Wilcoxsen M-1 Monoplane / The Cloud-Boy

Ray Wilcoxsen of Indiana, USA, built in 1930 an aircraft for the light plane market, powered by a rebuilt Henderson motor cycle engine.

Wilcoxsen received a Commerce Department permit to fly the plane and planned to sell complete aircraft for $960 and plans for homebuilders.

Engine: Henderson motorcycle, 27 hp at 3000 rpm
Wingspan: 27 ft 3 in
Length: 14 ft 6 in
Empty weight: 280 lb
Fuel capacity: 7 USG
Max speed: 76 mph

WNF Wn 16 / Meindl-van Nes A.XV / Meindl M.15

The WNF Wn 16, designed by Erich Meindl in 1937-1938, originally built as the Meindl-van Nes A.XV (aka Meindl M.15), was an Austrian experimental aircraft built in the late 1930s for tricycle undercarriage research. It was a swept wing tandem two-seater, with a pusher configuration engine and twin-boom fuselage. Its cantilever low wing had straight edges and 18.33° of sweep at quarter chord. The wing was in three parts, with a twin spar, steel tube framed centre section welded to the central fuselage which supported the tailbooms on its upper surfaces at their outer ends. The ribs were also formed from steel tube. The forward part of the centre section was plywood covered, with fabric aft. The outer wing panels were ply covered, each with a single wooden single spar. There was a split flap over the whole centre section trailing edge and slotted ailerons which filled the trailing edges of the outer panels.

The short fuselage was also a welded steel tube structure, alloy skinned front and rear but with a fabric covered central section that contained the tandem seats under a continuous, multi-framed canopy which merged into the rear fuselage. The Wn 16’s pusher configuration, 37 kW (50 hp) Salmson 9Ad nine cylinder radial engine was installed within a Townend ring cowling at the rear of the fuselage beyond the wing, driving a two blade propeller. The Wn 16 was later re-engined with a 45 kW (60 hp) Walter Mikron.

The Wn 16’s tail-booms were wooden monocoques. The rectangular tail-plane and elevator was on top of them, with oval vertical tails acting as end-plates; the fins had ply covered wooden frames and the rudders had fabric covered steel frames.

Its tricycle gear was fixed, all units with bungee cord shock absorbers. Both legs and wheels were enclosed in streamlined fairings. The nosewheel was steerable via the rudder pedals.

After the Anschluss of Austria, it was further developed by Wiener Neustadt Flugzeugwerke (WNF). The Wn 16 flew for the first time on 23 September 1939, carrying on board the German registration code D-ECAB. Development continued into World War II and the first flight with the Walter engine was on 7 August 1942.

The aircraft was tested in Germany, where it was later re-equipped with the Walter Micron engine (60 hp). The WN-16 successfully flew until the autumn of 1942, and then it was transferred to the Technical School in Stuttgart for further tests. There it remained until September 1944, until it was destroyed during an air-raid.

Engine: 1 × Salmson 9Ad, 37 kW (50 hp)
Propeller: 2-bladed
Length: 7.27 m (23 ft 10 in)
Wingspan: 9.84 m (32 ft 3 in)
Height: 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Wing area: 13.50 m2 (145.3 sq ft)
Empty weight: 350 kg (772 lb)
Gross weight: 550 kg (1,213 lb)
Fuel capacity: 38 l (8.4 imp gal; 10 US gal)
Maximum speed: 160 km/h (99 mph; 86 kn) at sea level
Cruise speed: 145 km/h (90 mph; 78 kn)
Range: 400 km (249 mi; 216 nmi)
Service ceiling: 2,800 m (9,200 ft)
Rate of climb: 2.2 m/s (430 ft/min)
Landing speed: 65 km/h (40 mph)
Crew: Two

Wiencziers Renneindecker

Built in Germany, the 1911 Eugen Wiencziers Renneindecker a very advanced monoplane with a very sleek fuselage which consisted of a metal tube only. The two wheel undercarriage could be folded back to the fuselage. The machine was intended as a two-seater, where the pilot sat enclosed and the passenger sat in a saddle just at his back on the steel fuselage, just like horse riding.

Wiederkehr Cu-Climber GHW-1

Designed by George Wiederkehr, the Cu-Climber first flew in 1968. The wing has a large (12 x 6 in/ 30 x 15 cm) spruce/ plywood/ fiberglass box-spar stressed to +9/ -6.3 g. The remainder of the wing is a fiberglass/ balsa sandwich, with the bottom of the wing aft of the spar covered with fabric. The fuselage is a fiberglass semi-monocoque structure with foam bulkheads. The ship also has an all-moving conventional horizontal tail with an anti-servo tab. Full span ailerons/ flaps are used for approach control.

Wing span: 14.5m / 47.6ft
Wing area: 11.8sq.m / 127sq.ft
Aspect ratio: 17.8
Airfoil: Pfenninger 14%
Empty Weight: 218kg / 480lb
Payload: 100kg / 220lb
Gross Weight: 318kg / 700 lb
Wing Load: 26.95 kg/sq.m /5.5 lb/sq.ft
L/DMax: 28 88 kph / 48 kt / 55 mph
MinSink: 0.76 m/s / 2.5 fps / 1.48 kt
Seats: 1
No. Built: 1

Widerues C.5 Polar / Honningstad Polar C5

The Polar light utility monoplane built by Wideröe’s Flyveselskap og Polarfly A.S. in 1948, was designed by Birger Hönningstad to a specification prepared by the company. This called for an aircraft suitable for carrying a pilot and five passengers or cargo, capable of operating from wheels, floats or skis. Only one example of the Polar was built.

The Polar is of mixed construction, the plywood and fabric covered wing having two spruce spars and spruce ribs, and the fuselage has a welded steel-tube framework with a spruce and duralumin superstructure covered by light alloy panels forward and fabric aft.

Only one C.5 Polar was built, which was employed by the Wideröe company.

Engine: 1 x Wright R-769-E2, 350 hp
Span: 45 ft 0 in
Length: 29 ft 6 in
Height: 8 ft 4 in
Wing area: 269.09 sq.ft
Empty weight: 2550 lb
Loaded weight: 4130 lb
Max speed: 150 mph
Cruise speed: 130 mph
ROC: 800 fpm
Range: 625 miles

Wibault 280 T / 281 T / 282 T / 283 T

283 T.12

The Wibault 280-T was a French 12-passenger civil airliner produced by Wibault backed by money from the Penhoët shipyards and also known as ‘Penhoët Wibault’.

280 T

The prototype Penhoët Wibault 280-T first flew at Villacoublay in November 1930 with the development backed by funds from the Penhoët shipyards of St Nazaire. It was an all-metal low-wing cantilever monoplane powered by three 300 hp (224 kW) Hispano-Wright 9Qa radial engines although these were soon replaced by three Gnome-Rhône 7Kb and the aircraft was redesignated the Wibault 281-T.

A second aircraft was built to the 281 standard but then it was converted to a Wibault 282-T with three 350 hp (261 kW) Gnome-Rhône 7Kd engines and room for 12 passengers, seven further aircraft were built as 282s. Some of the 282s were operated by Air Union on the Paris-London Voile d’Or (“Golden Clipper”) service in 1933.

282.T12

Air France replaced its LeO 21 biplanes with a fleet of Wibault 282s, which in turn gave way to Bloch 220s.

In 1934 Air France took delivery of the first of ten Wibault 283-Ts which had an increased fuel capacity and modified tail. Some of the 282s were converted to 283 standard. Some of the commercial aircraft were later taken over as military transports.

Wilbault 283 T Article

Accidents and incidents

On 9 May 1934, Wibault 282-T F-AMHP of Air France crashed into the English Channel off Dungeness, Kent, United Kingdom, killing all six people on board.

On 19 May 1934, a Golden Clipper of Air France crash-landed on a cricket pitch adjacent to Croydon Airport, Surrey, United Kingdom, due to fuel exhaustion. Only one of the ten people on board was injured.

On 24 December 1937, Wibault-Penhoët 283.T12 (c/n 11) F-AMYD of Air France crashed near Zhůří (currently part of Rejštejn), Czechoslovakia, due to a navigational error. The aircraft was supposed to land at Prague, but was directed by controllers to fly south and crashed in foggy, snowy and dark conditions after 120 km (75 mi). Two pilots and a single passenger were killed.

Gallery

Variants

Penhoët Wibault 280-T
Prototype
one built converted to a 281 and then to a 282.
Engines: three 300 hp (220 kW) Hispano-Wright 9Qa

Wibault 281-T
Prototype
One built as such and one converted from 280-T.
Both converted to 282-Ts.
Engines: three 350 hp (260 kW) Gnome-Rhône 7Kd

Wibault 282-T
10-passenger production variant
cowlings around the wing-mounted engines
Six built from new plus two converted prototypes.
Engines: 3 x Gnome-Rhône 7Kd

Wibault 283-T
Production variant for Air France
NACA cowlings, increased fuel capacity, higher weights and a modified tail
ten built.
Engines: three Gnome-Rhône 7Kd

283-T-12
Powerplant: 3 × Gnome-Rhône Titan Major 7Kd, 260 kW (350 hp) each
Wingspan: 22.61 m (74 ft 2 in)
Wing area: 64.4 m2 (693 sq ft)
Length: 17.0 m (55 ft 9 in)
Height: 5.75 m (18 ft 10 in)
Empty weight: 4,266 kg (9,405 lb)
Gross weight: 6,350 kg (13,999 lb)
Maximum speed: 251 km/h (156 mph, 136 kn)
Cruise speed: 230 km/h (140 mph, 120 kn)
Range: 1,000 km (620 mi, 540 nmi)
Service ceiling: 5,200 m (17,100 ft)
Crew: 2
Capacity: 10 passengers

Wibault 282 T12

Wickham Model E Sunbird II

The Wickham Model E Sunbird II is a single seat homebuilt aircraft designed by engineer James M. Wickham.

The Sunbird II is a single place low wing aircraft made primarily of wood. It differs from the Model C by employing tricycle landing gear, a larger wing, and power from a larger 1835cc VW engine.

The Wickham E was the fifth of six designs by Wickham, which first flew on August 8, 1979 at Arlington, WA. The aircraft was lost following a spin test where the aircraft did not recover on July 20, 1980.

Only the one was ever built.

Engine: VW, 1835cc
Propeller: 2-bladed 54/40
Wingspan: 26 ft 8 in / 8.13 m
Wing area: 82 sq ft / 7.6 m2
Aspect ratio: 8.7
Length: 18 ft / 5.5 m
Height: 7 ft / 2.1 m
Maximum speed: 104 kn / 193 km/h / 120 mph
Seats: 1