The X-4 “Mullet Skiff” was built by Hoffman and his son Ed Jr. in 1980 and was an amphibious development of the earlier X-2 two-seat flying boat, but also slightly larger with side-by-side seating. The 115 hp Lycoming O-235 powered X-4 (N5597N c/n 1) was kept active well into the 2000s by Ed Jr.”
The Hoffman X-3 “The Girl Friend” N14647 c/n 1 was the second land plane of Mr. Edward C. Hoffman and first flew late-1974. At that time, it was fitted with a 75hp Continental A65 engine. The A75 was later replaced by a 85hp C85 for an improved overall performance.
The X-2 designation was used for two light flying boats designed by Edward C. Hoffman. The first X-2 (registered N9159R and first flown 1962) was named Little Orphan Annie and was built by Hoffman. Engine was a 75 hp Continental A75 and in the construction the wings of a Taylorcraft BC-12D were used.
The second X-2 (N1736 and known as the PBY) was in 1964 completed by another amateur constructor and had a 108 hp Lycoming O-235 engine. Other changes were new built wings and a slightly taller vertical tail. The PBY was later also acquired by Hoffman, but it was lost in an accident.”
Built by Edward C. Hoffman, the X-1 Sweet Patootie was first flown on 24 February 1960 and initially fitted with a 65hp Continental A65 engine. The following year N6313D was re-engined with a 90hp Continental C90 and it also received some modifications such as a tear drop canopy.
Ed inherited his love for aviation from his father, Edward C. Hoffman II. Edward. In 1970 the original design, the Hoffman X-1, nicknamed Sweetpotootie, was flown to the Oshkosh fly-in.
Sweetpotootie was built in an open barn by Lake Tarpon that was tucked away by the orange groves. The airplane took one year and four days to build from beginning to first flight. The prop was built by well-known EAA member Ray Hegy. About 2007, Ed stopped flying Sweetpotootie due to an issue with fuel starvation and rough flight. When EAA reached out to him this March about bringing the airplane back for the 50th celebration, Ed realized that the plan he had to rebuild it after he retired would need to start early.
The restoration for Sweetpotootie started in March 2019, and on July 6, 2019, it was airborne once again. The all-wood airplane built with Weldwood glue needed a new carburetor, restored brakes, fresh spark plugs, and some cosmetic work. One thousand hours of restoration work has been put into the aircraft to make it flyable again. This uniquely designed airplane has a 90-hp Continental engine and is iconic in the southern United States.
With only a few months before the 50th consecutive fly-in, the priority of the restoration was making the airplane airworthy and less on cosmetic work.
“It looks like a 60-year-old plane. It has all the battle scars, but that makes it sentimental,” Ed said. He plans to find his father’s logbook from his first flight to Oshkosh and make the same trip. “I want to make the same fuel stops, same flight path. I want this flight to be a tribute to my father,” Ed said.
The 1913 Hofer aero engine was made from a Franklin automobile case and Indian motorcycle cylinders. An air-cooled inline 4-cylinder, it produced 10-12hp@1200rpm from 115.04ci and had a dry weight of 120 lb.
The Hofer powered Laird’s first aircraft.
In 1918 the New Britain Machine Co built an 18-cylinder air-cooled radial aero engine designed by G O Hodge. With two banks of 9 cyls each, it produced 320hp@2000rpm from 904.68ci. The dry weight was 480 lb.
New Britain Machine Co,
G O Hodge
New Britain CT
USA
Built a 320 hp aero engine in 1918.
One of three new Czechoslovak prototypes unveiled at an international airshow held at Prague-Ruzyne airport on September 7, 1947, was the civil HK-101 light twin.
Engines: 2 x Walter Minor 4-III.
Design work on the CV-139 Comet two-seat high-wing cabin monoplane, but was suspended in 1940 to make way for military contract work for other aircraft companies. The project was resumed in 1944, when the sole prototype was test flown.
The Mozzi microlight is a New Zealand design with a high-lift wing of 30 feet span, strut braced for easy removal. Built by J.L. Hobson, it features a tricycle undercarriage, pod and windscreen of a B20. Power comes from a Rotax 447 and top speed so far is 65 mph, with an economical cruise speed in the low 40s. Most of the fittings are of the builder’s own design.
