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Subject: Spartan Executive
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spartan_Executive
The Spartan 7W Executive was an Excutive class cabin monoplane aircraft produced
by the Spartan Aircraft Company during the late 1930s and early 1940s. The 7W
featured an all-metal fuselage as well as a retractable undercarriage. The 7W
Executive was popular with affluent buyers worldwide.
Designed expressly for the executive market, the Spartan Executive was
configured for both performance and comfort. Built during the Great Depression,
the 7W was the brainchild of company-founder William G. Skelly of Skelly Oil who
desired a fast, comfortable aircraft to support his tastes and those of his rich
oil-executive colleagues. Through a series of acquisitions, J. Paul Getty took
over ownership of the Spartan Aircraft Company in 1935, and directed its
fortunes from that point to 1968.
The interior of the 7W was spacious and featured 18 in (46 cm) of slide-back
seat room for front-seat passengers, arm rests, ash trays, dome lighting, deep
cushions, cabin heaters, ventilators, soundproofing, large windows, and interior
access to the 100 lb (45 kg) capacity luggage compartment. The interior could be
configured for four or five passengers.
The 10th airframe in the production run was modified into a military
demonstrator, the Spartan 7W-F, incorporating two forward-firing .30 calibre
machine guns mounted on the port side near the firewall and firing through the
propeller arc through a synchronized mechanism. A further modification was to
provide a gunner's station at a dorsal hatch on the roof with a windscreen and
machine gun fitted. Provision was also made for for bomb racks under the wings.
The military experiment was short-lived and the aircraft was reverted to a stock
model and sold to aviatrix Arlene Davis who entered the Executive (NC17605) in
the 1939 Bendix Air Races. Davis was the first woman to complete the race flying
solo and able to take the high-performance aircraft to fifth place.
Including the 7X prototypes, 36 7W Executives were built before production was
halted in 1940. Following up on a modified Spartan Executive military
demonstrator, a two-seat military variant of the 7W Executive, named the Spartan
8W Zeus, was developed. The aircraft featured a greenhouse canopy covering a
tandem cockpit and was powered by a more powerful 600 hp (447 kW) Pratt &
Whitney Wasp engine. A small production run of four or five examples was made
but with no official interest, the project waned.
Role
Personal luxury transport
National origin
United States
Manufacturer
Spartan Aircraft Company
First flight
March 8, 1936
Introduction
1936
Produced
1936 - 1940
Number built
34
Unit cost
US$ 23,500
Variants
Spartan 12W
In 1942, a total of 16 7W Executives were impressed into military service with
the United States Army Air Corps. The 7Ws served as executive transports for
military staff as the UC-71.
A post-World War II effort to rekindle interest in the Executive series, under
the re-branded Spartan 12-W designation, failed to gain interest. Only one
Model 12 was completed, and today is part of the Tulsa Air and Space Museum &
Planetarium collection.
Notable owners of 7Ws included aircraft designer and aviator Howard Hughes,
wealthy industrialist J. Paul Getty, and King Ghazi of Iraq. King Ghazi's
Spartan Executive was designated "Eagle of Iraq" and was outfitted with his Coat
of Arms, an extra-luxurious interior and customized features.
Specifications (Spartan 7W Executive)
General characteristics
Crew: one, pilot
Capacity: 3 or 4 passengers
Length: 26 ft 10 in (8.18 m)
Wingspan: 39 ft 0 in (11.89 m)
Height: 8 ft 0 in (2.44 m)
Empty weight: 3,400 lb (1,545 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 4,400 lb (1,996 kg)
450 hp (336 kW)
Performance
Maximum speed: 223 knots (257 mph, 414 km/h)
Cruise speed: 186 knots (215 mph, 346 km/h)
Range: 870 nm (1,000 miles, 1,610 km)
Service ceiling: 24,000 ft (7315 m)
Rate of climb: 1,080 ft/min (330 m/min)
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