The Transavia PL-12 Airtruk is a single-engine agricultural aircraft designed and built by the Transavia Corporation in Australia. The Airtruk is a shoulder-wing strut braced sesquiplane of all-metal construction, with the cockpit mounted above a tractor-location opposed-cylinder air-cooled engine and short pod fuselage with rear door. The engine cowling, rear fuselage and top decking are of fibreglass. It has a tricycle undercarriage, the main units of which are carried on the lower sesquiplane wings. It has twin tail booms with two unconnected tails. Its first flight was on 22 April 1965, and was certified on 10 February 1966.

A Transavia PL-12 featured in the 1985 movie Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome.

It was developed from the Bennett Airtruck designed in New Zealand by Luigi Pellarini. It has a 1 tonne capacity hopper and is able to ferry two passengers as a topdresser. Other versions can be used as cargo, ambulance or aerial survey aircraft, and carry one passenger in the top deck and four in the lower deck.

The Airtruk is also sometimes known as the Airtruck. Because the name "Airtruck" was registered by the New Zealand companies Bennett Aviation Ltd and Waitomo Aircraft Ltd, for their PL-11, Transavia found another name for their PL-12 ("Airtruk").

July 1978 saw the first flight of an improved model, the T-300 Skyfarmer, which was powered by a Textron Lycoming IO-540-engine. This was followed in 1981 by the T-300A with improved aerodynamics.[2] Transavia ceased production of the T-300 in 1985.

In 1982 certification was undertaken to enable sales in the North American market. Assistance was provided by the Aeronautical Research Laboratories (ARL) of the Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO) and extensive tests carried out on the ground and in subsequent flight flutter clearance trials. ref. DSTO Structures Tech. Memo. 341

In 1985 an extended version was produced and released as the T-400. The engine was changed from a 6-cylinder to an 8-cylinder and the tail booms extended by 750 millimetres (30 in). Other minor changes were made to the aerodynamics. Flutter clearance tests were again carried out by ARL and manufacture proceeded.

An isolated flutter incident was reported in 1986 involving violent oscillations of the rudder and tail boom on the T-400 during a delivery flight. Investigations were carried out by ARL and a split mass balance arm was fitted to each rudder. Prior to this the aircraft had relied on frictional damping provided by the lengthy control cables. The modified aircraft was tested both on the ground, and in flight trials in March 1988 over Port Philip near Melbourne, Australia. All attempts to induce the oscillations showed that there was no indication of a mode of vibration becoming unstable. The maximum speed achieved was 160 knots (180 mph; 300 km/h) in a steep dive. Oscillations were induced with an air operated tool fitted with an out-of-balance rotating mass. This device had a rotational speed from 18 Hz down to zero for each charge of the compressed air cylinder.

At least 120 had been built by 1988.

For operatios,survivors and variants, click here.

The Travel Air 6000 (later known as the Curtiss-Wright 6B when Travel Air was purchased by Curtiss-Wright) was a six-seat utility aircraft manufactured in the United States in the late 1920s.

It was developed as a luxury version of the Travel Air 5000 marketed principally as an executive aircraft, although its size proved popular with regional airlines, which purchased most of the roughly 150 machines built.

The 6000 was a high-wing braced monoplane with a fuselage constructed of steel tube and covered in fabric. In keeping with its intended luxury market, the fully enclosed cabin was insulated and soundproofed, and included wind-down windows. The basic model was priced at $12,000, but numerous options were offered that could nearly double that price; actor Wallace Beery's aircraft cost him $20,000 and was the most expensive Model 6000 built.

Airline operation
6000s were operated in 1928 by National Air Transport on their US mail and passenger routes from Chicago to New York, Chicago to Dallas and Chicago to Kansas City.

Business aircraft
Frame number 6B-2012 was delivered to Harry Ogg of Newton, Iowa, on August 20, 1929, who used it as a mobile office and technology demonstrator for his Automatic Washing Machine Company, which eventually morphed into Maytag Corporation. The aircraft was significant in that it included space for a secretary and stenography machine, as well as hook-ups for up to 4 washing machines for demonstration purposes. The aircraft was nicknamed "Smiling Thru" and carried the registration of NC677K.

Foreign service
Two Travel Air 6000 were purchased by the Paraguayan government during the Chaco War (1932-1935) for the Transport Squadron of its Air Arm. These aircraft belonged to TAT with the registrations NC624K (c/n 6B-2011) and NC9815 (c/n 6B-1029); They received the military serials T-2 and T-5 (later re-serialled as T-9). The aircraft were intensively used during the conflict as air ambulances. They both survived the war and continued flying in the Air Arm. In 1945, they were transferred to the first Paraguayan Airline, Líneas Aéreas de Transporte Nacional (LATN) and received the civil registrations ZP-SEC and ZP-SED. They were withdrawn from use in 1947.

Movie appearance
A Travel Air 6000 was a "star" in the Howard Hawks 1939 film Only Angels Have Wings which was a fictional depiction of the early mail service in South America whose early days mirrored the aircraft and issues of US civilian mail service. Movie crash is a Hamilton Metal Plane.

A Travel Air 6000 also appeared in the 1959 movie, "Edge of Eternity". Registration N377M is still active and it is owned and registered in Mount Pleasant, TX.

A Travel Air 6000 or Curtiss-Wright 6-B performed stunts in the 1939 Laurel & Hardy movie "The Flying Deuces".

Variants

Model 6000 - six seat version, powered by a 220 hp (164 kW) Wright J-5 engine
Model 6000A (or A-6000, or A-6000-A) - version powered by 450 hp (336 kW) Pratt & Whitney Wasp engine
Model SA-6000A - floatplane version of the Model 6000A
Model 6000B (or B-6000, later 6B) - version powered by 300 hp (224 kW)Wright J-6-9 radial engine. (Specs below.)
Model S-6000-B - floatplane version of the Model 6000B
Model 6B - 1931 and up Curtiss Wright production. Four built in Wichita, Four Built in San Diego.

When it was available the aircraft was supplied as a kit for amateur construction.

The KIS TR-1 features a cantilever low-wing, a two-seats-in-side-by-side configuration enclosed cockpit accessed via gull-wing doors, fixed tricycle landing gear or optionally conventional landing gear with wheel pants and a single engine in tractor configuration.

The manufacturer estimated the construction time from the supplied kit as 1000 hours. At least 33 were built when production cease.

Variants

KIS TR-1

Original model with tricycle landing gear and a gross weight of 1,300 lb (590 kg). By 1998 the company reported that 25 aircraft were completed and flying. In March 2014 ten examples were registered in the United States with the Federal Aviation Administration, although a total of 13 had been registered at one time. Also in March 2014 there were seven registered in the United Kingdom with the CAA

KIS TR-1/TD

Conventional landing gear-equipped version ("Taildragger"), with an empty weight of 800 lb (360 kg) and a gross weight of 1,425 lb (646 kg). Fuel is 34 U.S. gallons (130 L; 28 imp gal). By 1998 the company reported that eight aircraft were completed and flying.

When it was available the aircraft was supplied as a kit or in the form of plans for amateur construction

The aircraft started out as a replacement set of wings for the Pitts Special and eventually a new fuselage was designed to go with the wing set. The resulting aircraft features a strut-braced biplane layout, with cabane struts, interplane struts and flying wires, a single-seat, enclosed cockpit under a bubble canopy, fixed conventional landing gear with wheel pants and a single engine in tractor configuration.

The aircraft is made from metal with its flying surfaces covered in doped aircraft fabric. Its wings span only 16.00 ft (4.9 m). The acceptable power range varies by each model. Standard equipment includes an inverted fuel system and rear-hinged canopy. Operational g loads are +7 and -5 g. The aircraft has a roll rate of 360 degrees per second.

For more details, including variants, click here.

The UTVA 66 is a single-engine four-seat STOL capable utility aircraft produced by the Yugoslav manufacturer UTVA.

 
The Utva 65 was originally an agricultural aircraft, developed as the U66 to serve various utility roles and including the armed U66V version.
 
The UTVA-66 first flew in 1965.
 
The UTVA-66 was a development of the basic four-seat UTVA-60-AT1. It could be used for glider towing.
 
The UTVA-66-AM was an ambulance version.
 
The UTVA-66-H was a twin float version similar to the standard UTVA-66 but with the optional auxiliary fuel tanks fitted as standard.

The Van's Aircraft RV-10 is a four-seat, single-engine, low-wing homebuilt airplane sold in kit form by Van's Aircraft. It is the first four-seat airplane in the popular RV series. The RV-10 first flew on 29 May 2003, and the first kit parts were delivered to a customer in September 2003.

As of October 2019, 933 RV-10s have been completed and flown.

The architect of the line of Van's aircraft, Richard VanGrunsven, designed the RV-10 to satisfy a market demand for a four-seat version of the popular RV series aircraft. The RV-10 was designed from the start as a touring aircraft and as such it forgoes the aerobatic capabilities and the lighter handling common to the aircraft in the RV line from the RV-3 to RV-8. Instead the RV-10 design focuses on greater stability and payload.

The design power is 210 to 260 hp (157 to 194 kW) and the prototype was flown with a Lycoming IO-540 powerplant of 260 hp (194 kW), which is the maximum that the airframe was designed to accept. When Van's introduced the RV-10 they planned three engine configurations. One configuration using a smaller lighter 210 HP Continental IO-360ES, and two others using the larger 235 and 260HP Lycoming I/O-540. The #1 factory demonstrator used the IO-540, while the #2 RV-10 used the Continental IO-360. Vans decided to discontinue the support for the Continental engine after a poll which indicated that most builders would install the Lycoming engine, although this poses problems for builders in certain countries with engine displacement limitations, in which the Continental's 360 cubic inch displacement would be acceptable.

This is the first aircraft in the RV line that does not have a hinged or sliding canopy. VanGrunsven instead opted for two gull-winged doors to provide access to the four seats.

This design has benefited from many of the production changes that were pioneered with the RV-7, RV-8 and the RV-9. Like those aircraft, the RV-10 uses computer assisted design to produce a kit with pre-drilled rivet holes, thus greatly reducing assembly time for the builder. The RV-10 is available only as a tricycle landing gear version and no tailwheel or retractable landing gear versions are planned.

The aircraft is constructed of aluminum with the cabin structure and gull-winged doors made from composite materials. The landing gear is tubular steel with the nosewheel mounting tube welded to the engine mount. As in all nose-wheel equipped RV aircraft, the nosewheel is free castering and the aircraft is steered with differential braking. The brakes are mounted conventionally on the rudder pedal toes.

The amount of time and effort required to build the airplane can vary greatly, but Vans claims that the average first-time builder can complete it in 2,000 hours.

The total price of the standard-build kit as of December 2016, was US$46,090, which did not include an engine or avionics. A "quick-build" option was US$59,530.

In February 2019 BRS Aerospace released a kit to install a ballistic parachute on the RV-10. The kit can be installed on a completed RV-10 or one under construction. The parachute takes up one third of the aircraft's baggage bay and weighs 82 lb (37 kg).

Variant

Aircraft Turbine Solution Group PBS TP-100 RV-10
The RV-10 was selected as the testbed aircraft for the Diemech TP 100 241 hp (180 kW) turboprop engine, which first flew on 8 June 2014.[10] The testbed aircraft was outfitted with 120 gallon fuel tanks and was to be tested at altitudes of up to 20,000 ft (6,096 m).

The Van's Aircraft RV-14 is an American aerobatic kit aircraft designed by Richard VanGrunsven and produced by Van's Aircraft. It was introduced at AirVenture in July 2012. The aircraft is supplied as a kit for amateur construction.  As of June 2022, 198 RV-14s have been completed and flown.

Derived from the four-seat RV-10, RV-14 design work was commenced several years before its 2012 debut. It is an aerobatic two-seater designed to accommodate large pilots and offer greater baggage space, to comply with the US experimental amateur-built aircraft rules. The design goals included improved visibility, a wider cabin, a low landing speed achieved by larger and more effective flaps, good rate-of-climb and glide ratio, landing gear that meets FAR Part 23 certification standards and an airframe designed to accommodate the Lycoming IO-390 powerplant. It features a cantilever low-wing, a two-seats-in-side-by-side configuration enclosed cockpit under a bubble canopy, fixed tricycle landing gear and a single engine in tractor configuration.

The RV-14 is built from aluminum sheet. The prototype was fitted with a 210 hp (157 kW) Lycoming IO-390 four-stroke powerplant. The kit is intended to be easier to assemble than earlier Van's designs through the use of pre-punched and pre-formed fuselage longerons, pre-installed wiring, plug-in avionics, a pre-trimmed and ready-to-install bubble canopy, pre-welded canopy frame, pre-fitted engine baffles as well as matched pre-punched holes. The RV-14 offers several instrument panel choices, including one designed to take modern electronic flight instrument systems (EFIS), like the Dynon SkyView, without any additional cutting, as well as a blank panel that can be customized by the builder.

In July 2020 Van's introduced a new version of the Lycoming IO-390, designated as the IO-390-EXP119 and optimized for the RV-14. The engine has new exhaust and induction systems and puts out 215 hp (160 kW). It has a revised oil sump, aluminum induction pipes, oil pump and accessory case that saves 10 lb (5 kg) of weight. With this powerplant the RV-14 is 11 mph (18 km/h) faster in cruise speed and climbs 250 ft/min (1.27 m/s) faster.

The manufacturer offers aircraft type transition training and has built an RV-14 for this purpose.

Variants

RV-14
Two-seat conventional landing gear variant with tailwheel.
RV-14A
Two-seat tricycle landing gear variant.  (Specifications below)

RV-14

RV-14A

The Van's RV-6 and RV-6A are two-seat, single-engine, low-wing homebuilt airplanes sold in kit form by Van's Aircraft. The RV-6 is the tail-wheel equipped version while the RV-6A features a nose-wheel. The RV-6 was the first aircraft in the popular Van's RV series to feature side-by-side seating and the first to offer a nosewheel option. It was first flown in 1985. Over 2700 kits have been completed and flown.

The RV-6 and RV-6A were replaced by the similar, but improved, RV-7 in 2001. Kit components are still available to allow builders to complete RV-6s under construction, but no new complete kits are available.

Van's Aircraft designer, Richard VanGrunsven, designed the RV-6 series as a two-seat side-by-side development of the RV-4, which was itself a development of the single seat RV-3.

Market demand motivated VanGrunsven to design the RV-6 and offer it as an optional nosewheel design. The original two seater RV-4 has been a remarkable success, but the tandem seating configuration was not considered ideal by many potential owners as it leaves the passenger isolated in the back seat. Many spouses of builders especially favoured the side-by-side configuration over the tandem arrangement.

VanGrunsven worked diligently to create a side-by-side design with a generous 43-inch-wide (1,100 mm) cockpit that did not sacrifice the RV-4's handling, STOL performance and especially its high cruise speed. In the end the RV-6 prototype produced cruise speeds that are only 3 mph (5 km/h) slower than the RV-4 with the same engine.

The first RV-6s had a forward hinged canopy design. This was a simple one-piece arrangement, but it made taxiing the aircraft with the canopy open more difficult. Later kits had the option of a rearward sliding canopy that could more easily provide ventilation on the ground. One RV-6A was modified for open cockpit flight with an enclosed rear turtledeck.

The RV-6A version features steel rod landing gear with the nosewheel strut attached to the engine mount. The nosewheel is friction castering and the aircraft is steered with differential braking. The brakes are mounted conventionally on the rudder pedal toes.

RV-6

RV-6A

Specifications are for the RV-6 model.

The RV-12 had its first flight on November 9, 2006. Deliveries of partial kits commenced in April 2008 and, as of October 2019, 667 aircraft have been completed and flown.

The architect of the line of Van's aircraft, Richard VanGrunsven, designed the RV-12 with several specific goals in mind. These include:[8]

Flying qualities equal to or better than the standard set by the RV-9A

• 550 lb (249 kg) payload – to carry a projected load of two 190 lb (86 kg) people, 120 lb (54 kg) of fuel (20 U.S. gallons (76 L; 17 imp gal)) and 50 lb (23 kg) of baggage or cargo.
• 750 lb (340 kg) aircraft empty weight
• Cabin width of 43 in (109 cm)
• A low parts count, with an aim of reducing kit cost and construction time
• Minimal use of composites and maximum use of aluminum
• Maximum use of simple hand tools only for construction

The LSA class limits aircraft to a maximum takeoff weight of 1,320 lb (599 kg), a maximum clean, stall speed with no flaps of 51 mph (45 knots) and a maximum level speed of 138 mph (120 knots) and the production RV-12 falls within those maximum limits.

For more details of the RV-12, click here.

The Van's RV series has become the most popular kit-built aircraft in the world. As of April 2019, the RV-4 is the fourth most popular RV model. As of October 2019, 1436 RV-4s had been completed and flown worldwide.

Richard VanGrunsven designed the RV-4 in the mid 1970s as a two-seat development of the single-seat RV-3. The RV-4 prototype first flew in August 1979.

The RV-4 is a new design based upon the concepts proven in the RV-3 and is not merely a stretched RV-3. The RV-4 airframe will accept a range of engines up to 180 hp (134 kW), including the Lycoming O-360. The RV-4 has a new wing, with increased wingspan and wing area over the RV-3. The RV-4 is designed for sport aerobatics.

The RV-4 has proven to be a capable cross country aircraft in service, able to carry two modest sized people and baggage on longer trips. RV-4s have been flown around the world, notably by an Australian, Jon Johanson, who completed world-girdling RV-4 flights on two occasions.

Unlike most later RV series designs, RV-4 kits are only available with conventional landing gear, although some may have been constructed in tricycle configuration by builders. At least two RV-4s have also been built with retractable landing gear (mostly for the engineering challenge, as the performance gains were modest).

The Harmon Rocket is a higher performance derivative of the RV4, with clipped wings, a 300 hp (224 kW) Lycoming IO-540 engine and a razorback turtledeck.

The RV-7 was the replacement of the RV-6, replacing the RV-6 in 2001. It is externally similar to the earlier model, with longer wings, larger fuel tanks and a larger rudder to improve spin recovery characteristics.

Van's aircraft designer Richard VanGrunsven designed the RV-7 to replace the RV-6, which was a two-seat side-by-side development of the RV-4. In turn, this was a two-seat version of the single seat RV-3.

The RV-7 incorporated many changes resulting from the lessons learned in producing over 2,000 RV-6 kits. The RV-7 airframe will accept larger engines, including the Lycoming IO-390, up to 210 hp (157 kW). The RV-7 also has increased wingspan and wing area over the RV-6, as well as more headroom, legroom and an increased useful load. The RV-7 carries a total of 42 US gallons (159 litres) of fuel, up from 38 US gallons (144 litres) on the RV-6.

The RV-7 shares many common parts with the RV-8 and RV-9, which reduces production costs. The RV-7 has a computer-assisted design with pre-punched rivet holes, helping to keep assembly time to about 1500 hours for the average builder.

The RV-7A version features a hardened, solid steel nose-wheel strut that fits into a tube welded to the engine mount. As in all nose-wheel equipped RV aircraft, the nose-wheel is free castering and the aircraft is steered with differential braking, or rudder at higher taxi speeds. The brakes are conventional toe brakes.

As of May 2021, 1,872 RV-7s and RV-7As had been flown.

RV-7A

The Van's RV-9 and RV-9A are American two-seat, single-engine, low-wing homebuilt airplanes sold in kit form by Van's Aircraft of Aurora, Oregon. The RV-9 is the tail-wheel equipped version while the RV-9A features a nose-wheel.

The RV-9 was built around a newly designed high aspect ratio wing, featuring a Roncz airfoil. It is similar in size and weight to the RV-6 and is externally similar to the RV-6 and the RV-7.

The architect of the line of Van's aircraft, Richard VanGrunsven, designed the RV-9 as a departure from the concepts of the earlier RV series. The earlier members of the RV series, starting with the single seat RV-3, were all designed to have light handling, aerobatic capabilities along with high cruise speeds and short takeoff and landing (STOL) capabilities. The RV-9 was designed from the start as a two-place, side-by-side, touring aircraft and as such it forgoes the aerobatic capabilities and the lighter handling for more stability and economy. As such the design horsepower is 118–160 and the prototype was flown with a Lycoming O-235 powerplant of 118 hp (88 kW) as a proof-of-concept for the lower horsepower.

As a result of the lessons learned over the years in producing the first five RV-series designs and the change in role for this aircraft, the RV-9 design incorporated many changes over previous designs.

The RV-9A was the first to use what Van's calls "matched-hole" components in that airframe parts are formed to the required contour and have all the rivet holes precisely located. The assembly jigs normally used to ensure alignment are not necessary and build time is much reduced. Later models, such as the RV-7 and RV-10, use this same manufacturing technique.

Compared to the similar RV-7, the RV-9 has a wing of increased span and higher aspect ratio using a Roncz airfoil. The RV-9 has a low stall speed, comparable to the Cessna 150, and docile handling suitable for low-time pilots. The cruise speed is a very respectable 167 mph (269 km/h) TAS even with the 118 hp (88 kW) engine.

The RV-9 was offered after the RV-8, but before the RV-7 and shares many common parts with both aircraft, which reduces production costs. Like those aircraft, the RV-9 uses computer assisted design to produce a kit with pre-drilled rivet holes, thus greatly reducing assembly time for the builder.

The RV-9 is unique in Van's aircraft history in that the tricycle gear RV-9A version was flown first on June 15, 2000, three years before the tail wheel version flew. The later conventional landing gear equipped RV-9 was first flown by its designer in 2002. The RV-9A features solid circular spring steel landing gear with the nosewheel mounting tube welded to the engine mount. As in all nose-wheel equipped RV aircraft, the nosewheel is free castering and the aircraft is steered with differential braking. The brakes are mounted conventionally on the rudder pedal toes.

As of October 2019, 1134 RV-9s and RV-9As have been completed and flown.

RV-9

RV-9A

In 1948, US aircraft test pilot/aircraft designer W.J. Morrisey produced a wood-and-fabric light aircraft, the 1000C (Nifty). In 1958 he reworked that basic design, giving it an all-metal structure and increased power. The aircraft is a cantilever low-wing monoplane with plain ailerons and two-position trailing-edge flaps, conventional empennage, fixed nosewheel landing gear, and tandem seating. Dual controls are provided as standard equipment.

In 1958 The Morrisey Aviation Inc. company began building the re-designed aircraft. Two units were completed as the Morrisey 2000. A further improvement came with the Morrisey 2150, incorporating a 108 hp Lycoming O-235 engine. The company built nine aircraft by the end of 1959.

Morrisey 2150A built in 1962.

The construction and design rights were then sold to Shinn Engineering Inc. which built 35 improved Shinn 2150A aircraft with a 150 hp (110 kW) Lycoming O-320-A2C engine, before ceasing production in 1962.

The 2150A design rights were sold in 1967 to used aircraft parts supplier George Varga who formed the Varga Aircraft Corporation. The Varga 2150A Kachina was built at Chandler, Arizona between 1975 and 1982. 121 2150A Kachinas were completed together with 18 examples of the Varga 2180 with a 180 hp Lycoming O-360-A2D engine. A tailwheel option was available as the Varga 2150TG.

The Velie Monocoupe was an American general aviation aircraft manufactured from 1927 to 1929 by the Mono-Aircraft Corp, a division of Velie Motors Corporation (founded by Willard L. Velie, maternal grandson of John Deere).

The Velie Monocoupe was a wooden framed, doped fabric-covered monoplane, seating two people side-by-side in an enclosed cabin (hence the name).

Conceived by pilot/businessman Don A. Luscombe, who developed a mock-up in 1926, and developed into a flying airplane by farmer-turned-plane-designer Clayton Folkerts—first produced by Central States Aircraft Corp in Davenport, Iowa—the little plane was a revolution in personal aviation: small, relatively inexpensive, quick and efficient (70-80 mph on just 55 horsepower), and with an enclosed cockpit (protected from the weather) for two people. In an era of big, costly, lumbering, open-cockpit biplanes, the Monocoupe was like a flying sports car coupe.

In all there were 350 Velie Monocoupes produced under the approved type certificate number 22. Upon W. L. Velie's death, his son had planned to continue production of the aircraft but he died within months of his father. The company, and design, survived, however.

Company change
Upon the death of Velie's founder, in 1929 the Mono Aircraft Division was transferred to the holding company Allied Aircraft Co., which split the airplane division into Mono Aircraft Co. and Lambert Motors Co. Mono Aircraft would continue to produce the Monocoupe, in various versions—ultimately changing its name to Monocoupe Corp. The company producing the Monocoupe line changed ownership and location several times from 1926 to the early 1950s.

The Velocity XL (XL: Extra Large) is an American amateur-built aircraft, produced by Velocity, Inc.. It is an enlarged version of their Velocity SE canard pusher design.

The Velocity XL is 12 in (310 mm) longer and has a 20 in (510 mm) greater span than the SE. The standard XL has a cruising range of 875 nautical miles (1,620 km; 1,007 mi) and a 75% power cruising speed of 185 knots (213 mph; 343 km/h) air speed.

The XL is available in both fixed gear (FG) and retractable gear (RG) form and can accommodate either three or four passengers plus a pilot. The five seat versions, the XL-5 and the TXL-RG-5, have a rear bench seat for three rather than the alternative separate pair of seats.

Engines available as kits from the manufacturer for all models are the Lycoming IO-360 of 180 to 200 hp (134 to 149 kW), Lycoming IO-540 of 260 to 300 hp (194 to 224 kW), Continental IO-550 of 310 to 350 hp (231 to 261 kW) and the Franklin 6A350C1 of 205 to 235 hp (153 to 175 kW). Builders may use these manufacturer kits or design their own engine installations using a variety of other engines of similar power output.

Specifications below are for the XL-RG model.

Variants

Velocity XL-FG
Fixed landing gear version with a gross weight of 2,700 lb (1,225 kg). Forty had been completed and flown by December 2011.
Velocity XL-FG-5
Fixed landing gear version with a gross weight of 2,900 lb (1,315 kg). Twenty-one had been completed and flown by December 2011.
Velocity XL-RG
Retractable landing gear version, with a gross weight of 2,700 lb (1,225 kg). 150 had been completed and flown by December 2011.
Velocity TXL-RG-5
Retractable landing gear version, with gross weight of 2,900 lb (1,315 kg). Eighteen had been completed and flown by December 2011.
Velocity V-Twin
Twin engine prototype, three built, powered by two Superior IO-320-A engines.

XL-FG

The Viking Dragonfly is an American amateur-built aircraft, designed by Bob Walters  and produced by Viking Aircraft LLC of Elkhorn, Wisconsin. The aircraft is supplied as a kit or as plans for amateur construction.

The Dragonfly is a two-seater aircraft that features a tandem wing layout with a forward wing mounted low and the other behind the cockpit in a shoulder position, a two-seats-in-side-by-side configuration enclosed cockpit under a bubble canopy, fixed landing gear and a single engine in tractor configuration. The cockpit is 43 in (109 cm) wide.

The aircraft is constructed from composites, based on construction techniques pioneered by Burt Rutan at Rutan Aircraft Factory (RAF). The airframe design is visually similar to the RAF's Quickie 2, which was developed independently, but the Dragonfly has larger airfoils and a smaller engine, resulting in a slower but more docile handling aircraft. Its forward 20 ft (6.1 m) span wing employs a GU25-5(11)8 mod airfoil, when the aft wing (span 22 ft) uses an Eppler 1212 airfoil. Both wings have a total area of 92.2 sq ft (8.57 m2). Standard engines used include the 60 hp (45 kW) Volkswagen air-cooled engine and the 85 hp (63 kW) Jabiru 2200 four-stroke powerplants. Construction time from the supplied kit is estimated as 700 hours, while from plans is estimated at over 1200 hours.

The Dragonfly was given the Outstanding New Design Award at the EAA Convention in 1980.[5] By 1998, 500 examples of all variants were reported as flying.

Variants

Dragonfly Mk I
Original version with main landing gear mounted in fairings at the lower wing tips. Operations require paved runways and wide taxiways due to widely spaced main wheels.
Dragonfly Mk II
Version with conventional landing gear.
Dragonfly Mk III
Version with tricycle landing gear.

The Viper Aircraft ViperJet is a small homebuilt jet aircraft by Viper Aircraft Corporation. It is a conventional, low-wing monoplane with swept wings and tail and two seats in tandem under a bubble canopy. The jet intakes are located at the sides of the fuselage and the tricycle undercarriage is retractable. Construction throughout is of composite materials.

Originally conceived to use a piston engine driving a five- or six-blade pusher propeller, brothers Scott and Dan Hanchette commenced work on the prototype, then known as the ViperFan, in February 1996. However, concerns about the difficulty and cost associated with eliminating vibration from the drivetrain led the Hanchettes to choose turbojet propulsion instead, and they installed a Turbomeca Marboré engine in place of the Continental flat-6 they had originally envisaged as a powerplant.

The Viperjet prototype flew late in October 1999. and made its public debut at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh in 2000. The Hanchette brothers, however, were unhappy with both the low power and the high fuel consumption of the Turbomeca engine, and soon swapped it for a General Electric T58 turboshaft engine with the power turbine removed, turning it into a turbojet. While this worked, it still did not produce as much thrust as the Hanchettes hoped for, and eventually, they selected the General Electric J85. With this engine producing around four times the thrust of the previous powerplants tested in the Viper, the Hanchettes substantially redesigned the aircraft, dubbing the J85-powered version the MKII. The prototype was dismantled and rebuilt, with parts of the canopy and fuselage center section all that remained of the original design. The slightly larger MKII also features a pressurized cabin, nearly three times the fuel tankage, stronger undercarriage, and optional tip tanks. The MKII prototype flew on 12 June 2005 and Viper Aircraft offered replacement MKII parts to all customers who had purchased kits of the original version, now dubbed the MKI.

In 2006, the base MKII kit cost US$182,000, but since builders can purchase additional components already pre-made by Viper Aircraft, customers spent an average of $350,000 on their kits. They would then have to spend approximately another $300,000 and around 3,000 to 3,500 hours to complete the aircraft. The company also offers customers a builder assistance program to help them assemble the major airframe components and a training program to help them learn to fly their ViperJet once it is complete. Zero Gravity Builders provides builder assistance for the ViperJet MKII, ViperJet LXR and Viper FanJet. Viper Aircraft had sold 21 kits by September 2006.

In 2008, Viper Aircraft announced an enlarged, turbofan-powered follow-on design as the Viper Aircraft FanJet. The company has also proposed a military trainer version of the ViperJet, as well as a UAV version.

By April 2020 seven examples had been registered in the United States with the Federal Aviation Administration.

The Sportsman is a two-seat high-winged monoplane of wood and fabric construction, with over 100 built by 1993.

Volmer Jensen, a successful designer of sailplanes, designed the two-seat amphibious VJ-22 in 1957. The new aircraft, at first called the Chubasco, made its first flight on 22 December 1958.[2]

The VJ-22 is a high-winged monoplane, using the wings from an Aeronca Champion or Chief, with a new flying boat hull of mahogany plywood, waterproofed with fiberglass cloth. The aircraft's single engine, normally a pusher of between 85 hp (63 kW) and 100 hp (75 kW), is mounted on pylons above the wing centre section. The engine can also be mounted in tractor configuration and engines of up to 135 hp (101 kW) have been used successfully. A retractable tailwheel undercarriage is provided. The pilot and passenger sit side by side under an enclosed canopy, and are provided with dual controls.

While Jensen attempted unsuccessfully to get the Sportsman built commercially, plans for the VJ-22 were made available to amateur builders, with 889 plans sold and over 100 completed by 1993.

The Vulcanair V1.0 is an Italian light aircraft, designed and produced by Vulcanair of Casoria, introduced at the AERO Friedrichshafen show in 2014. The aircraft is type certified by the European Aviation Safety Agency and the US Federal Aviation Administration and is supplied complete and ready-to-fly.

The design is a derivation of the Partenavia P.64B Oscar.

The V1.0 features a strut-braced rectangular planform high-wing, a four-seat enclosed cabin accessed by two front doors and one rear seat door on the right side, fixed tricycle landing gear with wheel pants and a single engine in tractor configuration.

The aircraft forward fuselage is made from welded steel tubing, with the balance of the airframe of sheet aluminum construction. Its 10.0 m (32.8 ft) span wing employs flaps. The standard engine used is the 180 hp (134 kW) Lycoming IO-360-M1A four-stroke fuel-injected powerplant.

The design greatly resembles the Cessna 172 and is intended to compete with that aircraft in performance and price. In July 2017, the company announced an equipped price with a Garmin G500 avionics suite of US$259,000, to undercut the price of a new Cessna 172.

European Aviation Safety Agency certification was completed in November 2013 and the US Federal Aviation Administration certification in December 2017.

The Waco F series is a series of American-built general aviation and military biplane trainers of the 1930s from the Waco Aircraft Company.

The Waco 'F' series of biplanes supplanted and then replaced the earlier 'O' series of 1927/33. The 'F' series had an airframe which was smaller and about 450 pounds (200 kg) lighter than the 'O' series, while continuing to provide accommodation for three persons in tandem open cockpits. A similar performance to the earlier model was obtained on the power of smaller and more economical engines.

The initial models were the INF (125 hp (93 kW) Kinner engine), KNF (100 hp (75 kW) Kinner) and the RNF (110 hp (82 kW) Warner Scarab), all of which had externally braced tailwheel undercarriages. Many further sub-models followed with more powerful engines of up to 225 hp (168 kW). The most powerful in the range was the ZPF of 1936/37, intended for executive use.

The 'F' series was popular with private owner pilots for sporting and other uses and continued in production through the late 1930s. The tandem cockpit UPF-7 was adopted by the Civilian Pilot Training Program and continued in production until 1942 by which time over 600 had been built.

The 1934 model YMF was substantially redesigned with a longer and wider fuselage, larger rudder and other structural changes, and put into production in March 1986 by WACO Classic Aircraft of Lansing, Michigan as the YMF-5. Over 150 YMF-5s were completed as of 2017 with new examples being built to specific orders.

The WACO Aircraft Company of Ohio Inc had built three replicas by December 2011, which they designated MF.

Variants

Listed in approximate chronological order (per Simpson, 2001, p. 573) First letter of designation refers to engine installed. From 1936 Waco added year suffixes to designations—e.g. YPF-6, YPF-7, with the numeral being the last digit of the model year.

INF
125 hp (93 kW) Kinner B-5, certified ATC# 345 on 2 August 1930.
KNF
100 hp (75 kW) Kinner K-5, certified ATC# 313 on 12 April 1930.
RNF
110 hp (82 kW) Warner Scarab, certified ATC# 311 on 7 April 1930.[5]
PCF
170 hp (130 kW) Jacobs LA-1 and new cross-braced undercarriage, PCF-2 certified ATC# 473 on 2 October 1931
PBF
as PCF with 'B' wings
QCF
165 hp (123 kW) Continental A70, QCF-2 certified ATC# 416 on 9 April 1931
UBF
210 hp (160 kW) Continental R-670
UMF
210 hp (160 kW) Continental R-670A and longer and wider fuselage, and larger fin
YMF
225 hp (168 kW) Jacobs L-4
YPF-6 and YPF-7
225 hp (168 kW) Jacobs L-4
ZPF-6 and ZPF-7
285 hp (213 kW) Jacobs L-5
UPF-7   (Specifications below)
tandem trainer with wide-track undercarriage and 220 hp (160 kW) Continental R-670 (designated PT-14 by the USAAC)

The Waco N series is a range of 1930s American-built cabin biplanes with a fixed tricycle undercarriage produced by the Waco Aircraft Company. 

Waco introduced the luxury N-series biplane in 1937. It was based on the Waco C-series five-seat custom-cabin Waco with that model's curved pointed wings, but with an unusual fixed tricycle undercarriage and a modified tail with a lower rudder extension to give increased side area. The Waco N was fitted with flaps on all four wings to improve the aircraft's landing characteristics.

The prototype, was designated ZVN-7, with the '7' indicating its year of manufacture (1937), and was powered by the 285 hp (213 kW) Jacobs L-5 engine. Only around 20 examples of the N series were completed, as the AVN-8, and ZVN-8. A few were impressed by the USAAC during the Second World War as the UC-72J and UC-72L. One AVN-8 was used by the Royal Aircraft Establishment at Farnborough, Hampshire, for trials with tricycle landing gear.

An example of the AVN-8 is maintained in airworthy condition by the Historic Aircraft Restoration Museum at Creve Coeur Airport near St Louis Missouri.

Variants
ZVN-7 and ZVN-8
285 hp (213 kW) Jacobs L-5
AVN-8  (Specifications below)
330 hp (246 kW) Jacobs L-6 engine

A total of approximately 20 units were produced.

Production by the Waco Aircraft Company began in 1931 with the QDC and continued until 1942 when production ended for the VKS-7F. They were used as light passenger and utility transports, navigational trainers, bushplanes and briefly as maritime reconnaissance aircraft during World War 2.

All of the Waco Standard Cabins were powered by cowled radial engines and Waco tried to accommodate their customers preferences for many of the more common commercially available engines of the period, hence the profusion of designations, as the first letter indicates the engine installed. Individual models were each certified with various available engines but not all variations found customers.

More information on the design and development of the series can be found here, along with details of the multitude of variants. The specifications below are for the UEC model as depicted in the photo gallery.

Different-powered variants include the Wassmer WA-51 Pacific,the Wassmer WA-52 Europa and the Wassmer WA-54 Atlantic. It was the world's first composite material-built aircraft.

Having manufactured glass-fibre cowlings for Bébé, D112 and D120 Jodels, increasing number of glass-fibre parts for their Javelot, Bijave and Super-Javelot gliders, and then Super-IV aircraft, in 1966 Wassmer first flew the glass-fibre WA-50 prototype, a single-engined four-seat cabin monoplane with a retractable tricycle landing gear. Originally designed as a three-seater powered by a 115cv Potez engine, engine unavailability at the time resulted in a 150cv Lycoming O-320 being used instead and the aircraft becoming a 4-seater. Using the same profile as the Super-IV but only 8.6m span, and compensated with large slotted flaps, the wings were formed from two moulded halves and contained two 70 litre fuel tanks. The fuselage was also manufactured as two halves, and featured butterfly doors.

The design entered production as the WA-51 Pacific (39 built) with a fixed tricycle landing gear. The low-wing cantilever monoplane was powered by a nose-mounted 150 hp (112 kW) Lycoming O-320-E2A piston engine. A variant, powered by a 160 hp (119 kW) Lycoming IO-320-B1A was called the WA-52 Europa (59 built). Further refinements produced the 180 hp (134 kW) Lycoming O-360-A1LD powered WA-54 Atlantic (55 built).

The WA-53 was a proposed variant with a 125hp Lycoming engine, but was not built.

Wassmer went into liquidation in 1977,

Specifications below are for the WA-54 Atlantic variant.

The Weatherly 620 is a 1970s American agricultural monoplane designed and built as an improved variant of the Weatherly 201 by the Weatherly Aircraft Company of McClellan, California.

The Weatherley 620 is an all-metal single-seat low-wing cantilever monoplane with a conventional landing gear with a tailwheel. Examples have been fitted with a Pratt & Whitney R-985 radial engine, and PT6A or TPE331 turboprop engine, driving a three-bladed tractor propeller. In the forward fuselage, the aircraft has a 355 US gallon (1344 litre) hopper that feeds an agricultural dispersal system.

Variants

Model 620
1979 initial production variant.
Model 620A
1987 production variant with a Pratt & Whitney R-985 radial engine.
Model 620B
1992 production variant with a Pratt & Whitney R-985 radial engine.
Model 620TP
1980 turboprop variant with a Pratt & Whitney PT6A-11AG.
Model 620B-TG
1997 improved turboprop variant to replace the 620TP with a Honeywell TPE331 turboprop.