Douglas Cloudster

Development

The Davis-Douglas Company was formed in July 1920 to enable Donald Douglas to design and build an aircraft capable of non-stop flight coast-to-coast across the United States. David R. Davis provided the financing for the company. The resulting aircraft was the Cloudster, a single-bay equal-span biplane of wooden construction. It was fabric-covered except for the forward fuselage, which was covered with sheet metal. The aircraft was powered by a 400 hp (298 kW) Liberty V-12 piston engine.

The Cloudster first flew on 24 February 1921 and attempted the coast-to-coast journey in June 1921. The aircraft failed to make a non-stop journey due to engine failure. In 1923, the Cloudster was sold and modified for sightseeing flights with two additional open cockpits and seats for five passengers replacing one of the fuel tanks. In 1925 it was again sold to T. Claude Ryan, who had it modified further by adding an enclosed cabin with ten seats. It was subsequently used by a number of operators before it made a forced landing in shallow water off the coast of Ensenada, Baja California in December 1926. It was damaged beyond repair by the tide before it could be recovered.

Following failure of the coast-to-coast flight, Davis lost interest and Douglas went on to form the Douglas Company (later the Douglas Aircraft Company) in July 1921.

1945 Cloudster II

Douglas Aircraft would revive the name in 1945 for a proposed general aviation aircraft with a pusher propellor, similar to the XB-42, as the Cloudster II. The company's last effort in general aviation, it was not a success.

Specifications 1920s Cloudster

Data from McDonnell Douglas Aircraft since 1920

General characteristics

Performance