Editing Abrams P-1 Explorer

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{{original research|date=August 2008}}
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{{Infobox aircraft
 |name = P-1 Explorer
 |image = File:Explorer Abrams PC-4 Explorer (16140188595).jpg
 |caption =
 |type = [[aerial photography]] and survey aircraft 
 |national_origin = United States
 |manufacturer = [[Abrams Air Craft|Abrams Aircraft Corporation]]
 |designer = Talbert Abrams
 |first_flight = November 1937
 |introduction =
 |retired =
 |status =
 |primary_user =
 |more_users = <!--Limited to three in total; separate using <br /> -->
 |produced = <!--years in production-->
 |number_built = 1
 |developed_from =
 |variants =
}}

The '''Abrams P-1 Explorer''' is an American purpose-designed [[aerial photography]] and survey aircraft that first flew in November [[1937 in aviation|1937]].

==Design and development==
The Explorer was designed by aerial survey pioneer [[Talbert Abrams]], to meet his needs for a stable aircraft with excellent visibility for his work.  Abrams was an early aerial photographer in World War I. He used a [[Curtiss Jenny]] post-war, forming ABC airlines. In 1923, Abrams founded Abrams Aerial Survey Company and in 1937, Abrams Aircraft Corporation to build the specialized P-1 aircraft.<ref name="Miller">{{cite book |last1=Miller |first1=Ron |title=Extreme aircraft |date=2008 |publisher=Harper Collins |isbn=9780060891411 |edition=1st}}</ref>

The standard single front-engined airplane of this era had many drawbacks for carrying out scientific photography. They were created to be nimble in the air rather than stable photographic platforms. Their engines leaked oil which would then flow under the aircraft and affect the camera lens. Finally, the loud engines made cockpit conversation difficult.

Abrams designed an aircraft with a rear engine to keep the camera apertures clean and reduce cockpit noise, and used a delta type wing to facilitate side vision. He hired engineers Kenneth Ronan and Andrew Edward Kunzl, in [[Marshall, Michigan]], who drew plans and began construction in the former Page Brothers Buggy Company factory.

Ronan and Kunzl operated an aeronautical repair station at the Marshall airfield. Planning and construction took ten months, and resulted in an airplane designed for more efficient and economical aerial photography.

To create the clear nose so the pilot had an unobstructed view, Abrams hired the German company [[Rohm and Haas]], creators of [[Plexiglas]]. With a wooden model of each window pane, the Plexiglas was clamped in a frame similar to a window frame. Heated until it began to sag, it was then pushed down by two workers holding the frame until it was molded to the wooden model.

The Plexiglas could then be trimmed and mounted in the frame work. When the Explorer came back for restoration, the panels which had been heated were as clear as when new, though were destroyed due to abuse during disassembly.

The Explorer was a low-wing [[aluminium]] [[monoplane]] with [[twin boom]]s and a central [[nacelle]] for the pilot and camera equipment. The pod's nose section was extensively glazed in Plexiglas. The [[Landing gear|undercarriage]] was fixed and of tricycle configuration.

Originally powered with a {{convert|330|hp|abbr=on}} engine and a two-bladed propeller, it was sent back to Ronan & Kunzul to increase the horsepower to 450. This change required braces to be added from the wing top to the fuselage and they added a three-bladed propeller, with Abrams hoping the increased power would attract a buyer.

[[World War II]] interrupted Abrams's work, and the single aircraft built was put into storage for the duration of the war. Obsolete by the end of the conflict, it was donated to the US [[National Air and Space Museum]] in [[1948 in aviation|1948]], where it remains {{As of|2004|alt=today}} awaiting restoration.

==Variants==
*'''P-1''': the initial design and prototype.
*'''PC-4''': Abrams planned a pressurized version of the P-1, named the PC-4 that did not go into production.<ref name=Pauley>{{cite book|title=Michigan Aircraft Manufacturers|author=Robert F. Pauley}}</ref>

==Operational history==

The P-1 was flown with a variety of camera gear. The [[Abrams Instrument Corporation]] C-3 camera was used to produce 650 nine by nine inch photos per flight.<ref name=Pauley/>

== Restoration attempt ==
{{unreferenced section|date=July 2021}}

In 1968, a group of aviation enthusiasts began a project to restore the Explorer, including Jim Linn, who worked at Abrams Aerial Survey, Ron Dietz, a student pilot and engineer at Oldsmobile Division of [[General Motors]], and Ellis Hammond, President of the Michigan Aerospace Educational Association. They worked with Don Lopez, the Assistant Director of the [[Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum]] to release the aircraft, and in January 1975 the Explorer was transported in a [[Michigan National Guard]] [[Lockheed C-130 Hercules]] to the [[Capital Region International Airport|Capital City Airport]] in [[Lansing, Michigan]].

The aircraft was moved to a state-owned hangar, where Dietz carried out careful photography before any disassembly was done, as well as detailed tracings of all the lettering so it could be recreated accurately at the end of the project.

The wings were sent to [[Montcalm Community College]], where they were stripped, cleaned, repainted and recovered with silver painted fabric. The instruments panels and controls were disassembled and restored by Dietz's colleagues at Oldsmobile.

The aircraft was physically moved to the [[Lansing Community College]] aviation program. However, the restoration attempt was never completed; in 1981, the [[Lansing Community College]] truck driving school returned the plane to the [[Paul E. Garber Preservation, Restoration, and Storage Facility]] of the Smithsonian, where it remains.

==Specifications==
[[File:Abrams_Explorer_3-view_L'Aerophile_March_1938.jpg|thumb|Abrams Explorer 3-view drawing from L'Aerophile March 1938]]
{{Aircraft specs
|ref=Jane's all the World's Aircraft 1938<ref name=JAWA1938>{{cite book |title=Jane's all the World's Aircraft 1938 |editor1-last=Grey |editor1-first=C.G. |year=1938 |publisher=Sampson Low, Marston & company, ltd |location=London |editor2-last=Bridgman|editor2-first=Leonard |page=242c}}</ref>
|prime units?=imp
<!--
        General characteristics
-->
|crew=2
|capacity=
|length ft=26
|length in=6
|length note=
|span ft=36
|span in=8
|span note=
|height ft=6
|height in=4
|height note=
|wing area sqft=200
|wing area note=
|aspect ratio= 6.58
|airfoil='''root:''' [[NACA airfoil|NACA 23018]]; '''tip:''' [[NACA airfoil|NACA 23009]]<ref name="Selig">{{cite web |last1=Lednicer |first1=David |title=The Incomplete Guide to Airfoil Usage |url=https://m-selig.ae.illinois.edu/ads/aircraft.html |website=m-selig.ae.illinois.edu |accessdate=16 April 2019}}</ref>
|empty weight lb=2100
|empty weight note=
|gross weight lb=3400
|gross weight note=
|max takeoff weight lb=
|max takeoff weight note=
|fuel capacity=
|more general=
<!--
        Powerplant
-->
|eng1 number=1
|eng1 name=[[Wright R-975E-1 Whirlwind]]
|eng1 type=9-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine
|eng1 hp=365

|prop blade number=2
|prop name=[[Hamilton-Standard]] variable-pitch pusher propeller
|prop dia ft=<!-- propeller aircraft -->
|prop dia in=<!-- propeller aircraft -->
|prop dia note=
<!--
        Performance
-->
|max speed mph=200
|max speed note=at {{cvt|10000|ft}}
|cruise speed mph=175
|cruise speed note=at {{cvt|10000|ft}}<br/>
*'''Landing speed:''' {{cvt|60|mph|kn km/h}} with flaps extended
|stall speed mph=
|stall speed note=
|never exceed speed mph=
|never exceed speed note=
|range miles=1200
|range note=
|combat range miles=
|combat range note=
|ferry range miles=
|ferry range note=
|endurance=<!-- if range unknown -->
|ceiling ft=20000
|ceiling note=
|g limits=<!-- aerobatic -->
|roll rate=<!-- aerobatic -->
|climb rate ftmin=1400
|climb rate note=
|time to altitude=
|wing loading lb/sqft=17
|wing loading note=
|fuel consumption lb/mi=
|power/mass={{cvt|9.3|lb/hp}}
|more performance=
}}

==See also==
{{aircontent
|see also= 
* [[Edgley Optica]]
* [[Seabird Seeker]]
|lists=
* [[List of pusher aircraft by configuration]]
* [[Twin-boom aircraft]]
}}

==References==
{{Commons category}}
{{Reflist}}
<!--==Further reading==-->
==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100610174711/http://www.nasm.si.edu/collections/artifact.cfm?id=A19490018000 Smithsonian Institution]
* [https://www.youtube.com/v/gsaAeLaNr60&hl=de_DE&fs=1& www.youtube.com] Forgotten aircraft: The Abrams Explorer (1930s documentary video)
* [[British Pathé]] 1938 {{YouTube|OSTix-V4mjY|newsreel}}
* [http://www.fliegerweb.com/de/lexicon/Geschichte/Abrams+P-1+Explorer-573 Abrams P-1 Explorer, with many technical data and pictures] at FliegerWeb.com, in German

[[Category:1930s United States special-purpose aircraft]]
[[Category:Twin-boom aircraft]]
[[Category:Abrams aircraft|P-1]]
[[Category:Single-engined pusher aircraft]]
[[Category:Aircraft first flown in 1937]]
[[Category:Low-wing aircraft]]
[[Category:Twin-tail aircraft]]
[[Category:Aircraft with fixed tricycle landing gear]]
[[Category:Single-engined piston aircraft]]