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Pioneer International Aircraft Flightstar / Flight Designs 440ST

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The machine has been developed by Flight Designs, an associate of Pioneer International Corporation and the firm which builds and sells the single seat Jetwing ATV, as well as conducting a research programme on a prototype single seat three axis machine designated 440ST However, at the start of 1983, Andrew N Bohjalian, group president, announced that production and sales of the FlightStar would be taken over by a new associate company called Pioneer International Aircraft. The Pioneer group is well known for its activities in aerospace industry, and includes the Pioneer Parachute Company, which is one of the world leaders in its field. So it is not surprising to find that the FlightStar has been designed from the start to accommodate an emergency 29.0 ft diameter (8.84 m) parachute, which is deployed ballistically and fitted behind the pilot at the rear of the frame.

Pioneer Flightstar / Flight Designs 440 Article

The aircraft is sold as a complete kit requiring 20 h for assembly and at a price of $7495 in 1983. Apart from the parachute, options offered are floats, skis, wheel fairings, electric starter for the Kawasaki TA440A engine, larger diameter wheels (16 and 20 inch, 41 and 51 cm), transport covers and an instrument panel.

The Flight Designs 440 ST was a single seat single engined high wing monoplane with conventional three axis control. Wing has unswept leading edge, swept forward trailing edge and tapering chord; two fin tail. Pitch control by elevator on tail; yaw control by fin mounted rudders; roll control by spoilers; control inputs through stick for pitch/roll and pedals for yaw. Wing braced from above by kingpost and cables, from below by cables. Undercarriage has three wheels in tricycle formation. Aluminium tube framework, without pod. Engine mounted at wing height driving pusher propeller.

This single seat twin¬-boom, twin rudder aircraft exists only as a prototype in 1982, and was being used at Flight Designs to study the flight envelope of such machines.

Single seat single engined high wing mono¬plane with conventional three axis control. Wing has unswept leading edge, swept for¬ward trailing edge and tapering chord; conventional tail. Pitch control by elevator on tail; yaw control by fin mounted rudder; roll control by full span ailerons; control inputs through stick for pitch/roll and pedals for yaw. Wing braced from below by struts; wing profile; double surface. Undercarriage has three wheels in tricycle formation, with additional tailskid; bungee suspension on all wheels. Flush right go right nosewheel steering connected to yaw control. Aluminium tube framework, with optional pod. Engine mounted at wing height driving tractor propeller.

Shown at Oshkosh in August 1982, the prototype FlightStar made its first flights during that summer. It carried trapezoidal planform ailerons, whose chord tapered toward the wing tips and which covered a little less than the full span of each wing, but these have been replaced for the production machines by full span ailerons. In addition, the production FlightStar, on show at Sun ‘n’ Fun in Lakeland, Florida in March 1983, was fitted with a glass fibre pod with a windscreen mounted on top and going right up to the strut carrying the wing.

440 ST
Engine: Kawasaki TA440A, 38.5 hp at 6000 rpm
Power per unit area 0.26hp/sq.ft, 2.9hp/sq.m
Fuel capacity 5.0 US gal, 4.2 Imp gal, 18.9 litre
Length overall 18.8 ft, 5.69 m
Height overall 8.3ft, 2.51m
Wing span 34.0ft, 10.36m
Sweepback 0 deg
Total wing area 144 sq.ft, 13.4 sq.m
Wing aspect ratio 8.0/1
Empty weight 218 lb, 99kg
Max take off weight 529 lb, 240 kg
Payload 311 lb, 141 kg
Max wing loading 3.67 lb/sq.ft, 17.9 kg/sq.m
Max power loading 13.7 lb/hp, 6.2kg/hp
Load factors; +6.0, 4.0 ultimate
Max level speed 60 mph, 97 kph
Max cruising speed 50 mph, 80kph
Stalling speed 22mph, 35kph
Max climb rate at sea level 950ft/min, 4.8m/s
Take off distance 60ft, 18m
Landing dis¬tance 50ft, 15m
Range at average cruising speed 240 mile, 386 km

FlightStar
Engine: Kawasaki TA440A, 38.5hp at 6000rpm
Propeller diameter and pitch 58×27 inch, 1.47 x 0.68 m
Belt reduction, ratio 2.0/1
Max static thrust 270 lb, 122kg
Power per unit area 0.25hp/sq.ft, 2.9hp/sq.m
Fuel capacity 5.0 US gal, 4.2 Imp gal, 18.9 litre
Length overall 16.5 ft, 5.03 m
Height overall 7.5ft, 2.29m
Wing span 30.0ft, 9.14m
Chord at root 4.8ft, 1.46m
Chord at tip 4.5ft, 1.37m
Dihedral 2.5 deg
Sweepback 0 deg
Tailplane span 8.2 ft, 2.50 m
Fin height 4.0 ft, 1.22 m
Total wing area 144 sq.ft, 13.4 sq.m
Total aileron area 26.0 sq.ft, 2.41 sq.m
Fin area 5.0sq.ft, 0.46 sq.m
Rudder area 7.0 sq.ft, 0.65 sq.m
Tail¬plane area 10.0sq.ft, 0.93sq.m
Total elevator area 11.0sq.ft, 1.02 sq.m
Wing aspect ratio 6.3/1
Wheel track 5.1 ft, 1.55 m
Wheelbase 6.0 ft, 1.83 m
Nosewheel diameter overall 10 inch, 25 cm
Main wheels diameter overall 10 inch, 25 cm
Empty weight 247 lb, 112kg
Max take off weight 500 lb, 227kg
Payload 253 lb, 115kg
Max wing loading 3.47 lb/sq.ft, 16.9kg/sq.m
Max power loading 13.0 lb/hp, 5.9kg/hp
Load factors +6.0, 4.0 design; +7.8, ulti¬mate
Max level speed 64 mph, 103 kph
Never exceed speed 75 mph, 121 kph
Max cruising speed 55 mph, 88 kph
Economic cruising speed 50 mph, 80 kph
Stalling speed 25 mph, 40 kph
Max climb rate at sea level 850 ft/min, 4.3 m/s
Min sink rate 350 ft/min at 30 mph, 1.7 m/s at 48 kph
Best glide ratio with power off 7.1/1 at 35mph, 56 kph
Take off distance 100 ft, 30 m
Land¬ing distance 100ft, 30m
Service ceiling 10,000ft, 3050 m
Range at average cruising speed 50 mile, 80 km

Pioneer Aviation Voyager

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A newcomer to the UK hang gliding community, Pioneer Aviation Ltd, in 1997 produced the Voyager, a new high performance glider with a novel leading edge construction method. The Voyager uses an internal deflexer to brace the Leading edge tube. T was available with sail area of 129, 139, 153, and 149 sq ft.

Pini 1910 Monoplano/Biplano

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In 1908 Enrico Pini (born in Milan in January 1889), was in Paris during time when Wilbur Wright presented their airplanes. He became excited and remained influenced by aviation. He abandoned his normal activities and followed the American aviator, with such interest as to attract attention and sympathy of Wilbur Wright, who wanted to reward him by taking him as a passenger in a short flight. Then Pini decided to build himself an airplane, he designed one, a monoplane-biplane that best met his needs for aesthetics rather than technical ones.

In Milan, Enrico Pini had a brother, engineer Adolfo Pini, who was five years elder, he was an electrical engineer and occupied a responsible position at the Edison Electric Company. Bothe brothers started to build a full size machine according to Enricos drawing and with help of Adolfos fundings (this sum was to be used for the expenses of his marriage, which was therefore postponed), Adolfo even resigned from Edison`s company to dedicate himself fully to the project.

The brothers built the machine at the Bezzi`s factory, he was an industrialist, who owned an electric motor factory. Designed Enrico Pini, its planes were so arranged as to widely separate a large rectangular monoplane wing, then to add a small horizontal plane above the gap. All year 1909 was dedicated to the creation of the airplane, the assembly of which took place in the hangar of Societa Restelli, which built the Rebus engines, located in Piazza d’Armi nuova. In turn, the uncle and godfather of the two brothers Adollo, wanted to help them by providing them with the engine unit, a three-cylinder fan-type Anzani fan of about 25 HP, the kind used by Bleriot in his famous crossing of the Channel.

At the end of 1909, on 15th November, it was inaugurated in Milan the first exhibition of Italian Air Force “1a Esposizione Italiana d’Aviazione” organized by the Gazzetta dello Sport, at the vast halls of the Splendido Corso Hotel. The Pini brothers exhibited the model of their aircraft that was awarded by the jury with a bachelor’s bronze medal. In the spring of 1910 finally they began testing, pilot was Enrico, but at first the machine rarely reached the desired speed, it was only taxiing, the engine was underpowered. They made some improvement of undercarriage. With the daily trials and modifications aimed at improving the performance of complex propulsion and weight reduction, the device gradually lengthened its hops up to make small flight in height ranging between 50 and 80 cm from grass surface and a length variation from 200 to 500 meters.

Unfortunately the financial means of the two brothers were soon at the end, in view of their uncle would not hear of poor results to come to the aid; they tried to borrow, but even this was limited by the lack of trust that was fed to the success of the company (Bezzi was the same creditor to over six thousand liras) and therefore the tests had to be suspended and the two unfortunate inventors, despite all the sacrifices and renunciations that were subjected to succeed in their intent, reluctantly abandoned their aviation activities. The autumn saw the device removed and deposited in a cellar and was eventually sold as scrap.

A manufacturer from Milan, Ercole Marelli, which had seen the equipment of the Pini brothers had been appreciated, rather than the qualities of the aircraft itself, the brilliant and original construction, the engineer then offered a job in his company. Enrico Pini, after the bitter disappointment, continued in his business with bold new initiatives, and finally, helped by luck managed to form a solid financial position.

Pinaire Ultra-Aire

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Side mounted joy stick, nosewheel steerable through joystick. Construction: Aluminium, Dacron

Engine: Cuyuna ULII-02 (429 cc) 33 hp
Static thrust: 250 lb
Wing span: 26 ft
Wing area: 130 sq.ft
Height: 6 ft 11 in
Length: 14 ft 2 in
Empty wt: 240 lb
Max wt: 550 lb
Fuel cap: 5 USG
Stall: 22 mph
Max speed: 63 mph
Vne: 75 mph
Climb rate: 600 fpm @ 35 mph
Design limit: +6, -4g
Glide ratio: 8-1
Wing loading: 4.23 lbs/sq.ft
Power loading: 15.71 lbs/hp