| Cloudster | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Role | Two-seat long-range biplane Type of aircraft |
| Manufacturer | Davis-Douglas Company |
| Designer | Donald Douglas |
| First flight | 24 February1921 |
| Retired | 1926 |
| Status | Destroyed |
| Number built | 1 |
TheDouglas Cloudster was a 1920sAmericanbiplane aircraft. It was the only product of theDavis-Douglas Company, and was designed to make the first non-stop flight coast-to-coast across the United States.
The Davis-Douglas Company was formed in July 1920 to enableDonald Douglas to design and build an aircraft capable of non-stop flight coast-to-coast across the United States. David R. Davis provided the financing for the company. The resulting aircraft was theCloudster, a single-bay equal-span biplane of wooden construction designed to carry payload of equivalent weight.[1] It was fabric-covered except for the forwardfuselage, which was clad insheet metal. The aircraft was powered by a 400 hp (298 kW)Liberty V-12piston engine.
The Cloudster first flew on 24 February 1921, the aircraft broke the Pacific Coast altitude record by climbing 19,160 ft (5839 m) on 19 March that year, and attempted the coast-to-coast journey in June. The aircraft failed to make a non-stop journey due to engine failure, it had to make a forced landing atFort Bliss, Texas on 27 June 1921. In 1923, the Cloudster was sold and modified for sightseeing flights, with two additional open cockpits and seats for five passengers replacing one of the fuel tanks. In 1925 it was again sold toT. Claude Ryan, who had it modified further by adding an enclosed cabin with ten seats, the aircraft became the flagship of Ryan's San Diego–to–Los Angeles airline, one of the first scheduled passenger lines in the country. It was subsequently used by a number of operators and flew beer toTijuana, Mexico after the 1926 flood, before it made a forced landing in shallow water off the coast ofEnsenada, Baja California in December 1926. It was damaged beyond repair by the tide before it could be recovered.[2][3][4]
Following the failure of the coast-to-coast flight, Davis lost interest and Douglas went on to form the Douglas Company (later theDouglas Aircraft Company) in July 1921.
Douglas Aircraft would revive the name in 1945 for a proposedgeneral aviation aircraft with apusher propeller, similar to theXB-42, as theCloudster II.[5][6][7][8] The company's last effort in general aviation, it was not a success.[5][9]
Data from McDonnell Douglas aircraft since 1920 : Volume I[3]
General characteristics
Performance
