Elias AJE Air Express

The AJE Air Express was a development of the company's Elias M-1 Mailplane,^[3] with which it was marketed side-by-side in 1926.^[4] It was a single-bay, equal-span, unstaggered biplane of conventional configuration.^[5] Its fuselage incorporated a 65-cubic-foot (1.8 m³) duralumin-lined mail compartment^[2][3] and an open cockpit for the pilot.^[2][5] The tail was of conventional design, and it was equipped with fixed, tailskid undercarriage.^[2][5] Power was supplied by a piston engine in the nose driving a tractor propeller.^[2][5] The ends of the wings were braced with N-struts, and in place of bracing wire, interplane bracing was achieved with steel tube.^[2]

The fuselage and tail were built from welded steel tube, and the wings from wood.^[2] The whole aircraft was covered in fabric.^[2]

From the outset, Elias hoped that the mail compartment could also be fitted with cameras for aerial survey work, or be used as a chemical hopper for crop-dusting.^[1][2] Despite this forward thinking, the aircraft failed to find a market.^[1]

Data from Grey & Bridgman 1928, p.219

General characteristics

• Crew: 1 pilot
• Capacity: mail compartment of 65 cubic feet (1.8 m³) with normal load of 1,200 pounds (540 kg)
• Length: 29 ft 2 in (8.89 m)
• Wingspan: 44 ft (13 m)
• Height: 11 ft 8 in (3.56 m)
• Wing area: 540 sq ft (50 m²)
• Empty weight: 2,890 lb (1,311 kg)
• Gross weight: 4,960 lb (2,250 kg)
• Powerplant: 1 × Liberty L-12 water-cooled, 12-cylinder V engine

Performance

• Maximum speed: 126 mph (203 km/h, 109 kn)
• Range: 550 mi (890 km, 480 nmi)
• Service ceiling: 15,800 ft (4,800 m)

• Aircraft Year Book 1926. New York: Aeronautical Chamber of Commerce of America. 1926.
• The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft. London: Aerospace Publishing.
• Grey, C.G.; Bridgman, Leonard (1928). Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1928. London: Sampson Low Marston.
• McLaughlin, George F. (August 1926). "American Commercial Airplanes". Aero Digest. Vol. 9, no. 2. New York: Aeronautical Digest Publishing. pp. 90–94.