Brunner-Winkle Bird


The Brunner-Winkle Bird was a three-seat taxi and joy-riding aircraft produced in the US from 1928 to 1931.

Design and operation

The Model A version was powered by the ubiquitous Curtiss OX-5, and featured a welded steel-tube truss fuselage with metal and fabric skinning. The wings, constructed of Spruce and plywood were also covered with metal and fabric skinning. The Model A had a reasonable performance for an OX-5 powered aircraft. The Model A's ease of handling led to its entry into the 1929 Guggenheim Safety Airplane contest, where it was awarded the highest ratings for a standard production aircraft.
The Model A was awarded Group 2 approval no 2-33 in January 1929 for the first nine aircraft serial no. 1000 to 1008. Aircraft serial no. 1009 upwards were manufactured under Air Transport Certificate no. 101.
The Model B followed on from the initial Bird design and was fitted with the uncowled Kinner radial engine. Production aircraft were designated BK.

Variants

Data from: aerofiles.com
at Chino, California
;Model A:original production version with Curtiss OX-5 engine
;Model AT:version with Milwaukee Tank engine
;Model B:version with Kinner K-5 engine
;;Model BK:production version of Model B
;Model C:version with Wright J-5 engine
;;Model CC:version with Curtiss R-600 Challenger engine
;;Model CJ:version with Jacobs LA-1 engine
;;Model CK:version with Kinner B-5 engine
;;Model RK:export version of Model CK
;Model E:4-5 seat version with enclosed cabin and Kinner B-5 engine
;Model F:version with Packard DR-980

Specifications (Bird Model A)

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era