The Kinner Airster is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 two-seat single-engined biplane

Biplane

A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two superimposed main wings. The Wright brothers' Wright Flyer used a biplane design, as did most aircraft in the early years of aviation. While a biplane wing structure has a structural advantage, it produces more drag than a similar monoplane wing...

 designed by Bert Kinner

Winfield Bertrum Kinner

Winfield Bertrum "Bert" Kinner was an American aircraft engine designer and constructor. Kinner founded Kinner Airplane & Motor Corporation in Glendale, California which produced radial engines and aircraft....

 and built by his Kinner Airplane & Motor Corporation

Kinner Airplane & Motor Corporation

Kinner Airplane & Motor Corp was an airplane and engine manufacturer, founded in Glendale, California by Bert Kinner in the mid-1920s. It went bankrupt in 1937 and the aircraft rights were sold to Timm Aircraft Co...

.

Development

The Airster appeared in 1920 designed by Bert Kinner

Winfield Bertrum Kinner

Winfield Bertrum "Bert" Kinner was an American aircraft engine designer and constructor. Kinner founded Kinner Airplane & Motor Corporation in Glendale, California which produced radial engines and aircraft....

, it was a one or two seat open-cockpit single-engine biplane. The first single-seat Airster was powered by a 60 hp Lawrance L-4 radial engine. When the prototype crashed on a test flight it was rebuilt as a two-seater with a wider cockpit. One Airster named The Canary was bought by Amelia Earhart

Amelia Earhart

Amelia Mary Earhart was a noted American aviation pioneer and author. Earhart was the first woman to receive the U.S. Distinguished Flying Cross, awarded for becoming the first aviatrix to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean...

 while she was learning to fly. Later production aircraft had slab-sided plywood fuselages and were powered by a variety of 60 hp engines.

In 1927 the company produced a three-seat vaiant powered by a 100 hp Kinner K-2 engine, with the last Airster being built in 1927. Design rights were sold to the Crown Carriage Works in 1929 who produced a version designated the Crown B-3.

Specifications