Buhl-Verville CA-3 Airster


The Buhl-Verville CA-3 Airster, was a utility aircraft built in the United States in 1926, notable as the first aircraft to receive a type certificate in the US, issued by the Aeronautics Branch of the Department of Commerce on March 29, 1927. It was a conventional single-bay biplane with equal-span unstaggered wings and accommodation for the pilot and passengers in tandem open cockpits. Marketed for a variety of roles including crop-dusting, aerial photography, and freight carriage, only a handful were built, some with water-cooled engines as the CW-3, and others with air-cooled engines as the CA-3. One CA-3 placed second in the 1926 Ford National Reliability Air Tour.
1926 Ford Air Tour, piloted by Louis Meister, and another placed third in the 1927 Air Derby, piloted by Nick Mamer. One CW-3 and one CA-3 each were evaluated by the United States Army as trainers, but neither were purchased.

Versions

CA

CW

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era