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| STANDARD DATA: Seats 5. Gross wt. 3,400. Empty wt. 2,010. Fuel capacity 62. Engine 200-hp Wright Whirlwind. PERFORMANCE: Top mph 105. Cruise mph 85. Stall mph 40. Initial climb rate 800. Ceiling 17,800. |
The D-25 was a further development of the Gates-Day GD-24. This five-seat general-purpose commercial biplane accommodated four persons in side-by-side pairs in the forward of two tandem cockpits; the pilot sat in the aft cockpit. Power was supplied by a 200-hp Wright Whirlwind J-5 radial fed by a 62-gallon fuel tank. In 1929, a fleet of D-27 Mail Planes was delivered to Clifford Ball who operated the Cleveland-Pittsburgh-Washington mail route. Another version was the D-26, in which two of the front four seats were removed.
The D-27 Mail Plane differed by having all four seats removed and the forward cockpit covered over. The D-28 was a twin-float seaplane. Most of the D-25s that have survived have been put into service as agricultural aircraft with the dust hopper or spray tank replacing the forward cockpit. The fuselage was built from Duralumin angles and channels riveted or bolted together. The wings were made from basswood and plywood and covered with fabric.
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