The Bellanca CH-300 Pacemaker monoplane was a later version of
the first Bellanca WB-1 developed in 1925. It was well known in
the 1920s and 1930s for its distances and endurance. The only
aircraft that was its rival in this arena was the
Lockheed Vega.
Two weeks after Lindbergh completed his famous flight across
the Atlantic in the Spirit of St. Louis, Clarence
Chamberlin flew from New York to Germany in a second prototype
of the named the WB-2 Columbia. Canadian Captain J.
Erroll Boyd piloted the Columbia in 1930 on another
crossing of the Atlantic, making the Bellanca monoplane
Columbia the first aircraft to cross the Atlantic twice.
The Bellanca had very good lifting capacity and could fly
significant distances. In 1931, a Bellanca fitted with a Packard
diesel engine set a record for staying aloft for 84 hours and 33
minutes without being refuelled. This record was not broken
until 55 later on the 14 to the 23 December 1986 when a Rutan
Voyager stayed aloft without refuelling for 216 hours (more
than nine days).
Many bush pilots had a Bellanca, and the Royal Canadian Air
Force bought 29 planes in 1929, which they used extensively for
aerial photography.
|