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Ryan Brougham

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Ryan Brougham

The Ryan Brougham was a small single-engine airliner produced in the United States in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Its design was reminiscent of the M-1 mailplane first produced by Ryan in 1926, and like it, was a high-wing, strut-braced monoplane of conventional design.

The plane was named by Tom Mathews after Henry Brougham, 1st Baron Brougham and Vaux, designer of the Brougham carriage.

Unlike the M-1, the Brougham had a fully enclosed cabin for the pilot and four passengers. The Brougham prototype was derived from the later M-2 and was powered by a 150 hp Wright-Martin "Hisso" water cooled V8 engine. Originally priced at $12,200, the price was reduced to $9,700 when fitted with a Wright J-5, and $5,750 with the Hisso. One Brougham was fitted with floats. The only common parts shared with the famous Spirit of St. Louis and the first Ryan B-1s were the tail surfaces and a few of the wing fittings. Later B-1 Brougham production versions shared no common parts.

Welded Chrome moly steel tubing was used to make the fuselage. Wood was used for the wing, but did not have and dihedral or angle of incidence.

The first production B-1 Brougham was The Gold Bug, flown by Frank Hawks. It was preceded by three Hisso Brougham prototypes.

Charles Lindbergh had come to the factory to examine that first B-1, but had instead ordered a completely new aircraft to his specifications. He used the Ryan NYP Spirit of St. Louis on his record-breaking transatlantic flight of 1927. Hawks renamed his B-1 "Spirit of San Diego" and flew to Washington with his wife to greet the triumphant Lindbergh. In the ensuing glare of publicity, Hawks was hired by the Ryan Aircraft company to be its official representative.

With the public idolizing Lindbergh, Hawks toured the country, selling rides in the aircraft "like Lindy flew." His Spirit was actually painted gold, but looked the part to the public. Another reason for the success of the Brougham was its performance at the 1927 National Air Races in Spokane, Washington where Hawks, who had obtained a contract with Maxwell House Coffee, with the now renamed "Miss Maxwell House" came in first for speed in the Detroit news Air Transport Speed and Efficiency Trophy Race. Later, at the 1928 Ford Tudor Reliability Trial and Air Tour, Hawks placed sixth in "Miss Maxwell House".

Hawks popularized the type, which stimulated demand among small airlines and charter operators. The Brougham not only sold well in the domestic market, but was exported to China, Guatemala, Mexico and Salvador. Production peaked at 20 per month but was eventually halted by worsening economic conditions in the United States that led to the sale of the Ryan factory in October 1930.

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