SHAWN BAKER COLLECTION
No. 14202. Dansaire D-1 Coupe (NX74114 c/n 1)
Photographed at the New York Aviation Show, New York City, New York, USA, February 1947, source unknown

Dansaire D-1 Coupe

10/31/2023. Remarks by Johan Visschedijk: "This aircraft was designed by George White and eight other Curtiss and Bell employees, who had formed in 1946 a consortium named Faircraft at Danville, New York; the same year it was renamed Dansaire Corporation, George White acting as president.

The aircraft was named Coupe as it was intended as a light "family-type" aircraft, hence it had a somewhat unusual cabin arrangement, seating three adults side-by-side on one seat. Power plant was a 90 hp Franklin 4AC-199-E4 four-cylinder horizontally-opposed air-cooled engine, the aircraft was completed on January 10, 1947.

On January 27, 1947, after numerous taxi runs and several minor adjustments and alterations, and registered NX74114, the aircraft was first flown, with Bell Aircraft test pilot Elmer Clutter at the controls. Subsequently the aircraft was disassembled and shipped to New York City where the National Air Show was held in the first week of February.

However, failing to obtain financial backing, development was halted and the sole Coupe was sold and subsequently scrapped in 1948. A sedan version reportedly under construction was never completed.
Dansaire D-1 Coupe


Created October 31, 2023