St. Louis C2 Cardinal

The St. Louis C2 Cardinal family are a series of light sport monoplanes built by the St. Louis Aircraft Corporation during the peak of the Lindbergh Boom after the Spirit of St. Louis flight of 1927.

Design and development
The Cardinal shares close proportions with the Monocoupe Model 22 also designed and built in St. Louis in 1927. The Cardinal is a two seat high wing conventional geared aircraft with side-by-side configuration seating. The fuselage is constructed with welded steel tubing. The spar is made of spruce and ribs are basswood with aircraft fabric covering. The ailerons are controlled by push-pull tubes. The aircraft were delivered with progressively more powerful engines, the 65 hp LeBlond 5DE, 90 hp and 100 hp Kinner K-5, and one with a Warner 110 hp engine.

Operational history
The prototype was presented at the 1929 Detroit Air Show.

Variants

 * C2-60 Cardinal
 * 1929 - 60 hp LeBlond 5D - 10 built


 * C2-65 Standard Cardinal
 * 1929 - Modified C2-60 [C1111] - 65 hp LeBlond 5DE


 * C2-85 Cardinal
 * 1930 - 85 hp LeBlond 5DF - 1 built [NC559N].


 * C2-90 Senior Cardinal
 * 1929 - 90 hp LeBlond 7D - 6 built, with 1 converted from a C2-60.


 * C2-100 Super Cardinal
 * 1929 - 110 hp Warner Scarab - 1 conversion [X12319] for factory tests.


 * C2-100 Special
 * 1 converted from a C2-110


 * C2-110 Super Cardinal
 * 1929 - 100 hp Kinner K-5 - 5 built with one converted from a C2-60

Surviving aircraft

 * 103 – C2 airworthy at the Western Antique Aeroplane & Automobile Museum in Hood River, Oregon.
 * C-106 – C2-110 airworthy at the Historic Aircraft Restoration Museum in Maryland Heights, Missouri.