Douglas DA-1 Ambassador

The Douglas DA-1 Ambassador was an American single-engined light aircraft of the 1920s, a parasol-wing monoplane intended for private use of which only one example was built. It followed the single Commuter of 1926, a small two-seat high-wing monoplane intended as an inexpensive private aircraft, which did not go into production. The DA-1 was powered by a 220 hp Wright Whirlwind radial engine and was of mixed construction, with a metal fuselage structure and spruce wings with plywood covering, and it had tandem cockpits for two passengers or dual controls for training. Construction was slow because of Douglas heavy workload, and the prototype, ordered by Ambassador Airways of Texas, was not flown until September 1928; it crashed on takeoff while being flown back from El Paso with Donald Douglas as passenger and was not repaired.