Brown B-3

Brown B-3
Role	Two-seat touring monoplane
National origin	United States
Manufacturer	Lawrence Brown Aircraft Company
First flight	1936
Developed from	Brown B-2

The Brown B-3 was a 1930s American two-seat touring monoplane built by the Lawrence Brown Aircraft Company.

Design and development

The B-3 was based on earlier B-2 Miss Los Angeles single-seat racing monoplane.^[1] It introduced two seats in tandem under an enclosed cockpit and had for the day some advanced features including Handley Page leading edge slots and single-slotted ailerons and flaps on the wing trailing edge.^[1] Powered by a 290 horsepower (219 kW) Menasco C6S-4 Super Buccaneer inline piston engine, only one airplane was built. The aircraft was destroyed in a hangar fire at (of the then Metropolitan Airport) Van Nuys Airport on October 10, 1943. Interestingly, the B-3 can be seen sitting on the ramp during the scene of Humphrey Bogart's famous goodbye in the film Casablanca.^[1]

Specifications

Data from ^[1]

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Capacity: 1
• Length: 25 ft 11 in (7.89 m)
• Wingspan: 31 ft 11 in (9.72 m)
• Height: 8 ft 0 in (2.44 m)
• Wing area: 150.0 sq ft (13.94 m²)
• Empty weight: 1,850 lb (839 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 2,650 lb (1,202 kg)
• Powerplant: 1 × Menasco C6S-4 Super Buccaneer inline piston engine, 290 hp (220 kW)
• Propellers: 2-bladed Hamilton Standard

Performance

• Maximum speed: 205 mph (330 km/h; 178 kn)
• Cruise speed: 190 mph (165 kn; 306 km/h)
• Range: 600 mi; 522 nmi (966 km)
• Service ceiling: 18,000 ft (5,486 m)

References

Notes

1. Orbis 1985, p. 994

Bibliography

• The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985). Orbis Publishing.