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8W Zeus
Role	Military training aircraft
National origin	United States
Manufacturer	Spartan Aircraft Company
First flight	1937
Number built	1
Developed from	Spartan Executive

The Spartan 8W Zeus was a prototype military aircraft trainer built by Spartan Aircraft Company in the United States in 1937. It was based on the airframe of the Spartan Executive civil aircraft. The sole airframe produced was designated serial number 8W-1 and was registered as NX17612^[2]

Design and development

The Spartan 8W Zeus was a conventional low-wing monoplane of metal construction, with a semi-monocoque fuselage and a cantilever wing.^[3] Designed as a two-place trainer, the 8W drew heavily from the design of the Spartan Executive. The wing, undercarriage, and lower half of the fuselage are essentially a modified 7W structure. The upper half of the fuselage was redesigned from a 4-5 place enclosed cabin into a tandem-seat, glazed cockpit with sliding canopies. The tail was also identical to that of the 7W. The main units of the tailwheel undercarriage were retractable.^[4]

The Spartan 8W Zeus was powered by a 600 hp (447 kW) Pratt & Whitney Wasp engine.^[5]

Operational history

The intended purpose of the Zeus was to offer an advanced trainer for military use. After production of the prototype, the airplane was marketed, without success, to the United States Army Air Corps. As a follow-up to those marketing efforts, the prototype was flown to Glendale, California in 1939 for further evaluation by the military. Again, there were no orders generated by that evaluation and the Zeus returned to the factory in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1940.^[4]

The final role of the prototype Zeus was as training tool for students at the Spartan School of Aeronautics.^[6]

Variants

Spartan FBW-1

A concept model was introduced in an information brochure that portrayed a combat version of the 8W Zeus, with armament. The FB in the designation indicated Fighter-Bomber. No FBW-1's were ever produced.^[4]

Specifications

Data from Aerofiles,^[7]

General characteristics

Crew: Two
Length: 27 ft 3 in (8.31 m)
Wingspan: 39 ft 0 in (11.89 m)
Powerplant: 1 × Pratt & Whitney R-1340 , 600 hp (410 kW)

Performance

Maximum speed: 234 mph (374 km/h, 203 kn)
Range: 760 mi (1,300 km, 660 nmi)
Service ceiling: 29,400 ft (8,960 m)

Armament

1 × fixed, forward-firing machine gun in cowling
1 × flexible, rearward-firing machine gun in cabin
10 × 25 lb (13 kg) bombs carried under wings

References

Notes

^ Savage, Jim. Vintage Spartan Aircraft 2022, p. 92.
^ Savage, Jim. Vintage Spartan Aircraft, 2022, p. 92
^ "Aircraft Production." Spartan College of Aeronautics and Technology. Retrieved: August 27, 2017.
^ ^a ^b ^c Savage, Jim. Vintage Spartan Aircraft, 2022, pp 91-97.
^ Donald 1989, p. 853.
^ Savage, Jim. Vintage Spartan Aircraft, 2022, p.96.
^ "Spartan 8W Zeus." The Military Aviation Index. Retrieved: August 27, 2017.

Bibliography

Donald, David. Encyclopedia of World Aircraft. Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada: Prospero Books;, 1997. ISBN 978-1-8560-5375-4.
Hagedorn, Dan (2023). "Spartan's Olympic Hopeful: The Spartan 8-W Zeus Multi-Purpose Trainer". The Aviation Historian (43): 66–74. ISSN 2051-1930.
The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft. London: Aerospace Publishing (Orbis), 1981. OCLC 774502891.
Savage, Jim. Vintage Spartan Aircraft. Butler, Pennsylvania: 2022. ISBN 979-8-21-017985-2.
Taylor, Michael J. H. Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions, 1989. ISBN 978-1-8517-0324-1.