Stylish Streamlined Speed
Seen participating in a handicap 'air race' during the 2015 Wings and Wheels Show at the Shuttleworth Collection's Old Warden airfield in Bedfordshire, is Nigel Packard's 1938 beauty, NC17615.
The 7W Executive was produced by the Spartan Aircraft Company during the late 1930s and early 1940s. It featured an all-metal fuselage as well as a retractable undercarriage and was popular with affluent buyers worldwide.
Designed for comfort, the interior of the 7W was spacious and featured 46 cm of slide-back seat room for front-seat passengers, arm rests, ash trays, dome lighting, deep cushions, cabin heaters, ventilators, soundproofing, large windows, and interior access to the 45 kg-capacity luggage compartment. Built during the Great Depression, the 7W was the brainchild of company-founder William G Skelly of Skelly Oil who desired a fast, comfortable aircraft to support his tastes and those of his rich oil-executive colleagues.
The Executive's high performance allowed the aircraft to compete in air races. NC17615 took part in the 1938 National Air Races and a 7W also took part in the 1939 Bendix Air Races piloted by Arlene Davis where it earned fifth place. A military variant of the 7W Executive with a greenhouse canopy covering a tandem cockpit was produced by Spartan with a more powerful 600 hp Pratt & Whitney Wasp engine and named the Spartan 8W Zeus.
Just 34 7W Executives were built. Notable owners of 7Ws included aircraft designer and aviator Howard Hughes, wealthy industrialist J. Paul Getty, and King Ghazi of Iraq. King Ghazi's Spartan Executive was designated "Eagle of Iraq" and was outfitted with his Coat of Arms, an extra-luxurious interior, and other customised features.
NC17615 featured in the 1938 John Wayne movie, The Overland Raiders, in which gold miners buy the plane to fly their gold out after land exports had been hijacked.
Stylish Streamlined Speed
Seen participating in a handicap 'air race' during the 2015 Wings and Wheels Show at the Shuttleworth Collection's Old Warden airfield in Bedfordshire, is Nigel Packard's 1938 beauty, NC17615.
The 7W Executive was produced by the Spartan Aircraft Company during the late 1930s and early 1940s. It featured an all-metal fuselage as well as a retractable undercarriage and was popular with affluent buyers worldwide.
Designed for comfort, the interior of the 7W was spacious and featured 46 cm of slide-back seat room for front-seat passengers, arm rests, ash trays, dome lighting, deep cushions, cabin heaters, ventilators, soundproofing, large windows, and interior access to the 45 kg-capacity luggage compartment. Built during the Great Depression, the 7W was the brainchild of company-founder William G Skelly of Skelly Oil who desired a fast, comfortable aircraft to support his tastes and those of his rich oil-executive colleagues.
The Executive's high performance allowed the aircraft to compete in air races. NC17615 took part in the 1938 National Air Races and a 7W also took part in the 1939 Bendix Air Races piloted by Arlene Davis where it earned fifth place. A military variant of the 7W Executive with a greenhouse canopy covering a tandem cockpit was produced by Spartan with a more powerful 600 hp Pratt & Whitney Wasp engine and named the Spartan 8W Zeus.
Just 34 7W Executives were built. Notable owners of 7Ws included aircraft designer and aviator Howard Hughes, wealthy industrialist J. Paul Getty, and King Ghazi of Iraq. King Ghazi's Spartan Executive was designated "Eagle of Iraq" and was outfitted with his Coat of Arms, an extra-luxurious interior, and other customised features.
NC17615 featured in the 1938 John Wayne movie, The Overland Raiders, in which gold miners buy the plane to fly their gold out after land exports had been hijacked.