The Klemm Kl 107 was a two-seat light aircraft developed in Germany in 1940. It was a conventional low-wing cantilever monoplane of wooden construction with fixed tailwheel undercarriage. Wartime production totalled only five prototypes and some 20 production machines before the Klemm factory was destroyed by Allied bombing. Following World War II and the lifting of aviation restrictions on Germany, production recommenced in 1955 with a modernised version, the Kl 107B, of which Klemm built a small series before selling all rights to the design to Bölkow. This firm further revised the design and built it as the Kl 107C before using it as the basis for their own Bo 207.

The Kl 107 was a development from earlier Klemm designs and was a single-engined two-seat low-wing monoplane with a conventional landing gear. The first prototype registered D-EXKL first flew in early 1940 powered by a 105 hp Hirth HM500A-1 engine. Seven prototypes were built at Boblingen in 1940 and 1941 as a private venture but only six had flown by the time the project was stopped by the war.

After the war Hans Klemm Flugzeugbau joined forces with a small engineering firm Bolkow Entwicklungen as a joint-venture to further develop the Kl 107 design. The new prototype, registered D-ECAD, was built at Nabern and first flew at Stuggart Airport on 4 September 1956. Originally flown as a Kl 107 with a Continental C90-12F engine, it was modified as a Kl 107A and then it was re-engined in 1957 with a Lycoming O-320-A2A engine and redesignated Kl 107B. It was exhibited at the 1957 Paris Air Show.

A production run of 25 aircraft were then built in 1958 and 1959. In 1959 a Kl 107C variant with a modified cabin was flown and production continued of this variant until the last and 54th post-war aircraft was flown on 27 September 1961. A four-seat variant was developed as the BO 207.

Variants
Kl 107
Seven prototypes with Hirth HM500 engines, only six flown.
Kl 107 V-8
New post-war prototype with a Continental C90-12F engine first flown in 1956.
Kl 107A
The V-8 prototype modified, it was later re-engined as the Kl 107B.
Kl 107B
Production variant with a Lycoming O-320-A1A engine, one prototype converted from Kl 107A and 25 production aircraft. One modified as the prototype Kl 107C and the last two completed as Kl 107Cs.
Kl 107C
Variant with modified cabin with three seats, prototype first flown 3 June 1959. One prototype and 29 production aircraft (including two originally to be Kl 107Bs).
Kl 107D
Original designation of a four-seat variant that became the Bolkow Bo 207.

The Klemm Kl 35 is a German sporting and training aeroplane developed as a successor to the Kl 25. A product of Klemm Leichtflugzeugbau Gmbh it shared the same single-engine, cantilever low-wing configuration as the earlier machine, the major difference being the introduction of an inverted gull wing.

Probably Klemm's most important type, the fully aerobatic aeroplane was shown for the first time publicly in October 1935 at the international Air Show in Milan and soon found many private buyers. Powered initially by an 80 hp (60 kW) Hirth HM60R inline, it had fixed undercarriage, mixed wood and fabric covering, and the choice of open or closed cockpit. Powered by the Hirth 60R, it became the Kl 35A (with floats, Kl 35AW), while with the 105 hp (78 kW) Hirth, it was the Kl 35A (with floats, Kl 35AW).

An improved Kl 35D, designed as a Luftwaffe trainer, with 105 hp (78 kW) Hirth HM 504A-2 engine and the option of ski or float landing gear, appeared in 1938. It was the most numerous, with over three thousand built.

A number of air forces purchased copies, including the Romanian, Hungarian, and Slovak. The Swedish Air Force bought several, designated Sk 15, for training use (at least five of those were seaplanes) and in 1941 began licence production, building about 74 more, with some remaining in service until 1951. The Lithuanian air force flew three.

For details of development, operational history and 9 variants, click here.

The C-2 Skimmer was developed in the late 1940s as a four-seat variant of the earlier C-1 Skimmer. It is a cantilever, shoulder-wing monoplane amphibian with a single-step all-metal hull with retractable tricycle landing gear. It is powered by an Avco Lycoming piston engine in pusher configuration, pylon-mounted above the hull.

The manufacturing rights were acquired by the Lake Aircraft Corporation in October 1959 and the aircraft was built as the LA-4, Lake Amphibian with a 180 hp (134 kW) Lycoming engine. This further developed into the Lake Buccaneer which was essentially the same airframe with a 200 hp (149 kW) fuel injected engine. A variant called the EP (extended prop) added an additional cargo door and engine rear cowling. A six-seat development with a lengthened hull was named Renegade, this had either a 250 hp (186 kW) or a turbocharged 270 hp (201 kW) engine. A military version was called the Seawolf.

Variants

LA-4-180 Skimmer

Lycoming IO-360 A1A 180HP

LA-4-200 Buccaneer

Lycoming IO-360 A1B 200HP

LA-4-200 EP

Lycoming IO-360 A1B6 200HP Standard fuel floats

Specifications below are for the LA-4-200 model.

They are powered by a 550 cubic inch Continental TSIO-550 twin-turbocharged piston engine. Production of the aircraft kit was ended in 2012.

The Lancair IV and IV-P were designed by Lancair around the Continental TSIO-550 - a twin turbocharged engine that is capable of developing 350 hp (261 kW) at sea level and capable of operating altitudes as high as 29,000 feet. By the fall of 2011 110 Lancair IVs and 250 IV-Ps had been completed and were flying.

In July 2016 the company announced it would sell the older Lancair lines of aircraft, including the Lancair IV, to concentrate on the Lancair Evolution instead.

Variants

Lancair IV
    Unpressurized four seat kit-plane, powered by a 350 hp (261 kW) Continental TSIO-550 engine[1][3]
Lancair IV-P
    Pressurized four seat kit-plane, powered by a 350 hp (261 kW) Continental TSIO-550 engine[1][3]
Lancair Propjet
    Pressurized four seat kit-plane, powered by either a Walter or a PT6 Pratt & Whitney turboprop, that can achieve cruise

    speeds in excess of 300 knots (556 km/h) at altitudes up to 30,000 feet (9,140 m).
Lancair Tigress
    A proposed pressurized version using the 600 hp (447 kW) Orenda OE600 V-8 engine, giving it a cruise speed of 405 mph

    (652 km/h). The engine was later cancelled and consequently only prototypes of the aircraft were completed.[7]
RDD Enterprises LX7
    A re-manufactured version that converts an existing IV-P by replacing the wing with one with a new airfoil to reduce stall

    speed, a new fuel system, new interior and avionics.

 

Specifications below are for the pressurised Lancair IV-P

 

Lancair IV TP Turboprop

The Falco F8L is an Italian-designed lightweight 2-seater aerobatic aircraft.

The aircraft was designed by the renowned Italian designer Stelio Frati in 1955, with the prototype, powered by a 90 hp (67 kW) Continental C-90 engine, flying for the first time on 15 June 1955.[4] The prototype was soon re-engined with a 135 hp (101 kW) Lycoming O-290-D2B, forming the basis for the initial production batch.[4] It was originally built in Italy by Aviamilano then Aeromere and later Laverda.

The aircraft is single-engined, propeller driven and designed for private and general aviation use. The Falco was sold in kit or plans form for amateur construction by the Sequoia Aircraft Company of Richmond, Virginia from the 1980s until its closure in 2014.

Laverda-built Falco IV from Denmark attending a UK air rally in 1984

The aircraft is widely considered to be one of the best handling, strongest, and most aesthetically pleasing designs ever made available to home builders. Pilots sometimes refer to the Falco as "the Ferrari of the air."

Performance includes a 175 knot cruise speed and full aerobatic capability, with an inverted fuel tank an optional item.

The Falco F8L is constructed of spruce and typically Finnish birch plywood. The structure is built from laminated spruce bulkheads and the birch plywood is used for the skin. The plywood is often softened with hot steam, formed over the various structures and glued in place. The aircraft is rated for 6g positive and 3g negative.

Reviewers Roy Beisswenger and Marino Boric described the design in a 2015 review as "a complex all-wooden construction in spruce and plywood and is therefore time-consuming to build. But the results in terms of weight and speed are remarkable., so much so that the Falco is considered a classic, with outstanding performance and handling."

Variants
F.8L Series I
Initial production model powered by 101 kW (135 hp) Lycoming engine. Ten built by Aviamilano starting in 1956.
F.8L Series II
Improved model built by Aviamilano, with 112 kW (150 hp) engine. Twenty built.
F.8L Series III
(Also known as F.8L America) Modified version of Series II built by Aeromere in conformance with US airworthiness requirements. 35 built by Aeromere.
Super Falco Series IV            (Specifications below)
Similar to America, but with more powerful engine (160 hp (120 kW) Lycoming O-320-B3) and constant speed propeller. Built by Laverda.Twenty built.
Sequoia Falco
Similar to the production aircraft but re-designed for homebuilding from kits or plans,[5] by Alfred Scott of Sequoia Aircraft Company and David Thurston of Lake Buccaneer fame.

The Legend Aircraft Legend (aka Turbine Legend) is an American sports monoplane designed by Performance Aircraft for sale as a kit for amateur construction.

The Legend is a streamlined low-wing monoplane mainly constructed of carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer. It has swept-back tail surfaces with a mid-mounted tailplane and tapered wings, with optional winglets. The prototype was powered by a 575 hp (429 kW) Chevrolet V-8 engine with a three-bladed tractor propeller and a ventral air-scoop, the Turbine Legend has a 724 shp (540 kW) Walter M601 turboprop with a three-bladed tractor propeller. The Legend has a retractable tricycle landing gear; the mainwheels retract inwards and the nosewheel rearwards. The enclosed cockpit has room for two persons in tandem seats with dual controls and has a rear-hinged, upward-opening, canopy with a fixed windscreen.

The Legend was first flown in 1996 by Performance Aircraft and the prototype was converted into a Turbine Legend in 1999.

The assets of Performance Aircraft were taken over by Lanny Rundell to be marketed by Legend Aircraft of Winnsboro, Louisiana.

In a March 2020 review for Kitplanes, writer Doug Rozendaal described the takeoff: "the acceleration is like a jet fighter." He also praised the handling and the fit and finish of the design.

Variants

Legend
Piston-engined variant, powered by a 575 shp (429 kW) Chevrolet V-8 automotive conversion piston engine.
Turbine Legend
Turboprop-engined variant, powered by a 724 shp (540 kW) Walter M601 turboprop engine.
JC 100
A Turbine Legend built by Toys 4 Boys in 2000, designated the JC 100
Turbine Legend (Garrett Edition)
A Turbine Legend was built by Innovative Wings Inc. utilizing a 1,100 hp (820 kW) Garrett TPE331-10 engine.
Turbine Legend Venom
A military version marketed by Venom Military Aircraft and intended for the training and light attack roles. It has a 750 shp (559 kW) GE H75 engine, major changes to the wing design, a carbon fiber composite structure, fuel capacity increased to 145 U.S. gallons (550 L; 121 imp gal), full digital panel, electric remote canopy, aft spar flaps system and electric Fowler flaps.[5] No sales have yet been announced.

The Lesher Nomad is an innovative two-place homebuilt aircraft.

Designer Edgar J Lesher had previously worked at Stinson Aircraft Company in Wayne, Michigan on the Stinson 106 Skycoach. The Skycoach was a four-place aircraft with a pusher propeller, a configuration which captured Lesher's imagination.

In August 1958, he attended one of the early Experimental Aircraft Association Fly-Ins. The homebuilt aircraft he saw there inspired him to design one himself. Remembering the Skycoach, he began the design of an all-aluminum two-place, side-by-side, pusher propeller aircraft. Construction began in February 1959. In October 1961, after 5,000 hours of construction, he first flew his aircraft, the Lesher Nomad (N1066Z) at Willow Run Airport in Ypsilanti, Michigan. A novel design feature was his use of a Dodge Flexidyne Coupling in the drive train to dampen torsional vibrations. The aircraft was powered by a 100 hp Continental O-200 engine driving a 72-inch Hartzell ground-adjustable propeller. 

Lesher flew the Nomad to the 1962 EAA Fly-In in Rockford, Illinois, where the design attracted a lot of interest. In 1964, flying Nomad, he took the grand prize in the AC Spark Plug Rally. The aircraft was regularly flown until Lesher's death in 1998.

The aircraft is on display in the atrium of the Francois-Xavier Bagnoud building at the University of Michigan.

The LeVier Cosmic Wind is a small single engine, single seat racing monoplane designed and built by staff of the Lockheed Corporation in 1947. It did not race successfully in the US but one won the premier cross-country competition in the UK in 1964. It still flies today.

The Cosmic Wind was designed and built by Lockheed's chief test pilot, Tony LeVier, and a group of Lockheed engineers. A very small single-seat racer, it was aimed at the Goodyear Trophy for Formula 1 class racers initiated in the US soon after World War II.

It is an all-metal low-wing cantilever monoplane. Wings and tail surfaces are all straight-edged and tapered. The ailerons are full span and carry trim tabs, as does the full-fin-depth rudder. The undercarriage is fixed, with streamlined main legs and wheels in long fairings. The roller tailwheel is tucked into the rear corner of the fuselage forward of the rudder. The cockpit is enclosed with a small, single-piece, perspex canopy. The first aircraft were powered by 85 hp (63 kW) Continental C-85 horizontally opposed engines but more recently at least four[2][4][5][6] have used the 100 hp (75 kW) Continental O-200-A. The engine installation includes a large pointed spinner and long, bulbous cylinder head/exhaust fairings.

Three Cosmic Winds were built at Lockheed's between 1947 and 1948 and a fourth rather later. A fifth was also built in the US by amateur constructors. The last example was built in the UK as late as 1972. The type was not particularly successful in competitions in the 1940s, coming only 3rd and 4th in the 1947 Goodyear Trophy races. One example of the first three, named Ballerina and exported to the UK as G-ARUL, won the King's Cup Race of 1964; it remains active in the UK, and is a regular participant in air displays. The UK-built Cosmic Wind remains on the civil aircraft register as G-BAER, but currently (2010-10) lacks a Permit to Fly..

In the US, the amateur-built example is now in the EAA AirVenture Museum, Oshkosh, Wisconsin.[2] Another Cosmic Wind, built or modified with a shoulder rather than low wing, is in the Planes of Fame Air Museum, Chino, California.

The LH Aviation LH-10 Ellipse is a two-seat light aircraft kitplane designed by LH Aviation of France. It is a low-wing single-engine pusher configuration with a tandem seating arrangement, and is constructed of composite materials. The plane is marketed in a surveillance configuration as the Grand Duc (Eurasian eagle-owl).

The LH-10 Ellipse was conceived by Frenchman Sébastien Lefebvre, starting as an engineering grande école (university) project to conceive "a small plane with different design and performance than available for private pilots". This led to the founding of the company, LH Aviation, in May 2004.

As a surveillance plane, Sébastien Lefebvre conceives of the plane as an alternative to drone UAVs, the latter being costly to operate, especially near airports. The Ellipse aims to "deliver 80% of the range of drone missions for 20% of the cost".[3] The potential of the plane for surveillance and military missions led the investment fund Magellan Industries to become a shareholder in LH Aviation. The Ellipse was thus further developed in collaboration with Thales as a modular platform for civilian and military missions with different equipment systems, including day and night vision, rocket launching, and on-board communication systems.

The LH-10 Ellipse is a low-wing, tandem two-seat light kit aircraft, powered by a 100 hp Rotax petrol engine in a pusher-propeller configuration. Its low weight and unusual configuration is designed to deliver a very high cruising speed with exceptional fuel economy. This high speed and a relatively high 50-knot stall speed will exclude it from the UK Microlight or United States LSA categories, so a full single-engine private pilot certificate will be the minimum certification requirement to fly it in these countries, which are not the immediate target of the manufacturer, anyway. At the 2008 Farnborough Airshow LH-Aviation said that for the future they would be looking into LSA/ELA compliant production, possibly for the United States.

The airframe is constructed of composite material based on ingredients produced by DSM. The production model is powered by a Rotax 912 four-cylinder reciprocating engine. (It has been tested using the 100 hp ULS variant, other options having been tested and discarded.) The undercarriage is a tricycle design, and will be available in fixed or electrically retractable front wheel configuration. The plane's design, with propeller in the tail and a short-nosed fuselage with a forward pilot seat in glider configuration, offers a field of view of 300 degrees.

The design follows the Bede BD-5 configuration, but is longer, more streamlined and of lighter composite material.

In February 2010, the aircraft began a series of tests required to achieve the French CNSK standard (an acronym for Certificat de Navigabilité Spécial Kit, the French kitplane certification). The company reported that "all construction documents have been validated in December 2009 by the French and English authorities."

The Liberty XL2 is a two-seat, low-wing, general aviation aircraft manufactured from 2004–2011 by Liberty Aerospace of Melbourne, Florida. A derivative of the Europa XS kit plane, it serves both as a touring aircraft for private flyers and as a flight trainer.

Subsequently, Discovery Aviation acquired the rights and in 2018 production of the aircraft (now named as the Discovery XL-2) resumed at the same Florida factory.

Derived from the Europa XS kitplane and motor-glider, the XL-2 was type certified in 2004 under FAR Part 23 for VFR and IFR flight.

Compared to the Europa XS, the fuselage is slightly wider and larger to accommodate bigger American pilots, and also taller with a bigger windscreen. The wing is metal instead of composite and the aircraft is equipped with a Teledyne Continental Motors FADEC-controlled engine mounted on a metal space frame instead of the Europa's Rotax 912 engine mounted on the fiberglass fuselage. The landing gear is also of a different design.

The Liberty was designed by Ivan Shaw, who also created the Europa. The aircraft has a composite fuselage and aluminum wings. The engine is a fuel injected FADEC (Full Authority Digital Engine Control) equipped Continental IOF-240–B driving an MT composite propeller.

The landing gear is of tricycle configuration and all three sprung gear legs are made from 4130 chrome-molybdenum steel alloy. The nose wheel is free-castering. On early versions the nose wheel steering was by differential braking via two finger-controlled brake handles mounted on the centre console. On later versions more conventional toe brakes were installed.

The wing features large fowler flaps pivoting on three scissor hinges per wing, with a maximum 30-degree deflection. The flaps are electrically powered and are controlled by a switch to the right of the radio stack. The flap indicator is a three-light system which shows when the flaps are at zero, twenty and thirty degrees. The flaps can be selected in between those settings but require visual confirmation of flap position. The wing is rectangular with a 7:1 aspect ratio, no taper and no washout. Small stall strips are installed a few feet out from the root to aid stall performance. The airfoil is a unique design, which the XL2 shares with its predecessor the Europa. This is a Don Dykins airfoil, designated as a "Dykins 12%", because the wing's maximum thickness is 12% of the chord. The airfoil is a semi-symmetrical, laminar-flow design. The stall warning system is a voice annunciator that says "stall, stall".

The fuel is housed in a single fuselage-mounted tank with filler on the left side. The tank holds 28 US gallons usable and is fed to the engine via a simple on-off fuel selector.

For more etails of the devepoment and design, click here.

The Lockheed Altair was a single-engined sport aircraft produced by Lockheed Aircraft Limited in the 1930s. It was a development of the Lockheed Sirius with a retractable undercarriage, and was the first Lockheed aircraft and one of the first aircraft designs with a fully retractable undercarriage.

Lockheed designed an alternative wing fitted with a retractable undercarriage for the Lockheed Sirius as a result of a request from Charles Lindbergh, although Lindbergh in the end chose to buy a standard Sirius. The first Altair, converted from a Sirius, flew in September 1930. Like the Sirius, the Altair was a single-engined, low-winged monoplane of wooden construction. The undercarriage, which was operated by use of a hand crank, retracted inwards.

Four Altairs following the prototype were converted from examples of the Sirius, with another six Altairs built from scratch: three by Lockheed, two by the Detroit Aircraft Corporation, and one by AiRover. The AiRover Altair, dubbed The Flying Testbed, was powered by a Menasco Unitwin engine, which used two engines to drive a single shaft. The Unitwin was used in the Vega Starliner, which never went into production.

The prototype Altair was purchased by the United States Army Air Corps and designated Y1C-25, with a second Altair, fitted with a metal construction fuselage was also purchased by the Army as the Y1C-23 and used as a staff transport, as was a single similar aircraft operated by the US Navy as the XRO-1.

Altairs were used to carry out a number of record-breaking long-range flights. One aircraft, named Lady Southern Cross was used by Australian aviator Charles Kingsford Smith to carry out the first flight between Australia and the United States between October 20 and November 4, 1934. Kingsford Smith was killed in the early hours of November 8, 1935, flying Lady Southern Cross during an attempt on the record for flying between England and Australia.

Two Altairs were used by the Japanese newspaper Mainichi Shimbun as high-speed passenger and cargo aircraft, one remaining in use until 1944.

Variants

8D Altair
Two-seat long-range high-performance sports aircraft, fitted with a retractable undercarriage, powered by a 500 hp (373 kW) Pratt & Whitney SR-1340E Wasp radial piston engine; One prototype, four converted Sirius aircraft, six production aircraft.
8G Altair
One aircraft built by the AiRover Company as a testbed for the Menasco Unitwin 2-544 engine, intended for the Vega Model 2 Starliner.
Sirius 8 Special

One aircraft built for the Australian aviator Charles Kingsford Smith, it was converted into an Altair 8D aircraft, later named the Lady Southern Cross.
DL-2A
Two Altair 8Ds built by the Detroit Aircraft Corporation.
Y1C-23   Specifications below.
The second Altair 8D was purchased by the US Army Air Corps, it was used as a staff transport aircraft. Later redesignated C-23.
Y1C-25
The Altair 8D prototype was purchased by the US Army Air Corps, powered by a 450 hp (336 kW) Pratt & Whitney R-1340-17 Wasp radial piston engine.
XRO-1
One Altair DL-2A acquired by the U.S. Navy, it was used as staff transport aircraft.

The Lockheed Vega is an American five- to seven-seat high-wing monoplane airliner built by the Lockheed Corporation starting in 1927. It became famous for its use by a number of record-breaking pilots who were attracted to the rugged and very long-range design. Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean in one, and Wiley Post used his to prove the existence of the jet stream after having flown around the world twice.

Designed by John Knudsen Northrop and Gerald Vultee, both of whom would later form their own companies, the aircraft was originally intended to serve with Lockheed's own airline routes. They set out to build a four-passenger (plus pilot) aircraft that was not only rugged, but also one of the fastest aircraft of its era. Using a wooden monocoque fuselage, plywood-covered cantilever wings and the best engine available, the Vega delivered on the promise of speed.

The fuselage was built from sheets of plywood, skinned over wooden ribs. Using a large concrete mold, a single half of the fuselage shell was laminated in sections with glue between each layer and then a rubber bladder was lowered into the mold and inflated with air to compress the lamination into shape against the inside of the mold. The two fuselage halves were then nailed and glued over a separately constructed rib framework. With the fuselage constructed in this fashion, the wing spar couldn't cut through the fuselage, so the single spar cantilever wing was mounted atop the aircraft. Only the engine and landing gear remained essentially unstreamlined, and on the production versions the undercarriage had teardrop shaped fairings covering the wheels, while only the earliest versions lacked NACA cowlings and had the engine cylinders exposed to the airstream. It was powered by the Wright Whirlwind air-cooled radial engine, which delivered 225 horsepower (168 kW).

Variants

Vega 1
Five-seat cabin monoplane, accommodation for one pilot and four passengers, powered by a 225 hp (168 kW) Wright J-5, J-5A, J-5AB or J-5C Whirlwind radial piston engine.
Vega 2
Five-seat cabin monoplane, powered by a 300 hp (224 kW) Wright J-6 Whirlwind radial piston engine.
Vega 2A
Redesignation of one Vega 2 aircraft, modified for higher gross weight operation.
Vega 2D
Redesignation of two Vega 1s and one Vega 2, each fitted with a 300 hp (224 kW) Pratt & Whitney Wasp radial piston engine.
Vega 5
Improved version, powered by a 410 hp (306 kW) Wasp A, 450 hp (336 kW) Wasp B or 420 hp (313 kW) Wasp C1 radial piston engine.
Vega 5A Executive
Executive transport version, with a plush interior.
Vega 5B
Seven-seat passenger transport version, built for higher gross weight operations with commercial operators.
Vega 5C  Specifications below.
Seven-seat cabin monoplane, with revised tail surfaces, built for higher gross weight operations.
DL-1
Vega 5C with an aluminum fuselage. Built by the Detroit Aircraft Corporation.[4]
DL-1A/DL-1 Special
One-off air racing and record breaking version, c/n 155.
DL-1B
Seven-seat cabin monoplane, similar to the DL-1. Built by the Detroit Aircraft Corporation.
Y1C-12
One DL-1 acquired by the U.S. Army Air Corps for service tests and evaluation.
Y1C-17
One DL-1B acquired by the U.S. Army Air Corps for service tests and evaluation.
UC-101
One Vega 5C impressed into service with the U.S. Army Air Force in 1942.

Vega DL-1A: NC372E/G-ABFE/G-ABGK/VH-UVK/A42-1
A one-off special, based on the metal-fuselaged DL-1, was built by the Detroit Aircraft Corporation, and exported to the United Kingdom for Lt. Cmdr. Glen Kidston. It was initially registered in the UK as G-ABFE, then was re-registered as G-ABGK to incorporate Kidston's initials. He used this Vega to set a record-breaking time from the UK to South Africa in April 1931. Following Kidston's death the following month, the aircraft was eventually sold to Australian airline owner Horrie Miller, who entered it in the MacRobertson Air Race. Piloted in the race by Miller's Chief Pilot, Capt. Jimmy Woods, it overturned on landing at Aleppo en route, whereupon Woods withdrew from the race and the DL-1A was eventually shipped to Australia. Following repairs and re-registration as VH-UVK, Miller used the aircraft for charter and leisure flying, after which it was impressed by the Royal Australian Air Force in 1941. In 1944 the aircraft was transferred to the Australian Department of Civil Aviation (DCA). Via information from RAAF pilots, DCA declared the Vega to have serious pitch control problems and it would be scrapped. Attempts by James Woods to reclaim the aircraft were ignored, and it was destroyed in October 1945. It was the only Vega to operate in Australia.

For more operational history, click here.

The Lucas L5 was a sport aircraft designed in France in the late 1970s and marketed for amateur construction.

 It was a conventional, low-wing cantilever monoplane with side-by-side seating for two in a fully enclosed cabin.[2] Construction was of metal throughout, and the builder was given the option of fixed, tricycle undercarriage, or tailwheel undercarriage in which the main units were manually retractable.

Luscombe Aircraft closed in 1949, with its assets purchased by Temco Aircraft, also Dallas-based. Temco built about 50 Silvaires before selling the rights to the Silvaire Aircraft Corporation in 1955.

When TEMCO chose to discontinue production, the Luscombe tooling, parts and other assets were purchased by Otis Massey. Massey had been a Luscombe dealer since the 1930s. His new venture opened in Fort Collins, Colorado, as Silvaire Aircraft and Uranium Corp. From 1956 to 1961, this firm produced 80 aircraft. The make and model for all 80 was Silvaire 8-F, with "Luscombe" shown in quotation marks in company literature.

James May of BBC's Top Gear wrote in Top Gear Magazine in 2007 about his 1946 model Luscombe 8A ownership experience. After a temporary loss of power in flight of the meticulously maintained aircraft he concluded in a tongue-in-cheek manner, "All this old stuff is rubbish. None of it works properly. After almost a whole day of fart-arsing around with machinery, I was forced to conclude that the only dependable things in my life are an Italian car and a British motorcycle.

For more development details and the 12 variants, click here.

The Luscombe Phantom was a 1930s American two-seat cabin monoplane and the first product of the Luscombe Aircraft Engineering Company.

Donald A. Luscombe formed the Luscombe Aircraft Engineering Company in 1933 at Kansas City, Missouri. The Phantom or Model 1 was the first aircraft built by the company, and first flew in 1934. It was a high-wing braced monoplane with conventional fixed tail-wheel landing gear, and was powered by a nose-mounted 145 hp (108 kW) Warner Super Scarab radial engine. The fully enclosed engine cowling, with individual air vents for each cylinder, was unusual for a US radial engine light aircraft. Apart from the fabric wing surfaces, the aircraft was all-metal, and had a luxury interior with two side-by-side seats in an enclosed cabin. All compound curves were formed by one employee, Nick Nordyke. As a luxury aircraft, it failed to sell in the economical climate of 1930s America, and the company went on to develop cheaper and simpler aircraft.

The Luton L.A.5 Major was a 1930s British two-seat high-wing cabin monoplane. Following World War II, plans were made available to suit construction as a homebuilt aircraft.

The original L.A.5 Major was a two-seat light aircraft powered by a 62 hp Walter Mikron II engine. It was designed by C.H. Latimer-Needham, and built in 1939 by Luton Aircraft Limited at its Phoenix Works, Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire. The prototype (G-AFMU), designated L.A.5 Major, first flew on 12 March 1939. During 1943, the Phoenix Works burnt down, destroying the prototype, and causing the Luton Aircraft company to close.

After World War II, Phoenix Aircraft Limited, formed by the designer C.H. Latimer-Needham and A.W.J.G. Ord-Hume, took over the design rights for the Luton Major. Latimer-Needham updated the design to make it more suitable for homebuilding, in which form it has become L.A.5A Major, with plans marketed by Falconar Avia of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada as the Cubmajor. An open cockpit version is marketed as the Majorette.

Variants

L.A.5 Major
Prototype, one built.
L.A.5A Major
Updated homebuilt version, all homebuilt.
Falconar Cubmajor
Version marketed in kit and plans form by Falconar Avia
Falconar Majorette
Version with open cockpit marketed in kit and plans form by Falconar Avia

The prototype was built by the Luton Aircraft Limited, and design plans were later adapted and copies sold for homebuilding.

The L.A.3 Minor ultralight was powered by a 35 hp Anzani inverted-vee air-cooled engine, and was of spruce, ply and fabric construction. It was designed by C.H. Latimer-Needham, and built by Luton Aircraft at Barton-in-the-Clay, Bedfordshire in 1936, using the fuselage and components of the earlier experimental L.A.2 tandem-wing aircraft. The prototype L.A.3 Minor, registered G-AEPD, first flew on 3 March 1937 at Heston Aerodrome. The aircraft was a successful flyer despite the low-powered engine, and it was then redesigned for home construction. Designated the L.A.4 Minor, it had a strutted undercarriage and parallel wing struts. The first L.A.4 Minor was built at the company's new factory (the Phoenix Works) at Gerrards Cross in Buckinghamshire. It was fitted with a 40 hp ABC Scorpion two-cylinder horizontally-opposed engine. All subsequent Luton Minors were home-built from plans sold by the company.

The Phoenix Works had burnt down during 1943, and Luton Aircraft had closed, so designer C.H. Latimer-Needham and A.W.J.G. Ord-Hume created a new company in March 1958 to take over the design rights for the Luton Minor. Latimer-Needham updated the design to take more modern lightweight four-cylinder engines and an increased all-up weight. The redesigned aircraft was designated L.A.4A Minor. The design, and subsequently the aircraft, has been built all over the world as a homebuilt aircraft with a wide variety of engines, with the plans for the aircraft being passed on to the Popular Flying Association (now the Light Aircraft Association) in the UK.

Reviewers Roy Beisswenger and Marino Boric described the design in a 2015 review, saying, "it has a great deal of period charm and gives a back-to-basics feel, although performance doesn't match more modern designs. Predictable handling and sturdy construction make it a joy to own. A white scarf is a compulsory accessory.".

Variants
L.A.3 Minor
Prototype ultralight, one built.
L.A.4 Minor
Homebuilt version, one factory built and numerous homebuilt examples.
L.A.4A Minor
Updated homebuilt version to take more modern engines, all homebuilt.
Knowles Duet
The Knowles Duet was a side-by-side two seat version built by Alf Knowles in 1971, registered G-AYTT.
Coates Swalesong S.A.I
A Luton Minor built by James Coates, registered as G-AMAW.

Gowland Jenny Wren
A Luton Minor with enclosed cockpit and tricycle landing gear; registered G-ASRF it first flew on 13 OCtober 1966 at Panshanger.

The MacFam Cavalier is a homebuilt aircraft designed by Stan McLeod, developed through a progressing series of models, all using all-wooden construction. The model range includes the SA102, SA102.5, SA103, SA104 and the SA105.

The Cavalier was a new design based on the French wooden homebuilt GY-20 Minicab designed by Yves Gardan in 1949. The plans were translated from French to English and modified by Stan McLeod. The plans were marketed by K&S Aircraft of Calgary, Alberta and later MacFam.

The Cavalier is a two-seat side-by-side configuration homebuilt that uses all-wood construction. The landing gear may be configured as fixed, or retractable, in tricycle or conventional layout. The wing uses a single box spar covered in 3/32" plywood leading edge skins. The entire wing is fabric covered.

The early Cavalier SA102 series can accept any four cylinder aircraft engine ranging in weight up to 235 lb (107 kg) and 85 to 135 hp (63 to 101 kW), including the Continental O-200, Lycoming O-235 and Franklin 4AC. Later series can use larger engines. SA102 options included wing tip tanks and a third jump seat.

Variants

SA102
1963 Interchangeable tricycle gear to conventional gear configuration with sliding canopy.[6]
SA102.5
1968 model
SA103
Conventional gear version of Super Cavalier
SA104
Tricycle gear version of Super Cavalier
SA105 Super Cavalier    (Specifications below)
1968 model retractable tricycle gear model. Engineered for larger 200hp engines.

The Marquart MA-5 Charger is a homebuilt two place biplane.

The MA-5 Charger was designed and developed by Ed Marquart with the first prototype being built and flown by Daniel W. Fielder Jr. at Flabob Airport. It is an all-new design based around Marquart's single place homebuilt biplane, the MA-4. The aircraft was designed to perform mild aerobatics. Marquart sold plans for scratch building the aircraft, no kits were manufactured. For a number of years, Ken Brock offered kits of the metal brackets utilized in the construction of the Charger's wings and fuselage.

The aircraft uses a welded steel tube fuselage with doped aircraft fabric covering. The wings use wooden spars and ribs. The biplane uses conventional landing gear and has two tandem open cockpits. The wings are constant chord and swept 10 degrees.

The first prototype took seven years to build.

Since Ed Marquart's death in 2007, the plans have been placed in the public domain, and are available as free PDF files via the Marquart Charger MA-5 website, marquartcharger.org, or the Charger groups on either Facebook or groups.io (formerly Yahoo).

In 1982, Jim Smith's Marquart Charger won Grand Champion Plans-built Aircraft at the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh airshow.

In 1987, Remo Galeazzi's Marquart Charger won Grand Champion Plans-built Aircraft at the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh airshow.

In 1991, builder and pilot Dave Davidson became the oldest pilot to fly solo across the Atlantic in his Marquart Charger at the age of 70. The aircraft was retrofitted with two drop-tanks mounted between the landing gear.

In 2009, Mark Gilmore's Marquart Charger won Grand Champion Plans-built Aircraft at the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh airshow.

In 2015, Ken Orloff's Marquart Charger won "Grand Champion Plans-built Aircraft" at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh.

The Marquart MA-5 Charger is a homebuilt two place biplane.

The MA-5 Charger was designed and developed by Ed Marquart with the first prototype being built and flown by Daniel W. Fielder Jr. at Flabob Airport. It is an all-new design based around Marquart's single place homebuilt biplane, the MA-4. The aircraft was designed to perform mild aerobatics. Marquart sold plans for scratch building the aircraft, no kits were manufactured. For a number of years, Ken Brock offered kits of the metal brackets utilized in the construction of the Charger's wings and fuselage.

The aircraft uses a welded steel tube fuselage with doped aircraft fabric covering. The wings use wooden spars and ribs. The biplane uses conventional landing gear and has two tandem open cockpits. The wings are constant chord and swept 10 degrees.

The first prototype took seven years to build.

Since Ed Marquart's death in 2007, the plans have been placed in the public domain, and are available as free PDF files via the Marquart Charger MA-5 website, marquartcharger.org, or the Charger groups on either Facebook or groups.io (formerly Yahoo).

In 1982, Jim Smith's Marquart Charger won Grand Champion Plans-built Aircraft at the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh airshow.

In 1987, Remo Galeazzi's Marquart Charger won Grand Champion Plans-built Aircraft at the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh airshow.

In 1991, builder and pilot Dave Davidson became the oldest pilot to fly solo across the Atlantic in his Marquart Charger at the age of 70. The aircraft was retrofitted with two drop-tanks mounted between the landing gear.

In 2009, Mark Gilmore's Marquart Charger won Grand Champion Plans-built Aircraft at the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh airshow.

In 2015, Ken Orloff's Marquart Charger won "Grand Champion Plans-built Aircraft" at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh.

Based on the Maule M-4, it is a high-wing, strut-braced monoplane of conventional configuration, available with tailwheel or optional tricycle wheeled undercarriage and frequently used as a floatplane with twin floats. The basic M-7 has a longer cabin than its predecessors the M5 & M6, with two seats in front, a bench seat for up to three passengers behind them, and (like the M-6) an optional third row of "kiddie seats" at the rear. Extra cabin windows can be fitted if the "kiddie seats" are to be used. The MX-7 uses the same fuselage as the M-6,which is a modified M5 fuselage but the same wing span as the M-5, and incorporates the increased fuel tankage, Hoerner-style wingtips and five-position flaps designed for the M-7.

The M-7 family has been produced both with piston and turboprop engines.

Specifications below are for the M-7-235B Super Rocket model.

For details of the 19 variants, click here. The MT series has tricycle landing gear.

The MBB 223 Flamingo was a light aircraft developed in West Germany in the 1960s in response to a competition for a standard trainer for the country's aeroclubs. Designed by SIAT, it was a conventional low-wing monoplane with fixed tricycle undercarriage. The cockpit was enclosed by a large bubble canopy. SIAT had not undertaken much production of the type before the firm was acquired by MBB in 1970. Eventually, the new owners transferred production to CASA in Spain.

A fully acrobatic, single-seat version, and a four-seat utility version were also developed.

Variants

Model 223A-1 Flamingo Trainer A1
Two or four-seat trainer aircraft, powered by a 149-kW (200-hp) Avco Lycoming IO-360 piston engine.
Model 223K-1 Flamingo Trainer K1
Single-seat aerobatic aircraft, powered by a 149-kW (200-hp) Avco Lycoming AIO-360 piston engine.
Model 223T-1 Flamingo Trainer T1
One aircraft fitted with a turbocharged 157-kW (210-hp) Avco Lycoming TO-360-C1A6D piston engine.
Model 223-M4
The Model 223T-1 Flamingo Trainer T1 was later fitted with a Porsche PFM 3200 engine. One aircraft only.

The MBB Bo 209 Monsun (originally the Bolkow MHK-101) is a two-seat light aircraft that was developed in West Germany in the late 1960s.

The Monsun was designed by three Bölkow engineers, led by Bölkow's technical director Dr Hermann Mylius, in their spare time with the intention of creating a more versatile aircraft than the Bölkow Bo 208, with design work beginning in 1965. The new aircraft, designated the MHK-101, was a low-wing monoplane of all-metal construction with a tricycle undercarriage, which had fixed mainwheels, with the option for the nosewheel to be fixed or retractable. While the MHK-101 used some components of the Bo-208, it had a larger and more comfortable cockpit, and an entirely new wing, which could be folded for towing and storage (the Bo 208 was a high-wing aircraft).

The first prototype MHK-101, powered by a 125 hp (93 kW) Lycoming O-235 engine driving a fixed-pitch propeller and with a retractable nosewheel, flew on 22 December 1967. In April 1969, Bölkow selected the MK-101 to replace the Bo 208 in production, with the type becoming the "Bölkow Bo 209 Monson". A second prototype flew in May 1969. That year, Messerschmitt-Bölkow merged with Messerschmitt-Bölkow to become Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm, with the aircraft becoming the MBB Bo 209. The aircraft, which was offered with a variety of engines, a choice of fixed or variable pitch propellers and fixed or retractable nosewheels, entered production at MBB's Laupheim factory early in 1970 and received its type certificate on 9 April 1970.

With this broad array of equipment options Bölkow displayed the aircraft at the Air Show in Hanover 1970: 57 orders of the new type were drawn in advance and commercial success of the project seemed secured. In March 1972, however, MBB stopped production of the Bo 209 in order to concentrate on the MBB Bo 105 helicopter., after production of 100 Bo 209s in addition to the two prototypes. Rights to the Bo 208 were purchased by Pneuma-Technik E. Ficht who planned to build the Monsun at Weiden, Bavaria, setting up Monson Gmbh in November 1973, but only two aircraft were built before production ended in June 1974. A United States businessman invested in the model, secured funding, and started shipping factory equipment to Georgia. Before completion of the transition, the investor committed suicide after losses in stock market speculation.

In the late 1990s Dr. Mylius's son, Albert Mylius, completed a totally revised version of his father's design under a new company, Mylius Flugzeugwerk GmbH & Co KG, based in Bitburg. Two models were produced: a single seat developed as a low cost aerobatic airplane (My-102), and the two-seat Mylius My-103 Mistral, which has some variations over the original Bo 209 design, like wider cockpit, better handling characteristics and improved overall performance (including aerobatic rating) with a more powerful 200 hp engine.

Variants

MHK-101 prototype
Bo 209-125 - proposed production version with 125 hp (93 kW) Lycoming O-235 engine. No production.
Bo 209-150 - production version with 150 hp (110 kW) Lycoming O-320-E1C engine.
Bo 209-160 - production version with 160 hp (120 kW) Lycoming IO-320-D1A engine.
Bo 209S - trainer version with dual controls, non-retracting nosewheel, and non-folding wings, powered by 130 hp (97 kW) Rolls-Royce Continental O-240-A.

The Metal Aircraft Flamingo was a monoplane produced in Cincinnati, Ohio by the Metal Aircraft Corporation in the 1930s.

The Metal Aircraft Corporation purchased the design from the Halpin Development Co. and unveiled it at the 1929 National Air Races with Elinor Smith. Following an accident at Bowman Field in May 1928, the prototype Flamingo was redesigned with a different nose, windscreen, and tail. The interior was insulated with Balsam-Wool Blanket.

The Flamingo was first flown from Lunken Airport on 8 April 1928 by Thomas E. Halpin. At one point, the aircraft carried an African-American porter in a red suit named Benny Smith. Following a teaser, marketing for the new airplane began in March 1929 and dealers were being solicited by the following month.

One G-2-W, named El Rio Caroní, is best remembered for its role in the discovery of Angel Falls by Jimmy Angel in 1935. Although well known to the local indigenous population, the falls had been glimpsed only by European explorers until Jimmy Angel crash-landed while attempting to land above the falls on Auyán-tepui during gold exploration.

The Metal Aircraft Corporation Flamingo that crashed above the falls was recovered by helicopter in the 1960s by the Venezuelan government and is on display at the entrance of the Ciudad Bolívar airport, in Venezuela. A replica was put in its place for visitors of the crash site.

Other operators included the Mason & Dixon airline. Another operator of the aircraft was United States Airways which flew a route from Denver to Kansas City in the early 1930s. Stops were made Goodland, Salina, and Topeka, Kansas. Number built    21

Variants

Halpin Flamingo
six-passenger 410hp P&W
G-1
five-passenger 450hp P&W
G-2
six-passenger
G-2-H
six-passenger 525hp P&W

G-2-W (Specifications below)
eight-passenger 410hp P&W
G-MT-6
five-passenger 410 or 525 P&W