| PJC-2 | |
|---|---|
Harlow PJC-2 | |
| General information | |
| Type | Four-seat cabinmonoplane |
| National origin | United States |
| Manufacturer | Harlow Aircraft Company |
| Designer | |
| Number built | 11 |
| History | |
| First flight | 1937 |
| Developed into | Harlow PC-5 |
TheHarlow PJC-2 is a 1930s American four-seat cabinmonoplane, designed by Max Harlow.
Max Harlow was an aeronautical engineer and instructor at thePasadena Junior College. Under his tutelage, the aircraft designatedPJC-1 was designed and built as a class project.[1] The PJC-1 first flew on 14 September 1937 atAlhambra, California but it crashed during an extended (more than six turn)spin test with the center of gravity ballasted to the aft limit, as it was going through thecertification process—a problem generally laid at the feet the unusually rigorous spin test requirement and the government test pilot, who bailed out of the airplane after the spin "flattened out." The airplane struck the ground, still in the "flat" (longitudinally level) attitude in a bean field near Mines Field (now Los Angeles International Airport) with considerable damage; although repairable, the PJC-1 was never returned to service. PJC students then built a slightly modified airplane, which limited aileron travel with full aft-stick and incorporated a slightly larger vertical stabilizer. This became the PJC-2 model, serial number 1 certified on 20 May 1938. It was one of the first, if not the first, airplane designed and built in the U.S. with a stressed-skin semi-monocoque structure—a revolutionary design feature for the time. Harlow saw the potential and formed the Harlow Aircraft Company to build PJC-2 aircraft atAlhambra Airport.[2] Four aircraft were impressed intoUnited States Army Air Forces service with the designationUC-80 in 1942, and used by Civil Aeronautics Administration inspectors after WWII.[3]

The PJC-2 was an all-metal low-wingcantilevermonoplane with conventional low-settailplane and a retractabletailwheel landing gear. A tandem two-seat version intended as a military trainer was developed as theHarlow PC-5.
In 1991, 3 PJC-2s were actively flying.[4]
Data from Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1940,[5] The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft[6]
General characteristics
Performance
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
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