| K-47 Pathfinder | |
|---|---|
 K-47 "American Legion" | |
| General information | |
| Type | Airliner |
| National origin | United States |
| Manufacturer | Keystone Aircraft |
| Number built | 2 |
| History | |
| First flight | 1927 |
TheKeystone K-47 Pathfinder was an airliner developed in the United States in the late 1920s, built only in prototype form.
The Pathfinder was an attempt by theKeystone Aircraft Corporation to develop a civil transport version of the successful series of bombers that it was producing for theUnited States Army Air Corps as theLB-5 and its derivatives. Like them, it was a conventional biplane design with engines mounted in nacelles on the lower wing, but also added a third engine, mounted on the nose (as the single engine of theLB-1 had been). A passenger cabin with seating for ten was added to the fuselage.
The first Pathfinder (registered NX179) was chosen by US Navy pilotsNoel Davis andStanton Wooster for their attempt at theOrteig Prize to cross the Atlantic. The standard Liberty engines were replaced byWright J-5s of approximately half their power. Painted yellow, the aircraft was namedAmerican Legion afterthe sponsors of the attempt. On 26 April 1927, a week before their planned departure, the aircraft crashed during a heavily laden test flight fromLangley Field atHampton, Virginia. Unable to climb quickly enough to clear a row of trees, Davis attempted to turn the aircraft, but lost height and was forced to land. Although he succeeded in bringing the aircraft down, he was unable to stop it as it skidded into a nearby bog and was wrecked. Davis and Wooster were both killed, the former's face crushed and the latter's neck broken. The remains of the aircraft were trucked back to Keystone, where it was rebuilt and re-registered (NC1612). It was purchased byBasil Rowe to use for his pioneering air service in theWest Indies,West Indian Aerial Express, christenedSanta Maria. AsPan American expanded its operations into the area,Santa Maria was chartered to fly the first of the airline's mail flights fromKey West toHavana, before Pan Am purchased West Indian Aerial Express outright, and the Pathfinder along with it. The aircraft continued to fly freight for Pan Am for some years before being retired and burned atBrownsville, Texas.
The second Pathfinder (NC5317) was fitted with extensions to its lower wing that was used to carry a neon sign advertising Silver Dust laundry soap through the skies ofNew York City at night during 1928.
Data from Jane's all the World's Aircraft 1928[1]
General characteristics
Performance
