Designed as a 28-seater, 60ft long, with a wingspan of 82 ft, and powered by two Dart RDa6 Mk 510 turboprops, each of 1780 hp. Nobody knows why it was called the Accountant – but the Accountant paid for it out of Air Charter’s cash flow. The Accountant design was partly based on the use of a segmented tensioned skin production method. The problem with the tension skin was that, in order to keep the metal evenly stressed, the curves of the fuselage had to come to a long, pointed end, which strictly limited the freight capacity of the aircraft. By the time it was built, the Accountant’s rear end was largely taken up with struts to support a large separate tail-section, while the upper half of the flight deck was stuck on the front. First flown on 9 July 1957, the press was invited in July 1957 to first flight of the prototype, which The Aeroplane described as a “plump silver partridge”. The plane performed well enough, but Laker had already decided against the tension-skin construction, and plans were drawn for a conventional fuselage. Unhappily, he could find no-one to go into partnership with him to build it. The Accountant was flown at the 1957 Farnborough Air Show, but there were already two rivals in the air: the Handley Page Herald, and the Fokker Friendship. The programmes was cancelled in January 1958, by which time the prototype had completed over 200 hrs. The engines and equipment were removed and the aircraft left in open storage. Its optimum cruising altitude, powered by two Rolls Royce Dart 510 (R.Da.6) turboprops, would have been 30,000 ft. With S.B.A.C. reserves the Accountant would have carried a passenger pay¬load of 8,363 lb for 400 nautical miles, or 6,135 lb. for 1,000 n.m. and 2,422 lb. for 2,000 n.m. At a mean weight of 20,000 lb. in I.S.A. conditions the Accountant’s top cruising speed (13,600 r.p.m.) was expected to be 250 knots (290 m.p.h.).
A side by side two seater with standard undercarriage and high wing, the Aerocruiser has a fuselage and wing of fabric covered aluminium Conversion to floats takes one hour.
Engine: Rotax 912, 80 hp Wing span: 9.75 m Wing area: 16 sq.m MAUW: 479 kg Empty weight: 239 kg Fuel capacity: 41 lt Max speed: 169 kph Cruise speed: 135 kph Minimum speed: 48 kph Climb rate: 4.5 m/s Fuel consumption: 10 lt/hr Seats: 2 Certification: Canada Price (1998): Can$43,500 Kit price (1998): Can$37,000
Unveiled on Feb. 2, 2013, the Qaher 313 was no more than a mock-up that will never fly unless it is almost completely redesigned. Iran insists its new home-made stealth fighter aircraft is “not a paper model” but an “aircraft designed by the Islamic Republic for anti-choppers missions.” Furthermore the F-313’s mission would be “protecting security in the Persian Gulf.” This is what a senior Iranian defense ministry official said on Apr. 16.
Addressing a group of Iranian soldiers, Deputy Defense Minister General Majid Bokayee explained that the Qaher 313, designed and developed at a cost of 2 to 3 million USD, has a “unique” structure, will be armed with home-made weapons and equipment and it will feature capabilities that will stun enemies on the battlefield. According to the Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi, the Qaher 313 is an advanced aircraft with a very small Radar Cross Section, capable of taking off from short runways and flying at low altitude like no other most advanced western plane.
The prototype of the Q-313 (or F-313 according to the stencils applied to the aircraft), was presented to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and publicly displayed as part of the Ten-Day Dawn ceremonies held in Iran to celebrate the 1979’s victory of the Islamic Revolution.
In the previous days, the Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi had said, “The aircraft will be different from the other fighter jets Iran has already made.”
The Q-313 has large, seemingly fixed canards, and little wings whose external section is canted downward. The canopy material looks like plexiglass or something like that. The cockpit seems to be basic (note the lack of wirings behind the front panel and the presence of few instruments, some of those similar to those equipping small private planes…).
The nose section is so small almost no radar could fit in it. The air intakes are extremely small whereas the engine section lacks any kind of nozzle: engine afterburners could melt the entire jet. The aircraft is way too small, look at the image showing an Iranian officer sitting on the ejection seat in the cockpit.
There is a video allegedly showing the Q-313 in the air. Here it is.
The Magnum light aircraft has an all composite hydraulic fully retracting tricycle undercarriage, 30% Fowler flaps with low drag cruise setting, 160 kts continuous cruise on 100 hp, 1000 nautical miles range, 200 kg crew, 50 kg baggage, room for skiis, 21:1 L/D ratio, and a max 21 deg alpha
After mixed results with the MicroLight prototype, carmaker Lotus still wanted to build a business for the ultralight canard pusher, and when the arrangements with Rutan didn’t work out, they sought backing to continue alone. When that wasn’t approved, Lotus went looking for partners and teamed up with the Eipper company, a big ultralight builder in those days (now no longer in business) to distribute it in the USA, while Malcolm Lawrence’s Aviation Composites of Thatcham in Berkshire, was to distribute it in the UK and Europe.
Lotus originally planned to build the basic structure themselves, with Aircraft Composites finishing and distributing it. It was then decided that the materials (epoxy glass) and the quality control techniques were not part of the Lotus core business, and Aircraft Composites agreed to take over the development and build, with the help of Peter Jackson’s Specialised Mouldings (a well-known firm in motorsport).
Since Lotus was struggling to cope with the aftermath of Colin Chapman’s death, Aircraft Composites moved into taking over the whole project. Instead, Aviation Composites used the design’s features as a basis for a different aircraft. The company employed VariEze builder Ivan Shaw, and built a similar but much heavier version, the two-seat Mercury prototype (G-INAV c/n AC001).
The Mercury featured an all-composite canard configuration with a four-cylinder Magnum pusher engine. The Mercury incorporated various modifications from the Rutan design and Shaw had several problems with it. First of all, it apparently exhibited some not-so-attractive flight characteristics, and its development program suffered a number of developmental problems, among them, the failure to obtain an acceptable engine. When the Magnum engine proved unsatisfactory, and a 40 hp Norton rotary engine was fitted instead. However, testing the brand new aircraft engine of a motorcycle company on an airframe that hasn’t yet been properly flight-tested was not a good idea.
Initially, the aircraft was to be available by February 1986 and Aviation Composites intended to obtain UK certification in the motor-glider category before introducing the type to the US market. However, these setback seriously compromised the fledgling company’s chances to offer a proven model on the market any time soon. Aviation Composites therefore approached Scaled Composites requesting developmental help. While assisting Ivan Shaw, now the company’s production manager on the program, with flight testing (the plane was test-flown by Douglas B. Shane, one of Rutan’s own test pilots), Scaled discovered a poor spin recovery characteristic, and found out the virtue of using of engine power to aid in recovery from a deep stall in a canard pusher-type, using this successfully on several occasions during high angle of attack testing of the Mercury.
Once Aviation Composites realized that changes would be necessary to obtain adequate spin recovery characteristics, the next step should have been to equip the aircraft with a spin recovery parachute and to develop an appropriate aerodynamic fix for the problem. Instead, they discontinued support of the flight testing and further development, and sued RAF for all of their expenses to date—allegedly amounting to several million dollars—claiming that they should have more thoroughly tested the Model 97 in 1983 to find a possible flaw in spin recovery.
The case was scheduled for trial in federal court during January ’91. Burt Rutan best summed up the situation when he declared: “there seems to be no basis, however, these exercises have an enormous effect on our time and distract from our ability to concentrate on things more productive and enjoyable.” The case dragged on (way beyond Lotus being taken over by GM in 1986) and was eventually dropped. The backers disappeared, and Aircraft Composites went into bankruptcy. As for the original MicroLight prototype, it was lost in an accident in which the owner and test pilot of the aircraft were killed, giving some credence to Aircraft Composites’ claim that the design was faulty.
Engine: Norton 40 hp Maximum speed est: 87 kt Range est: 290 nm Seats: 2
This 2/3-scale P-51D Mustang is fully aerobatic and seats two Since the original fighter had a liquid-cooled Rolls-Royce Merlin engine with an external radiator affixed to the underside of its fuselage, Aviation Ad Ventures chose to go the liquid-cooled route. The airplane utilizes a conventional metal structure — welded tubular 4130 steel fuselage frame and riveted aluminum flight surfaces and controls. It is covered with a fiberglass shell from rudder to spinner and features hydraulic gear retraction and flush-riveted surfaces. The new production prototypes have a Bendix Fuel Injection system and Electronic Ignition for better performance. For those homebuilders who prefer to build their own powerplants, a modified kit, the “Mustang Plus,” contains everything except the engine, propeller and instruments. According to Aviation AdVentures, extensive efforts have been made to maintain authenticity in both performance and appearance.
Engine 330-hp 351C1D Ford or 350 CID Chevrolet V8. Cruise 277 mph. Cruise 267mph. Stall 77mph. Rate of Climb 3131 fpm. T/O run 1063ft. Ldg roll: 1400 ft Range: 540 mls. Gross wt: 2660lbs. Empty wt: 1930lbs. Wing span: 23.9ft Length: 20.5ft.
The Husky A1-A, conceptually based on the Piper Super Cub, is a completely new design, created in 1986 and fully certified in 1987. The prototype was N6070H. By 2008 over 650 had been made and were in use all over the world.
The taildragger Husky A-1B continues the tradition with tremendous short and soft field abilities even with a healthy load and functions on wheels, floats or skis. Aviat refined the design in 2005, improving the ailerons and flaps, as well as offering the Husky with an optional 200 hp powerplant and composite, 82-inch propeller. The FAR 23 certified A-1B Husky takes off in 200 feet and lands in 350 feet fully loaded. On water takeoff it takes six seconds. With a useful load of 800 pounds, 20,000 ft service ceiling, top speed of 145 miles per hour, 33 miles per hour power on stall and 800 nautical mile range.
Featuring a STOL Clark-Y wing, the first production was in 1987. Price $105,000 (1998). 395 had been produced by the end of 1997 (including Christen production).
A-1C Husky
The A-1C increases its useful load by 192 pounds, and can carry up to 842 lbs, and can fly 800 miles without refueling. 60% Span semi-fowler flaps allow shorter take-offs and landings and removal of spades and the installation of advanced performance ailerons stability during flight, as well as during take-offs and landings. The aileron is mass and aerodynamically balanced. The aileron has a deeper chord and shorter span. The A-1C has a stick force pressure that is about four pounds. Designed to provide three flap settings, 10°, 20° and 30°, the handle activates the flaps with considerably shorter travel. The leverage point for deployment is always in front of the pilot. The handle offers better leverage, takes less effort and is less cumbersome to operate. The A-1B-160, A-1C-180 and 200 were designed to meet rigid government specs. It is certified to fly with a gross weight in excess of a full ton. Optional is the 200hp Lycoming IO-360 A1D6 engine in place of the standard 180 hp O-360 engine. The IO-360 is equipped with a positive-flow fuel injection system that offers much better fuel distribution. Fuel injection also eliminates the requirement for carburetor heat and its associated controls. This IO-360 is an angle valve engine, as opposed to the parallel valve O-360. The IO-360 used in the Husky is equipped with a mass-balanced crankshaft. The IO-360 weighs some 23 pounds more than an O-360, due largely to the mass balancers. The 80″ Hartzell Constant Speed propeller comes standard. Also available with this engine package, is the 205cm MT propeller, which is close to 20 pounds lighter than a metal prop. The lighter prop makes the basic weight of the 200-hp powerplant package nearly unchanged from a 180-hp model with a metal prop. The 200-hp installation includes a second oil cooler and a cowl flap to better manage engine temperatures. The switch to an angle valve engine, the addition of the cowl flap, and other modifications wouldn’t fit in a standard Husky cowling, so Aviat designed a new cowling. Aviat were one of the first manufacturers to introduce the airbag in an aircraft. The airbags are much like those found in automobiles. The difference being that the Husky’s airbags deploy away from the pilot or passenger. Airbags are mounted in seat belt webbing and follow the path of least resistance, beginning with zero pressure in the bag.
The 2002 Husky Pup is a 160hp Piper J-3 Cub lookalike for $110,000.
Aviasud Engineering from Fréjus, France developed a 2-seat highwing ULM-aeroplane with push-propeller. Production of the AE-209 Albatros started in 1992, and the Albatros was available with the 2-stroke Rotax 582 or the 4-stroke Rotax 912 engine. The Albatros classique is equipped with a tail wheel; the Albatros tricycle is equipped with a nose wheel or tail wheel. The wings can be folded, which reduces the needed parking space in the hangar.
After Aviasud went defunct, Micronef ULM had the Albatros built under contract in Poland.
