| Rearwin Ken-Royce | |
|---|---|
 Rearwin Ken-Royce in Aero Digest April 1929 | |
| General information | |
| Type | General aviation |
| National origin | United States |
| Manufacturer | Rearwin Airplanes |
| Designer | |
| Number built | 7 |
| History | |
| Manufactured | 1929-1937 |
| First flight | January 1929 |
TheRearwin Ken-Royce was an American three-seat sport/touringbiplane built byRearwin Airplanes first inSalina, Kansas thenKansas City. It was the first airplane built by the company.
Rae Rearwin had touredWichita aircraft manufacturers in the summer of 1927 and resolved to start an aircraft manufacturing business. After failing to hireHerb Rawdon away fromTravel Air Corporation, he hired a young engineer Rawdon had suggested. Work on the company's first airplane began in an old garage in Salina, Kansas. The airplane, the Ken-Royce, was completed in January 1929. The name was both homage to Rae Rearwin's two sons, and a play on the nameRolls-Royce, implying a quality product.[1][2]
The first aircraft was finished before a factory or financial backing had been set up. After both were found, further Ken-Royces were built inKansas City.[2]
The Ken-Royce was a three-seat sport/touring biplane with pilot and passengers seated in tandem. Dual controls were optional, as was the choice of tail skid or tailwheel for thelanding gear. Early Ken-Royce's were built with 180 hp (130 kW)Curtiss Challenger engines, whileContinental Motors' first engine, the 170 hp (130 kW) A-70 was substituted after 1930. Production continued until 1937.[2]
The prototype Ken-Royce participated in The All-Kansas Air Tour in 1929, an event with both scored events and timed races. The Tour Chairman characterized the Ken-Royce's performance as "unsurpassed."[2]: 69 The plane was immediately entered in further races in Memphis and Tulsa.
Ruth Nichols then used the prototype in theWomen's Air Derby in 1929. She was forced down outside Wichita because she was unfamiliar with the plane and had emptied the wing fuel tank: but did not realize there was afuselage tank as well. She was again forced down west ofPhoenix when the engine seized. She had to hike for several miles before eventually encountering a car which carried her to a railroad station. She rode to Los Angeles where she recruited a crew to fly another Curtiss Challenger engine out to the desert on aFord Trimotor to replace the ruined engine. The repair was completed and Nichols flew the Ken-Royce to the starting line 30 minutes before the race started. Nichols and the Ken-Royce advanced to second-place by the time the race reachedColumbus. However, on a test flight after adjusting the propeller pitch, the Ken-Royce crashed. It was shipped back to Rearwin by rail.[2]: 74–80
Ken-Royces were entered in theNational Air Races in 1929 and 1930, the Miami Air Races, the Detroit Air Show, and the Pikes Peak Air Meet. One Ken-Royce participated in theFord National Reliability Air Tour, but took 11th in a field of 18.[2]
The third Ken-Royce biplane was sold to the Dallas School of Aviation, and was delivered by an aviator working for theAmerican Eagle company namedJean LaRene. Aflight instructor and rated transport pilot, she flew the Ken-Royce in the 1931 and 1932 Women's Air Derby. In 1940, she purchased the plane back from a private owner. Today it is the only Ken-Royce to survive.[2]: 88–90 [3]
Data from RearwinAirplanes.com[1]
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Data from[1]
General characteristics
Performance
