Alliance A-1 Argo

The Alliance A-1 Argo was an American-built two-seat biplane of the late 1920s.

A-1 Argo
The sole surviving airworthy A-1 Argo biplane, 1929-built, at the Golden Wings Air Museum at Anoka near Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Role	private owner biplane
National origin	United States
Manufacturer	Alliance Aircraft Corporation
First flight	1929
Status	two survivors, one airworthy
Number built	20

Development

The Alliance Aircraft Corp of Alliance, Ohio was formed in 1928 by a reorganisation of the Hess Aircraft Co. The firm designed the A-1 Argo as a sturdy two-seat open-cockpit biplane for operation by private pilot owners. The Warrior seven-cylinder engine was designed and produced in the same factory at Alliance.^[1]

Operational history

Because of the difficult economic climate then existing, only 20 A-1 Argos were completed. Alliance Aircraft then went into bankruptcy in 1930, being reformed briefly as the Warrior Aeronautical Corporation before that organisation also foundered later the same year.^[1]

Several Argo biplanes continued in operation by private owners until curtailment of civil flying in the USA in 1941. Two aircraft survived in mid-2009 of which NC2M is maintained in airworthy condition by Greg Herrick's Golden Wings Air Museum at Anoka County-Blaine Airport near Minneapolis, Minnesota, and can be visited by prior arrangement.^[2]

Specifications

Data from Aerofiles

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Capacity: 1 passenger
• Length: 20 ft 0 in (6.1 m)
• Wingspan: 28 ft 8 in (8.74 m)
• Gross weight: 650 lb (295 kg)
• Powerplant: 1 × Hess Warrior seven-cylinder radial, 125 hp (93 kW)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 120 mph (192 km/h)
• Cruise speed: 102 mph (164 km/h)
• Stall speed: 44 mph (71 km/h)
• Range: 350-400 miles (563-644 km)

References

Notes

Bibliography

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Alliance Argo.

• Technical details and photograph of the Alliance Argo