Waco C Series - Design

Design

Nearly all of the Waco Custom Cabins were powered by radial engines (there being one factory-built exception, the MGC-8) and the purchaser could specify almost any commercially available engine and Waco would build an aircraft powered by it, hence the profusion of designations, as the first letter indicates the engine installed. Some models were offered in case someone wanted a specific engine but not all were built. Fuselage structure was typical for the period, being welded steel tubing with light wood strips to fair the shape in. The wings were made of spruce, with two spars each, and ailerons only on the upper wings mounted on a false spar. Split flaps were installed on the undersides of the upper wings, though two designs were used depending on model - either mid chord (OC, UC and QC), or in the conventional position at the trailing edge of the wing (GC and N). The model N was unusual in being the only model with flaps on the lower wings while the model E was the only one with plain flaps. Wing bracing was with a heavily canted N strut joining upper and lower wings, assisted by a single strut bracing the lower wing to the upper fuselage longeron, except on the E series which replaced the strut with flying and landing wires. Elevators and rudder were counterbalanced aerodynamically and braced with wire cables. Both could be trimmed, the rudder via a ground adjustable tab, the elevators via jack screw on the OC, UC and QC, while the GC, E and N used a single trim tab on the port (left) elevator. The main undercarriage was sprung with oleo struts, and a castoring tailwheel was fitted on all versions except the VN model, which had a nosewheel.