel trailers instead.[4] The sole example produced was owned by Spartan Aircraft and employed at their flight training school in Tulsa, Oklahoma.[1]

The Spartan 12W Executive features magnesium alloy wings and tail surfaces and range extending wing tip-tanks. The magnesium alloy skin quickly corroded and was replaced with aluminum alloy. The tip-tanks were also removed.[1]

Aircraft on display

Spartan Aircraft flight training school eventually sold the Spartan 12W. Over the years, the aircraft passed through a number of private owners' hands. The 12W was restored in 1967 and in 2012 was retired. The 12W is now on static display at the Tulsa Air and Space Museum & Planetarium.[5]

Specifications

Spartan 12W Executive

Data from Aerofiles [1]

General characteristics

  • Crew: 1
  • Capacity: 3 passengers
  • Length: 27 ft 0 in (8.23 m)
  • Wingspan: 39 ft 0 in (11.89 m)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Pratt & Whitney Wasp Junior 9-cyl. air-cooled radial piston engine, 450 hp (340 kW)

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 160 mph (260 km/h, 140 kn)
  • Stall speed: 70 mph (110 km/h, 61 kn)

References

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Eckland, K.O. "American airplanes: Spartan." Aerofiles.com, October 6, 2007. Retrieved: August 27, 2017.
  2. ↑ Taylor 1989, p. 983.
  3. ↑ "Spartan History." spartanexecutive.com, 2003. Retrieved: August 28, 2017.
  4. ↑ Donald 1989, p. 853.
  5. ↑ Stewart, D.R. "One-of-a-kind Spartan Model 12 plane comes home to Tulsa." Tulsa World, September 28, 2012. Retrieved: August 27, 2017.

Bibliography

  • Davisson, Budd. "Spartan Executive." Air Progress, March 1971.
  • Donald, David. Encyclopedia of World Aircraft. Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada: Prospero Books;, 1997. ISBN 978-1-8560-5375-4.
  • Taylor, Michael J. H. Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions, 1989. ISBN 978-1-8517-0324-1.
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