Curtiss Model 53 Condor

The Curtiss Model 53 Condor, also called the Condor 18 or the CO Condor, was a 1929 twin-engined biplane airliner that carried 18 passengers, a civil version of the Model 52 Condor B-2 bomber. It was a large equal-span three-bay biplane of all-metal structure with fabric covering, and two 635 hp Curtiss Conqueror water-cooled V-12 engines on the lower wing. The cabin held six rows of three seats and could be fitted with sleeper berths, and the Condor was the first airliner with cabin steam heating. The first, converted from a bomber, flew on 21 July 1929, and six were built. They flew for Transcontinental Air Transport and Eastern Air Lines for about a year, then as barnstormers until 1939.