Taylor Chummy

Chummy
Chummy
	Taylor A-2 Chummy in 1928
General information
Type	light utility
Manufacturer	Taylor Brothers Aircraft Company
Designer	C. Gilbert Taylor and Gordon Taylor
Number built	8
History
Manufactured	1927–1930
First flight	February 14, 1928
Developed into	Taylor Cub

The Taylor Chummy was a light utility aircraft made by the Taylor Aircraft Company in the late 1920s. It was the fore-runner of the highly successful Piper Cub series.

Design and development

The Chummy was designed by brothers Clarence Gilbert Taylor and Gordon Taylor in 1928. It is a braced, parasol-wing monoplane with two seats side-by-side in an open cockpit. Power was supplied by a tractor-mounted radial engine. Fixed, tailskid undercarriage was fitted, initially with a through-axle, but later with divided main units. The name "Chummy" was chosen because of the side-by-side seating.

Operational history

The first B-2 prototype was rebuilt with a seven-degree variable-incidence wing for entry into the Guggenheim Safe Airplane Competition under the designation C-2.

The Chummy was expensive and did not sell well, leading to the bankruptcy of the Taylor Brothers company in 1930 after only eight aircraft were built.

Variants

First B-2 Chummy prototype

The same aircraft after conversion to C-2 standard

A-2 Chummy: Two prototypes through-axle main undercarriage. The first, construction number (c/n) 3, was designated Arrowing A-2 Chummy and was powered by a 90 hp (67 kW) Anzani radial engine. The second, c/n 4, was designated Taylor A-2 Chummy and was powered by a 96 hp (72 kW) Ryan-Siemens engine.
B-2 Chummy: Refined version based on the A-2 with divided main undercarriage. Originally offered with a 90 hp (67 kW) Kinner K-5 or 96 hp (72 kW) Ryan-Siemens Yankee 7 engine, though the latter option was later replaced with a 90 hp (67 kW) Brownbach Tiger engine following the completion of the first production aircraft. Two built; two prototypes (c/n 7 and 8) and four production aircraft (c/n 9, 12, 13, and 14), all powered by Kinner engines. Several aircraft had their construction numbers changed after completion; the unflown second prototype (c/n 8) became c/n 10 while the third production aircraft (c/n 13) became c/n 15.
C-2 Chummy: The first prototype B-2 (c/n 7) rebuilt with a variable-incidence wing and assigned a new construction number, c/n 10.

Accidents and incidents

On April 24, 1928, Gordon Taylor crashed A-2 Chummy prototype c/n 4, registered X4901, at an exhibition at Ford Airport in Dearborn, Michigan. His passenger, Aaron Rosenbleet, was killed instantly, and Taylor died of his injuries shortly after reaching hospital. Clarence Taylor witnessed the crash.

Replica

A Taylor Chummy replica is on display at Greater Rochester International Airport.

Specifications (B-2)

Data from

General characteristics

Crew: 1
Capacity: one passenger
Length: 22 ft 6 in (6.86 m)
Wingspan: 34 ft 0 in (10.36 m)
Height: 7 ft 6 in (2.29 m)
Empty weight: 1,082 lb (491 kg)
Gross weight: 1,643 lb (745 kg)
Fuel capacity: 24 U.S. gal (91 L) usable fuel
Powerplant: 1 × Kinner K-5 5-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine, 90 hp (67 kW)
Propellers: 2-bladed fixed-pitch propeller

Performance

Maximum speed: 110 mph (180 km/h, 96 kn)
Cruise speed: 90 mph (140 km/h, 78 kn)
Stall speed: 38 mph (61 km/h, 33 kn) with flaps down
Range: 400 mi (640 km, 350 nmi) with reserve fuel
Rate of climb: 750 ft/min (3.8 m/s) at sea level

References

1 2 3 4 Davisson, Budd (May 25, 2022). "Cub Clones — The Icon That Keeps on Giving". Experimental Aircraft Association. Retrieved May 27, 2024.
1 2 3 4 5 "Aircraft Types". The Vintage Piper Aircraft Club. Retrieved May 27, 2024.
1 2 3 4 5 "The Airplane Division". Aviation. April 16, 1928.
1 2 "Piper Aircraft - 75 Years Young". Piper Flyer Association. November 2012. Retrieved May 27, 2024.
1 2 3 Peperell 1987, p. 9–13.
1 2 Peperell 1987, p. 9–11.
1 2 Peperell 1987, p. 11–13.
↑ Peperell 1987, p. 13.
1 2 3 "2 Killed in Crash at Detroit Airport". The Windsor Star. Windsor, Ontario. April 25, 1928. p. 20.
1 2 Peperell 1987, p. 11.
↑ "Frederick Douglass Greater Rochester International Airport (ROC) - Art & Culture Exhibits". www.rocairport.com. Archived from the original on 2025-12-12. Retrieved 2026-03-20.

Bibliography

Peperell, Roger W.; Smith, Colin M. (1987). Piper Aircraft and their forerunners. Air-Britain (Historians) Limited. ISBN 0-85130-149-5.

[davisson-1] 1 2 3 4 Davisson, Budd (May 25, 2022). "Cub Clones — The Icon That Keeps on Giving". Experimental Aircraft Association. Retrieved May 27, 2024.

[piperclub-2] 1 2 3 4 5 "Aircraft Types". The Vintage Piper Aircraft Club. Retrieved May 27, 2024.

[awst1-3] 1 2 3 4 5 "The Airplane Division". Aviation. April 16, 1928.

[75years-4] 1 2 "Piper Aircraft - 75 Years Young". Piper Flyer Association. November 2012. Retrieved May 27, 2024.

[FOOTNOTEPeperell19879–13-5] 1 2 3 Peperell 1987, p. 9–13.

[FOOTNOTEPeperell19879–11-6] 1 2 Peperell 1987, p. 9–11.

[FOOTNOTEPeperell198711–13-7] 1 2 Peperell 1987, p. 11–13.

[FOOTNOTEPeperell198713-8] Peperell 1987, p. 13.

[2killed-9] 1 2 3 "2 Killed in Crash at Detroit Airport". The Windsor Star. Windsor, Ontario. April 25, 1928. p. 20.

[FOOTNOTEPeperell198711-10] 1 2 Peperell 1987, p. 11.

[11] "Frederick Douglass Greater Rochester International Airport (ROC) - Art & Culture Exhibits". www.rocairport.com. Archived from the original on 2025-12-12. Retrieved 2026-03-20.