1929 Waco Model 10 
"Taperwing"

In the late 1920s, the Advanced Aircraft Company – formerly known as the Weaver Aircraft Company and eventually renamed The Waco Aircraft Company – designed a larger, updated version of its popular “9” model and in 1927 introduced the Waco “10”.   The “10” became Waco’s most produced airplane with 1,623 built over a 6-year period.  The “10” was powered by a number of different engines, including the venerable OX5 and many of the newer “radial” engines, which were becoming increasingly popular in the late 1920s.

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In addition to different engines, Waco buyers could order their new aircraft with one of two different wing designs.  While most opted for the standard,and traditional, wings with a straight leading-edge profile (known colloquially as “Straight Wings”), some wanted the more exotic wing with a tapered leading edge.  Some owners even ordered their aircraft with both sets of wings! These “taperwings” had improved handling characteristics and made the plane a high-performance aircraft for its time.

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The Collection is fortunate to have two Model 10’s.  One is a 1929 ASO currently under restoration.  The other is the beautiful NC657N.  Equipped with unusual tapered “I” struts, NC657N undoubtedly served as a racing and aerobatic airplane after it left the Waco factory in Troy, Ohio, on 10/21/29, just a week before the aviation industry, and the world, were plunged into depression on Black Friday.

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NC657N is on long-term loan from owner Davidson Smith, who acquired it from the “Ala Doble Flying Collection”. This beautiful airplane was restored by well-known master craftsman Frank Pavliga.  It’s powered by a Wright Whirlwind 760-8 radial engine of 235 horsepower and is equipped with a beautiful Hamilton Standard 2B20 variable speed propeller.