Christensen Zipper
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| Zipper | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Type | Air racer |
| National origin | United States |
| Designer | Harvey Christensen |
| History | |
| Introduction date | 1948 |
The Christensen Zipper is an air racer that was built to compete in the Goodyear midget air races.[1]
The Christensen Zipper was developed by Harvey Christensen and was patterned after Steve Wittman's Bonzo and Buster midget racers.[2]
The Zipper is a single-place, mid-winged aircraft with conventional landing gear. The fuselage was constructed from welded steel tubing with fabric covering. The wing used two wooden spars with strut wire bracing and fabric covering.[3]
Operational history
During the 1948 National Air Races the aircraft was disqualified due to a spar structure inspection.
In the 1949 National Air Races the Zipper flew with the race number 59, sponsored by Rich-O-Root Beer with a qualifying run of 156.245 mph (251 km/h). Christensen flew to third place, but landed one lap early after seeing the checkered flag for a competitor who had lapped him. The Zipper fell to tenth place for landing early.[4]