Waco A series


The Waco A series is a range of light American-built twin side-by-side seater sporting biplanes of the early 1930s.

Development

The Waco A series was introduced in 1932 as an affordable private-owner aircraft with cross-country range and baggage capacity and a more sporting image than the larger Waco F series. The A series offered a number of engine options which had varying sub-designations. The power range lay between the KBA with a Kinner engine and the later UBA with a Continental powerplant.
The PLA "Sportsman" of 1933 introduced a longer wider fuselage and a higher useful load and had a Jacobs LA-1 radial engine. The last model in the series was the ULA, also of 1933, with a powerplant.

Operational history

The A series was bought mainly by private pilot owners with a sporting inclination. Relatively few were produced and the type survives in small numbers in 2009. A PBA is on display in the Historic Aircraft Restoration Museum at Dauster Field near St Louis, Missouri.

Variants

Data from Aerofiles
;BBA: Wright J-5
;KBA: Kinner K-5
;IBA: Kinner B-5
;PBA: Jacobs LA-1
;RBA: later Warner Scarab
;TBA: Kinner R-5
;UBA: Continental R-670
;ICA: Kinner K-5
;KCA: Kinner K-5
;PCA: Jacobs LA-1
;RCA: Warner Scarab
;TCA: Kinner R-5
;UCA: Continental R-670
;PLA Sportsman:
;ULA Sportsman

Specifications (RBA variant)