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Type of aircraft From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Northrop Beta was an American single-engine, all-metal, low-wing sporting monoplane built in 1931.[1]
| Northrop Beta | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Northrop Beta 3-view drawing from L'Aerophile Salon 1932 | |
| Role | Sporting Monoplane |
| Manufacturer | Northrop |
| Designer | Don R. Berlin |
| First flight | 3 March 1931 |
| Number built | 2 (1 Beta 3 and 1 Beta 3D)[1] |
| Variants | Northrop Alpha Northrop Gamma |
The Beta was a two-seater with a 160 hp (119 kW) Menasco Buccaneer inline engine. The first aircraft registered as NX963Y (later NC963Y) crashed in California. The second aircraft, N12214, was built as a single-seater and fitted with a 300 hp (224 kW) Pratt & Whitney Wasp Jr. radial engine, and became the first aircraft of such power to exceed 200 mph (322 km/h).[1] Only two were built.
The aircraft was flown to Wichita for sister company Stearman Aircraft to use as a demonstrator but with the poor economy at the time, none were sold. The aircraft was sold to a wealthy pilot in New York and during its delivery, it passed through Wright Field in order to allow a thorough examination by Army Air Corps Engineers as the Air Corps was still using obsolete biplanes.
After being rarely flown during 1932, the aircraft was sold to a new owner who kept it at Roosevelt Field until it was flipped over at a nearby airport. The aircraft was repaired at the Stearman factory in Wichita and used as an experimental test platform for various flap designs until it crashed due to a wing structural failure on May 4, 1934.
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