The Bellanca 14-13 Cruisair Senior was a general aviation aircraft built by the Bellanca Aircraft Company just after WW ll in 1946. The 14-13 was an improved design on the earlier Bellanca 14-7 and featured a welded steel-tube fuselage with a fabric covering, the remainder of the aircraft being constructed out of wood. In total, approximately 600 Bellanca 14-13’s in nine different variants were produced by the Bellanca Aircraft Company until 1956 when production ceased. While an excellent all around aircraft, the plane’s sales suffered due to the era in which it was built. After WW ll a significant number of excess aircraft were on the market, forcing a downward pressure on sales of the Bellanca 14-13. One unusual feature of the Bellanca was the addition of oval end plates on the planes horizontal stabilizer. This gave it the nickname of the “Cardboard Constellation” after Lockheed’s famous aircraft, the Constellation. The Bellanca 14-13 took its numerical designation from Bellanca’s practice of naming its craft after the airplane’s wing area in square feet and dropping the final digit (first number) and the aircraft’s horsepower, also dropping the final digit (second number). While the Bellanca 14-13 does not exactly fit Bellanca’s custom, its numbers come close.
SPECIFICATIONS
Type Civil aircraft
Weight 2,150 lbs. empty
Wingspan 34 ft. 2 in
Length 21 ft. 4 in
Height 6 ft. 3 in
Power One Franklin 6A4-150-B-3 150 hp flat six air-cooled engine
Manufacturer Bellanca Aircraft Company
PERFORMANCE
Maximum speed 165 mph
Cruising speed 150 mph
Range 600 miles
Service ceiling 16,000 ft.