Consolidated P-30

what is it?

The Consolidated P-30 (PB-2) was a 1930s United States two-seat fighter aircraft. An attack version called the A-11 was also built, along with 2 Y1P-25 prototypes and YP-27, Y1P-28, and XP-33 proposals. The P-30 is significant for being the first fighter in United States Army Air Corps service to have retractable landing gear, an enclosed and heated cockpit for the pilot, and an exhaust-driven turbo-supercharger for altitude operation.

🔎How to recognise it: 1 piston engine with propeller · low wing · 13.4 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 443 km/htop speed
• range 818 kmwithout refuelling
• size 2,556 kgmax take-off weight
• built 60made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 92 years ago, in 1934.
• 🏎️Top speed is 3.4× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 13.4 m: about 3 cars parked nose to tail.

piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.

spec sheet

first flight

1934-01

status

retired

number built

60

role

fighter aircraft

origin

🇺🇸 United States

makers

Consolidated Aircraft

engines

1× Curtiss V-1570-61 Conqueror / V-1570-61 Conqueror / V-1570-27 Conqueror / V-1570-57 Conqueror

length

9.1 m

wingspan

13.4 m

height

2.5 m

max take-off weight

2,556 kg

top speed

443 km/h

cruise speed

346 km/h

range

818 km

ceiling

8,530 m

wings

low wing

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.