Stroukoff Aircraft was an American manufacturer of experimental military transport aircraft, established in 1954 by Michael Stroukoff. Successor to Chase Aircraft, the company specialised in developing advanced variants of the C-123 Provider; however, none of the company's designs attracted a production order, and the company folded in 1959.
Founding During the late 1940s, Ukrainian émigré Michael Stroukoff designed the XG-20 for Chase Aircraft, the largest glider ever built in the United States. Modified into the C-123 Provider,Andrade 1979, p. 87. the aircraft had won a contract for production from the United States Air Force, 49% of Chase being acquired by Kaiser-Frazier to produce the aircraft at the latter company's Willow Run facility. However, a scandal involving Kaiser resulted in the C-123 contract being cancelled;Life July 6, 1953, p.22 with Kaiser having bought out the remainder of Chase and dissolving the company,"Kaiser To Close Chase Plant In New Jersey". American Aviation, Volume 17 (1953), p.15. Stroukoff acquired the company's facilities at the Trenton airport, and established his own company to continue development of the C-123 design.
YC-123D and E
Stroukoff's first advanced variant of the C-123 design was the YC-123D, modified from the XC-123A prototype - itself a modified XCG-20Gunston 1980 - which had been the first jet transport to fly in the United States.Rolfe and Dawydoff, 1978. Flying in 1954, the YC-123D was fitted with the twin piston engines of the normal C-123 family, and was equipped with a boundary layer control (BLC) system. The BLC diverted air from the engines to blow over the wing, increasing lift and reducing the aircraft's takeoff and landing distances.Sergievsky et al. 1998, p.128
The following year, Stroukoff modified a C-123B into the YC-123E, fitted with Stroukoff's own Pantobase landing gear system. The Pantobase system allowed the aircraft to land on any reasonably flat surface - land, water, or snow - and proved remarkably successful in testing.The Aerospace year book, Volume 39 (1958), p.115.
YC-134
Following its successful trials, the YC-123E was further developed into the YC-134. Designated MS-8-1 by the company,The Aerospace year book, Volume 39 (1958), p.307. the YC-134 featured both boundary layer control and the Pantobase landing gear;Jane 1958, p.364. in addition, the aircraft was fitted with more powerful engines, tailplane endplates, additional wheels for the main landing gear, and an improved fuel system."C-134 Pantobase" GlobalSecurity.org. Accessed 2010-12-06.
Intended for Arctic use,Air Force magazine, Volume 40 (1957), p.93. the YC-134's test flight program proved successful. However, its increase in performance over that of the C-123 was considered inadequate; in addition, there was simply no need for an additional piston-engined transport by that time, and the proposed production contract was cancelled. With the failure to gain any contracts for production of its designs, Stroukoff dissolved the company in 1959.Pattillo 2000, pp.165-166.
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