The Bellanca 28-70 was a long-range air racer designed for James Fitzmaurice of Ireland, who christened it Irish Swoop. Although built for the 1934 MacRobertson Race from England to Australia, it never completed any long-distance race, but ultimately inspired a high-speed bomber.
Design and development
To prepare for the 1934 England-Australia race, Col. James “Fitz” Fitzmaurice, formerly of the Irish Free State Air Force, travelled to the United States in the spring to obtain a suitable air racer. He sought out Giuseppe Mario Bellanca who, not having a suitable aircraft already in hand, proposed to build a one-off custom aircraft for $30,000.
In May 1934, Fitzmaurice committed to the a new aircraft, which would be called the Bellanca 28-70. Bellanca used a conventional wooden frame with cloth covering with a distinctive “set-back cockpit” racing profile of the 1930s. Powered by a Pratt & Whitney 700 hp double-row Wasp Jr., the long streamlined fuselage merged a tandem cockpit area into a low-wing monoplane configuration with retractable landing gear. While designed with a fuel capacity of 400 gallons, a total of 600 gallons of fuel could be loaded, for extended range.
Operational history
Fitzmaurice and his co-pilot, Eric “Jock” Bonar conducted the first test flight on 1 September 1934, which showed problems in aileron controls. After modifications, the aircraft, painted as “race 29,” was shipped to Bremerhaven, due to difficulties in unloading in Southampton. Christened the “Irish Swoop,” Fitzmaurice and Bonar took off on 9 October, arriving in Great Britain barely in time for the start of the race.
Because the Bellanca exceeded its specified 400 gallon fuel capacity (now carrying 600 gallons) and had not been re-certified, the MacRobertson Race rules committee imposed a crippling penalty, forcing Fitzmaurice to withdraw hours before the race.
After being re-certified for its new configuration, Fitzmaurice and Bonar undertook another long-distance record flight on 29 October 1934, trying to break the London-Baghdad record. However, over Belgium, problems with a fairing and the cowling ended the attempt. The Bellanca was shipped back to the US, but was badly damaged in a landing accident on 15 April 1935 when a gust of wind flipped the aircraft on its back.
In 1936, the aircraft was rebuilt with a 900hp P&W Twin Wasp and redesignated the 28-90. Purchased by British long-distance air racer James Mollison for $28,000, he renamed the aircraft Dorothy and used the Bellanca for a new transatlantic speed record, but in 1937 sold the aircraft to the Republican government in Spain. The Bellanca 28-90 Flash was developed into an American bomber in the 1930s for export to Spain to take part in the Spanish Civil War. Although it never reached Spain, the order was diverted to China where the aircraft briefly saw service. Later, a new batch ended up in Mexico. A total of 43 aircraft were produced.
from Aero Digest, April, 1935:
Bellanca Aircraft Corporation, New Castle, Delaware
• Two-place low-wing monoplane. P. & W. Twin-row Wasp Junior engine, 750 horsepower.
Span 46 feet 1.75 inches. Length overall 25 feet 11 inches. Height 8 feet 8 inches. Wing area 279 square feet.
Power loading 11.3 pounds per horsepower. Wing loading 29 pounds per square foot.
Empty weight 4076 pounds. Useful load 4284 pounds. Payload 736 pounds. Gross weight 8350 pounds. Fuel capacity 600 gallons. Oil capacity 40 gallons.
Maximum speed 256 miles per hour. Cruising speed 224 miles per hour. Landing speed 82 miles per hour. Service ceiling 26,000- feet. Rate of climb 1540 feet per minute. Cruising range 3085 miles.
Fuselage: chrome molybdenum steel tubing, welded; spruce fairing strips; fabric covered. Wing: spruce spars, plywood ribs, fabric covered; bracing is by streamlined tie rods on the exterior. Tail group: elevators and rudder are of dural structure, fabric covered; stabilizer and fin are wood construction, plywood covered; trim tabs on elevators are adjustable in flight; trim tab on rudder is adjustable on the ground. Fully retractable landing gear, hydraulically-operated; equipped with 32 X 6 Goodrich tires, Bendix wheels and hydraulic brakes, oleo shock absorbers. Engine and plane con,trol pulleys are mounted on ball bearings; others are of cast aluminum, bronze bushed. Two streamlined cabane struts are below the fuselage for attachment of flying wires.
Standard equipment includes navigation and instrument lights, Hamilton Standard controllable-pitch propeller, Exide battery, engine cowl.
Instruments: Sperry gyro-horizon, Sperry directional gyro, tachometer, oil temperature gauge, oil pressure gauge, manifold pressure gauge, altimeters, magnetic compass, air speed indicators, rate of climb indicator, turn and bank indicator, fuel gauges, landing gear retraction indicator. Also see data in October, 1934, AERO DIGEST.