Packard-Le Père LUSAC-11

what is it?

The LUSAC-11 ("Lepère United States Army Combat") is an early American two-seat fighter aircraft. It was a French design, commissioned and built in the United States during World War I and ordered in large numbers by the United States Army Air Corps, but these were canceled at the end of the war, and only 30 were built. The type was used for experimental purposes, setting several altitude records during the 1920s.

🔎How to recognise it: 1 piston engine with propeller · 12.7 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 214 km/htop speed
• size 1,699 kgmax take-off weight
• built 30made 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 108 years ago, in 1918.
• 🏎️Top speed is 1.6× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 12.7 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

1918

number built

30

role

fighter aircraft

origin

🇺🇸 United States of America

makers

Engineering Division

engines

1× Liberty L-12

crew

2

length

7.7 m

wingspan

12.7 m

height

3.2 m

max take-off weight

1,699 kg

top speed

214 km/h

cruise speed

190 km/h

range

—

ceiling

6,157 m

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