Bell XFL Airabonita

History

The XFL "Airabonita" is a Bell Aircraft Company product developed in parallel with the P-39 Airacobra, a USAAF (United States Army Air Force) land-based design that eventually reached operational status. Essentially, the Airabonita is a "navyized" version of the Airacobra, with some naval-induced modifications to carrier-based aircraft operations. Despite its attempts, the Airabonita was plagued by engine and landing gear problems throughout its development, leaving it woefully underpowered compared to most other fighter jets of the era.

The U.S. Navy eventually decided to pursue other activities, and the $125,000 XFL prototype was inevitably buried.

The XFL model originated from the P-39 Army design and largely retained the same external form. Intended for use as an interceptor by the U.S.

Navy, the Airabonita is designed with a conventional landing gear system (including two main gears and a tail wheel) rather than the tricycle type offered in the P-39. The fuselage has been redesigned and strengthened to meet the rigors of carrier operations.

Added a snap hook to the bottom of the rear wing. Airabonita still retains the car-style entry and exit.

The aircraft is powered by an Allison XV-1710-6 inline 12-cylinder liquid-cooled V-engine rated at 1,150 hp. Like the P-39, this engine is mounted to the rear of the cockpit and drives a forward-mounted three-bladed propeller via a 10.38-foot shaft that runs below the cockpit floor. It should be noted that this particular engine lacks the turbocharger found on the XP-39, which in itself is a negative fact that takes a toll on the system. The coolant coolers are removed from the wing center plates and placed under the wing fairings. The weapon will still revolve around the 37mm Oldsmobile T9 cannon fired through the propeller hub.

If desired, this gun could be replaced with a 12.7mm Browning M2/AN heavy machine gun, potentially saving critical weight while providing a higher rate of fire weapon. Additionally, firepower will be provided by 2 x 7.62mm (.303 caliber) machine guns mounted on the fairing.

In any case, this arrangement was a step below the most impressive arsenals of the time, as even the land-based P-39 used heavier machine gun and cannon armament.

The Airabonita first flew on May 13, 1940, but faced an uphill battle from the start due to a delay in the delivery of the Allison engine. This delay exacerbated the Airabonita's difficulties when the engine finally arrived, as the engine itself had problems. Using conventional landing gear was also detrimental to the XFL when problems started to arise during testing. As a result, in late 1941, the system had to be returned to Bell Aircraft for further modifications.

It was at this point, however, that the U.S. Navy decided to take a different direction and stopped XFL development altogether. A single XFL-1 prototype was then used in a series of weapons tests and eventually scrapped.

Performance specs list a top speed of 307 mph and a top speed of 30,900 ft. A range of 1,072 miles is possible at a climb rate of over 2,630 feet per minute. Considering the speedy F4U Corsair has been developed, the XFL will be completely surpassed by all accounts. Even the standard Marine F4F Wildcat performs significantly better at altitude than the Airabonita.

This particular Allison engine - with a single-stage supercharger - also tends to perform poorly at high altitudes, like the P-40 Warhawk, P-39 Airacobra and even the P-38 Lightning - the latter requiring exhaust Air-driven superchargers have acceptable altitude performance.

Specification

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Production

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Performance

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Changes