Curtiss Model 23 (R-6)

In the 1920s, racing competition was seen by many manufacturers as an excellent way to showcase their designs and, hopefully, garner military contracts. The Model 23 was designed for the U.S. Navy to participate in the 1921 Pulitzer Trophy race in Omaha, Nebraska. The plane won, and Curtiss designs dominated the competition for the next 4 years. In 1922, the U.S. Army decided that it too must have racing aircraft, and ordered two examples of the Model 23 R-6, which won that year's Pulitzer competition. The R-6 also raised the world airspeed record twice.

Subassemblies: Recon Fighter chassis with Good Streamlining +2; Recon Fighter wings +2; 2 fixed wheels +0.

Powertrain: 347-kW HP gasoline engine with 347-kW old prop and 30-gallon fuel tank [Body].

Occ.: 1 XCS Body

Cargo: 4 Body

Armor F RL B T U

Body: 1/2C 1/2C 1/2C 1/2C 1/2C

Wings: 1/2C 1/2C 1/2C 1/2C 1/2C

Wheels: 2/3 2/3 2/3 2/3 2/3

Statistics:

Size: 19'x19'x7.5' Payload: 0.25 tons Lwt.: 1.06 tons

Volume: 88 Maint.: 132 hours Cost: $2,312

HT: 6. HPs: 15 Body, 25 each Wing, 3 each Wheel.

aSpeed: 237 aAccel: 8 aDecel: 8 aMR: 2 aSR: 0

Stall Speed: 56 mph. Take-Off Run 224 yards. Landing Run 314 yards.

gSpeed: 289 gAccel: 14 gDecel: 10 gMR: 1.25 gSR: 2

Ground Pressure: High. 1/6 Off-Road Speed.

Design Notes:

Historical wing area was 136 sf. Recon Plane wings were used in the design as they have nearly identical surface area to the historical value and reduced armor weight. Design aSpeed was 263 mph. Performance calculations were based on historical values for wing area and loaded weight. Fuel capacity was based on a calculation of the plane's routine speed (60% of top speed, or 142 mph), range (283 miles), and design fuel consumption (requiring 29 gallons of fuel). Using the calculated gSpeed at 1/6 Off-Road speed (48 mph) gSpeed is still 86% of stall speed, so the plane could therefore potentially get airborne in a bumpy field, at the GM's discretion.

Variants:

The CR-1 and CR-2 were racing biplanes built for the U.S. Navy for the 1921 Pulitzer Trophy race.

The CR-3 was a floatplane conversion of the CR-2 to compete in the 1928 Schneider Trophy race.

From the Aerodrome for GURPS