Orenco D

The Orenco D was an American biplane fighter aircraft, designed by Orenco and built by Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company. It was the first fighter type of completely indigenous design (as opposed to foreign types or American-built versions of foreign types) to enter US military service.

Development
The D prototype was offered to the US Army Air Service at the end of 1918. It was a two-bay biplane of all-wood construction, covered with fabric. It was powered by a 300 hp Hispano-Suiza engine. The pilot of the first flight test, Clarence B. Coombs, gave it a positive evaluation: "This aircraft performs better than the Sopwith Camel and Snipe, the Thomas-Morse, the Nieuport and Morane Parasol, the Spad and S.V.A." The military ordered 50 production aircraft, but put the production order up for bidding. Curtiss Aircraft entered the lowest bid and built the fighter, modifying it slightly with a wider wingspan and redesigned ailerons. The first Curtiss Orenco D flew on 26 August 1921.

Variants

 * Orenco D : Prototype, four built


 * Curtiss Orenco D : Production aircraft, 50 built


 * Orenco D-2 : Prototype based on Curtiss Orenco D. three built, under military designation PW-3.

Operators

 * United States Army Air Service
 * United States Army Air Service

Specifications
Data from: Flight: The Aircraft Engineer & Airships, "Some 'Orenco' (U.S.A) Aeroplanes", 1 April 1920, pp. 363–366.

Curtiss Orenco D
Data quoted here may differ in some respects from that quoted by Angelucci.

General characteristics

 * crew: one
 * length: 21 ft
 * Height: 8 ft
 * Upper Wing
 * Span: 30 ft
 * Area: 142 sqft


 * Lower wing
 * Span: 28 ft
 * Area: 119 sqft


 * Total wing area (including ailerons): 261 sqft
 * Wing gap: 52 in
 * Wing stagger: 12 in
 * Empty weight: 1666 lb
 * Gross weight: 2432 lb
 * Powerplant: one × Wright-Hispano H 300 hp
 * Fuel Capacity: 330 lb

Performance

 * Speed
 * At sea level: 147 mph
 * At 10000 ft: 139 mph


 * Time to climb
 * To 5000 ft: 4 min 20 s
 * To 10000 ft: 8 min 54 s
 * To 15000 ft: 16 min 45 s


 * Service ceiling: 12450 ft
 * Range at full speed: 275 mi

Armament

 * 2 × .30 in machine guns

General characteristics

 * crew: one
 * length: 21 ft
 * Height: 8 ft
 * Upper Wing
 * Span: 28 ft
 * Area: 170 sqft


 * Lower wing
 * Span: 25 ft
 * Area: 64 sqft


 * Total wing area (including ailerons): 234 sqft
 * Wing gap: 49 in
 * Wing stagger: 27 in
 * Empty weight: 1345 lb
 * Gross weight: 2256 lb
 * Powerplant: one × Wright-Hispano H 300 hp
 * Fuel Capacity: 353 lb

Performance

 * Speed
 * At sea level: 165 mph
 * At 10000 ft: 158 mph


 * Time to climb
 * To 5000 ft: 4 min
 * To 10000 ft: 8 min 30 s
 * To 15000 ft: 13 min 50 s


 * Range at full speed: 330 mi