Culver PQ-14 Cadet

Culver PQ-14 Cadet, drone télécommandé de 1940 voulu par l'USAAC, vu sur Wikipedia de langue anglaise. Merci !

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In 1940, the U.S. Army Air Corps drew up a requirement for a radio-controlled target drone for training anti-aircraft artillery gunners.

The first aircraft in a series of [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] was a modification of the Culver LFA Cadet which eventually led to the PQ-14 series used throughout [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] and beyond.


Design and development


Culver proposed a modification of its civilian Model LFA Cadet which the Army purchased as the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

The success of the PQ-8 led to the development of the "NRD"; a single PQ-8 was converted to the new configuration and tested by the USAAF as the XPQ-14.

Larger and faster than the PQ-8, the PQ-14 also had retractable landing gear and fuselage, wings and tail components made of wood with stressed plywood skin.

This prototype was followed by YPQ-14A service test aircraft and 1,348 PQ-14A production models.

Of the latter, 1,198 were transferred to the US Navy, which designated them as TD2C-1 with the decidedly unattractive name Turkey.

Dakota & Q-14B piloté

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Q-14B pilotés en formation


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The YPQ-14B was a slightly heavier variant; a total of 25 were produced before production shifted to the PQ-14B.

A total of 594 PQ-14Bs served as target drones for the USAAF. A single PQ-14B was converted to use an O-300-9 engine and designated XPQ-14C.

After [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], the Culver company developed the XPQ-15 from their Model V light aircraft.

After only four were delivered the company went bankrupt in 1946.

Operational history

The XPQ-14 was first flown in 1942 and began to be received in training units shortly after.

The aircraft was flown unmanned, controlled by radio, but was flown by a pilot for ferry flights, utililizing a rudimentary control panel installed for that purpose and using their parachutes as a seat.

Docile and easy to fly, the aircraft was finished in a bright red target color scheme although operationally, a silver or
red finish was applied. Without a pilot they were flown from a "mother ship" aircraft.

The typical mother ship was a [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

Despite their short lifespan, the aircraft performed well and the Franklin engine was considered "trouble-free" .

Most of the Culver target aircraft were "blasted out of the sky" by Army anti-aircraft gunners but a dozen or more survived and were surplused after 1950.

Flown as a recreational aircraft, their new owners found that the aircraft had a sprightly performance.

One is preserved as a flying example at the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] in [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], another is part of the collection at the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] and a third N5526A, that flew to airshows throughout the 197os holding the last airworthiness certificate is displayed at the Airpower Museum at [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

Liberator et 2 PQ-14

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C-47 & PQ-14A

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Bibliography

• Mondey, David. American Aircraft of World War II (Hamlyn Concise Guide). London: Bounty Books, 2006. [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].
  
• Mormillo, Frank B. "Defenceless Warrior: Culver's PQ-14 Drone." Air Enthusiast Issue 93, May/June 2001.