First Impressions: In the 1930s and 40s, if you arrived somewhere in the futuristic-looking Spartan Executive, you were surely a big company executive or on the “who’s who” list. Even the name of this airplane is classy.
Background: Both the Spartan Aircraft Company and the Spartan School of Aeronautics were founded in 1928 by oil baron William G. Skelly. Although not a pilot, he knew aviation was the future, and the school would be a means to market his aircraft. Indeed, the company’s first aircraft, the open cockpit Spartan C3 biplane, was used as a trainer in the school. Spartan produced other models in modest numbers, including a cabin monoplane, a sport monoplane, and the NP-1, a primary trainer for the U.S. Navy. Though not the most prolific aircraft that Spartan built, the 7W Executive is the most well-known and iconic. Following the war, a single tricycle-gear Executive (12W) was built before the company “shifted gears” and began producing luxury all-metal motorhomes.
Pat Hartness, founder of the Triple Tree Aerodrome in Woodruff, S.C., owns serial number 7W-13, the 13th of 36 Executives made between 1936 and 1940. Only twelve remain flyable. Pat’s Spartan was manufactured in 1937 and was initially owned by the Standard Oil Company before being purchased by the president of the Packard Motor Car Company. In World War II, eleven Executives were pressed into military service and designated as the UC-71-SP in the U.S. Army Air Corps. Serial number 7W-13 was one of these eleven. It was used as an executive transport but was eventually re-registered to its civilian 7W designation when the war ended. Pat bought the Spartan in 1971, after it sat derelict in Martinsburg, W.V. for 20 years. In fact, it was so derelict, trees needed to be cut to extract it! Remarkably, the engine was brought back to life with minimal effort. Though the Spartan was in rough shape, Pat and his team were “up to the task” and performed an extensive restoration. Over a period of three years, they removed all the aluminum skin and made necessary structural repairs. In the ensuing 50 years, Pat has flown the Spartan all over the country both for work and family trips. From 2009 through 2013, He and his team conducted a second extensive restoration. His Executive has won Reserve Grand Champion at Airventure and Grand Champion at Sun-N-Fun. While he calls himself this Spartan’s “caretaker”, he fully intends to keep it. He has even planned a 100th birthday party for it in 2037!
Design Characteristics: The art deco look, sleek lines and tapered wings give the Executive a timeless beauty about which few would argue. In the 1930s, the all-metal Executive was futuristic. Indeed, the Spartan’s main competitor at that time was the Beechcraft Staggerwing, which is a wood and fabric biplane. The 7W is a five-seat, cantilever aluminum monoplane with a steel tube frame. It is an airplane not only built to last, but also made for easy maintenance. Obviously, business executives could not afford to have their winged transportation under maintenance for weeks at a time! The core of the 7W is the ultra-strong, welded 4130 steel tube inverted “triangle truss” frame onto which the landing gear and fuselage are mounted. Likewise, the wings also use the inverted steel “triangle truss” structure as the spar; consisting of three parallel steel tubes welded with crossmembers into a triangle. The control surfaces are fabric-covered with an aluminum trim tab.
The Executive is also designed for comfort. Eighty percent of the original 7W buyers were oil executives, who used the machines for quick travel to remote oil drilling sites and cities all over the Americas. They valued both speed and comfort. The cabin is accessed from a large fuselage door on the left wing. There is plenty of head and shoulder room for the pilot and passengers. The original operator’s manual states that only the “finest fabrics, deep-textured carpets were used” and they were color-harmonized with the arm rests, drapes, and interior molding. As with many airplanes of the 30s and 40s, the Spartan had four paraflare tubes for illuminating unlit airstrips for late landings.
Powerplant: All production Executives came equipped with the supercharged Pratt & Whitney R-985 Wasp Junior. The Wasp Junior engine turns the 90-inch Hamilton Standard two-bladed, constant speed prop at 2,300 RPM, producing 450-horsepower at sea level. Pat’s Spartan holds 59 gallons of fuel per side and the oil tank holds seven gallons. For best efficiency, 25 inches of manifold pressure and 2000 RPM at 9,000 feet will produce about 161 miles per hour at approximately 19 gallons per hour. Owner Pat Hartness said that there’s plenty of power remaining and he’d never let a Staggerwing pass him!
Taxi/Takeoff: Use gentle S-turns to check for obstacles in front of the aircraft while taxiing. The tail of the 7W is heavy and the tailwheel steering is quite effective. Differential braking is not required to taxi the Executive until you need to make a very tight turn. Spartan pilot, Ben Templeton, describes turning the airplane as follows, “To turn, you put in a pedal input, and then immediately start fighting the turn with the opposite pedal”. The Spartan sounds great, and to anyone within ear shot, there is no mistaking the beautiful (and loud) resonance of the Hamilton-Standard coupled to the 450 horses of the Wasp Junior! At about 50 mph, push the tail up. At 65 miles per hour, the Executive will start climbing away, having only using 600 feet of runway!
Flight Characteristics: After takeoff, lift the landing gear switch and wait for the electric motor to retract the gear. Bungees assist over-center linkage to move the gear to the “up and locked” position. With the landing gear retracted, the supercharged Spartan will climb at 1,400 feet per minute. The single throwover yoke has a ¾-circle leather-wrapped steel steering wheel. A crank handle on the left fuselage wall can be used to extend (or retract) the landing gear, should the electric motor fail. The Executive is a joy to fly and even though it is large (4,400 lbs.), it does not feel heavy at all. The roll control is especially smooth, thanks to both well-designed wings and pushrod/bellcrank-controlled ailerons. The elevator trim is conveniently controlled via a twist knob on the bottom of the throttle quadrant, although not much trim is required in this well-balanced machine.
Landing: Place the landing gear switch down and check for two green lights (the tailwheel is fixed). Below the center mounted throttle quadrant are two flap levers - one for the wing flaps and one for center flaps. The 7W uses a vacuum system for both wing and center flaps. The vacuum (-15psi) is pulled from the engine intake, stored in a tank behind the baggage compartment, and routed to the pneumatic/mechanical flap actuators when selected. Flap selection is limited to either up or down, with no intermediate position. Some Spartan pilots don’t like to use the center flaps under the fuselage. The reason is because the small rudder will be “blanked” by the center flaps when the tail is lowered to the ground after a wheel landing, leading to a bit of a rudder dance. Approach at 100 miles per hour, slowing to 90 mph over the fence. The oleo strut gear does not compress much, making landings feel a bit solid with even a small amount of sink on touchdown. The good news is that there is not much bounce tendency, and the wide landing gear stance allows for nice crosswind handling. The airplane sits high, so it may take a few landings to get used to the touchdown sight picture.
Wrap-Up: The 7W is a workhorse - but in this case, the workhorse is built for comfort and speed. Today we might refer to this stunning and exclusive machine as the “Lear jet of the 1930s”. The design is classic and it is impossible to not appreciate the beauty of the Spartan Executive. If you ever get a chance to visit the Triple Tree Aerodrome, you won’t be disappointed!
