Model F
Role	Recreational aircraft Type of aircraft
Manufacturer	Arrow Aircraft and Motor Corporation
First flight	1934
Number built	103

The Arrow Model F or the Arrow Sport V-8 was a two-seat low-wing braced monoplane aircraft built in the United States between 1934 and 1938. It was built originally to a request by the US Bureau of Air Commerce to investigate the feasibility of using automobile engines to power aircraft. Accordingly, the Model F was fitted with a modified Ford V8 engine. Like the Arrow Sport before it, the Model F seated its pilot and passenger side-by-side in an open cockpit and was marketed for $1500.^[1]

Development

The Arrow Sport F was specifically built to accommodate the low-cost, yet heavy Arrow F V-8 engine, an aircraft modification of the Ford V-8. The engine was designed by Ford Engineer David E. Anderson with an aluminum oil pan, aluminum cylinders, and a 2:1 gear reduction to drive the prop at reasonable rpm ranges. The engine weighed 402 lbs for 85 hp vrs 182 lbs for an equivalent Continental aircraft engine.^[2]

Variants

• Arrow Sport F Master – Open cockpit
• Arrow Sport F Coupe – Closed cockpit variant ^[3]
• Arrow Sport F De Lux Coupe – Closed cockpit with advanced instruments.
• Arrow Sport M - Open cockpit with a Menasco Pirate engine.^[4]

Survivors

• A preserved Sport F Master (ex-NC18722, serial 85) is on display at San Francisco International Airport's Terminal 3.^[5]
• A disassembled Sport F is being rebuilt by the Dakota Territory Air Museum in North Dakota.^[6]
• A Sport M (N18764, serial 105) is private ownership.^[7]
• Two Sport F's (N17093, serial 13 & N18765, serial 106) preserved at the Western Antique Aeroplane & Automobile Museum in Oregon.
• A Sport F (N18018, serial 31) in private ownership in California.
• A 1936 Sport Model F (NC16470 Serial 2) preserved at the Mid Atlantic Air Museum at Reading Regional Airport in Reading, Pennsylvania. ^[8]
• A disassembled Sport F (N18000) is being rebuilt by The Nebraska Chapter of the Antique Airplane Association in Hastings Nebraska

Specifications

Data from American Airplanes and Engines for 1938^[9]

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Capacity: 1 passenger
• Length: 21 ft 4 in (6.50 m)
• Wingspan: 36 ft 7 in (11.15 m)
• Height: 8 ft 10 in (2.69 m)
• Wing area: 180.5 sq ft (16.77 m²)
• Empty weight: 1,097 lb (498 kg)
• Gross weight: 1,675 lb (760 kg)
• Fuel capacity: 20 US gal (17 imp gal; 76 L)
• Powerplant: 1 × Ford V-8 water-cooled converted automobile engine, 82 hp (61 kW)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 100 mph (160 km/h, 87 kn) at sea level
• Cruise speed: 90 mph (140 km/h, 78 kn)
• Stall speed: 40 mph (64 km/h, 35 kn)
• Range: 300 mi (480 km, 260 nmi)
• Service ceiling: 12,000 ft (3,700 m)
• Rate of climb: 800 ft/min (4.1 m/s)