Waco 10

The Waco 10/GXE/Waco O series is a range of three-seat open-cockpit biplanes built by the Advance Aircraft Company, later the Waco Aircraft Company.

Design and development

The Waco 10 was a larger span development of the Waco 9, both single-engined three-seat single-bay biplanes constructed around steel-tube frames. The wing covering was fabric, and both upper and lower planes carried ailerons, which were strut linked. The two passengers sat side by side in a cockpit under the upper wing and ahead of the pilot, who had a separate cockpit. It had a split-axle fixed undercarriage and a tailwheel. The main undercarriage was fitted with hydraulic shock absorbers, unusual at the time on a light aircraft. The fin could be trimmed on the ground to offset engine torque, and the tailplane could be trimmed in flight. Initially it was powered by a Curtiss OX-5 water-cooled 90° V-8 engine producing.
Its first flight was in 1927. It was numerically the most important type to be built by Waco, with at least 1,623 built over a period of 7 years from 1927 to 1933 and was fitted with a very large variety of engines of radial and V configuration.

Operational history

The Waco 10 turned out to have excellent handling, and there was a ready supply of war-surplus Curtiss engines. It was widely used for the popularisation of aeronautics through barnstorming and joyrides, and was also much used as a trainer and by small operators for charter flights.

Variants

In 1928, after the Waco 10 had entered production, Waco changed its designation system so that the basic model 10, powered by a Curtiss OX-5 engine became the GXE.
File:Waco ASO NC663N HARM St Louis 10.06.06R.jpg|thumb|1930 Waco ATO Taperwing at the Historic Aircraft Restoration Museum near St Louis
File:Waco CTO NC744H Beaufort MCAS SC 24.04.04R.jpg|thumb|1929 Waco CTO at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort South Carolina
Later aircraft used three-letter designations, the first denoting the engine, the second denoting the wing installed, S or T meaning Straight or Tapered wing, and the final O indicating it was a derivative of the 10. An -A suffix indicated an armed variant intended for export.

Early Designation	Post-1928 Designation	Marketing Designation	Engine	Power
10	GXE	90	Curtiss OX-5
10-W	ASO	220-T	Wright J-5
10-T	ATO		Wright J-5
	BSO/BSO-A	BS-165	Wright J-6-5
	CSO	C-225	Wright J-6-7
	CTO		Wright J-6-7
10-H	DSO		Hispano-Suiza 8A or E
	HSO		Packard DR-980 Diesel
	HTO		Packard DR-980 Diesel
	JTO		Wright J-6-9
	JYM	Mailplane	Wright J-6-9
	JWM	Mailplane	Wright J-6-9
	KSO		Kinner K-5
	OSO		Kinner C-5
	PSO		Jacobs radials
	QSO		Continental A70
	RSO		Warner Scarab
		240-A	Continental W-670
		300-A	300 hp radial

Apart from the water-cooled V-8 Curtiss and Hispano-Suiza engines, all of the rest were air-cooled radials.
Other engines were fitted experimentally, without unique designations, including the Rausie, Ryan-Siemens, and Milwaukee Tank engine. This last engine was an air-cooled version of the Curtiss OX-5, and was intended as an aircraft engine.
The JYM and JWM were mailplane derivatives with a 14" fuselage stretch.
In the 1990s the unrelated The WACO Aircraft Company in Forks, Washington offered a homebuilt kit version of the ATO model.
The WACO 240-A was a straight-wing fighter, built for export, powered by Wright engine. At least six were bought by the Cantonese Chinese aviation services. They were armed with twin.30 Browning machine guns and had racks for five or two bombs.
There was also an export model WACO Pursuit 300T-A, with Wright or Wasp Jr engine.

Military designations

;D1W

Surviving aircraft

Specifications (Waco GXE)

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era

Alexander Eaglerock
American Eagle A-101
Brunner-Winkle Bird
Buhl-Verville CA-3 Airster
Command-Aire 3C3
Parks P-1
Pitcairn Mailwing
Spartan C3
Stearman C2 and C3
Swallow New Swallow
Travel Air 2000 and 4000
Related lists
List of aircraft
List of civil aircraft