Curtiss Carrier Pigeon

what is it?

The Curtiss Carrier Pigeon was an American mail plane of the 1920s. A single-engined biplane designed and built to replace World War I surplus aircraft such as the DH-4, the Carrier Pigeon was one of the first aircraft designed specifically for U.S. Airmail service.

🔎How to recognise it: 1 piston engine with propeller · 12.8 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 201 km/htop speed
• size 2,549 kgmax take-off weight

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 101 years ago, in 1925.
• 🏎️Top speed is 1.5× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 12.8 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

1925

number built

—

role

mail aircraft

origin

🇺🇸 United States

engines

1× Liberty L-12

length

8.8 m

wingspan

12.8 m

height

3.7 m

max take-off weight

2,549 kg

top speed

201 km/h

cruise speed

169 km/h

range

—

ceiling

5,090 m

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