400 hp Liberty V-12
Photo from The Ludington Family Archives via Jim Moffett.
from AAHS Journal Volume 41 Number 3 page 206, article by David B. Stevenson, "Charles Healy Day and His New Standards"
Following the demise of the Standard corporations and a brief job as Chief Engineer with the short-lived Aerial Transportation Corporation, Charles [Day] established a consulting practice. In 1921 he [Charles Day] designed the Air Express, a Liberty-powered cargo biplane for Rogers Construction Company of Gloucester,New jersey. Work was stopped on the Express for financial reasons and it was not completed until 1925 when a Charles Dickenson of Chicago purchased the project and financed its completion. Rogers was reportedly planning to build a Day designed sport biplane around 1922 but there is no indication that an airplane was ever built.
"CD" are the initials of Charles Dickenson, the owner, not the designer Charles Day.
From Jane's all the World's Aircraft
The C.D. Air Express aeroplane was designed by Chas. H. Day, formerly chief engineer and designer of the Standard Aero Corp., in 1921 and partially constructed at that time by the Rogers Construction Co., at Gloucester City, N. J. When about 80 per cent. completed, the Company for whom it was being built discontinued, and the uncompleted plane was placed in storage. Early in 1925, it was purchased by Charles Dickinson, of Chicago, and recently completed for him by the Rogers Construction Co. The primary object of the design was to obtain a reasonable performance in a plane carrying not less than 1,800 lbs. pay load and at the same time having a cubic capacity sufficient to carry very bulky packages. This first machine was constructed almost entirely of spruce and ply-wood and was so designed that at a later date the design could be easily altered to include all-metal construction. The wings are constructed entirely of spruce and ply-wood, and are of normal two-spar single-bay design. Each main spar consists of two “ I ” sections, with spruce flanges and ply-wood web, arranged so that the strut fittings are submerged and the wire pulls are from the neutral axis. The covering is ply-wood. Features of the machine include the extensive use of ply-wood throughout, including the covering of all surfaces, the very large cross-section of the fuselage allowing an unobstructed cargo space totalling 425 cu. ft. and the pilot’s seat placed unusually high and well to the rear of the cargo. Specification.Overall length .................... 34 ft. 6 in.
Overall height .................... 12 ft. 3 in.
Span of wings ..................... 52 ft.
Overall span ...................... 57 ft.
Chord .............................. 7 ft. 3 in.
Wing section ..................... U.S.A.27.
Gap ...................................... 7ft.3in.
Total wing area ..................... 749 sq. it.
Main cargo compartment ....... 300 cu. ft.
Auxiliary cargo compartment . 125 cu. ft.
