The Hatz CB-1 is a 1960s American light biplane designed by John Hatz for amateur construction. The Hatz Classic variant is supplied in kit form by Makelan Corp of New Braunfels, Texas, while the other variants are available as plans only.

John Hatz designed the CB-1 in 1968 as a smaller version of a Waco F series biplane. The CB-1 is a tandem dual-control two-seat biplane with fixed tailwheel landing gear and powered by a variety of nose-mounted small engines. Steel tube fuselage and tail with wooden wings. Plans and kits of parts for the CB-1 are available for amateur construction.

Variants

CB-1
Base model[1][4]
Hatz Classic
Designed by Billy Dawson, which has a stretched more rounded fuselage and powered by a Lycoming O-320.[5]
Kelly-D
A simpler and larger variant of the Hatz, with the wing center section removed, designed by Dudley Kelly.[1][4]
Hatz Bantam
A lighter model that fits the United States light-sport aircraft rules.

Around 500 of these aircraft were manufactured in Pittsburg, Kansas from 1954 until 1974 by the Helio Aircraft Company. The design featured four leading edge slats that deployed automatically, and large trailing edge flaps. The engine was the 295 hp Lycoming GO-480, which had a gearbox that lowered the output RPM and allowed for the use of a large three-bladed propeller to further improve takeoff performance. Couriers were famous for their takeoffs, which often took only a few plane lengths and then climbed at very high angles. The engine, however, required constant maintenance and was a major downside to the design.

During the early 1980s, new owners (Helio Aircraft Ltd.) made an attempt to build new aircraft with direct-drive Lycoming engines, to replace troublesome and expensive geared engines. In a further effort to reduce weight, a new composite landing gear was featured. The new models also featured modest winglets. Two models were produced, the H-800 and H-700. A total of 18 aircraft were built. The rights to the Helio Stallion and Helio Courier were acquired by Helio Aircraft of Prescott, Arizona, and was to be returned to production.

For more information on the design, development and 25 variants, click here. Specifications below are for the U-10D Super Courier.

Trigear Courier

Stallion

Twin Courier

he Hirth Hi 27 Acrostar was designed by Arnold Wagner to win aerobatic competitions, in part by having handling independent of orientation, upright or inverted. A single engine, single seat low-wing monoplane, it was built in West Germany by Wolf Hirth GmbH in the early 1970s, and dominated Championships for a brief period.

The Hirth Hi 27 Acrostar is a competition aerobatic aircraft designed by the Swiss aerobatic champion, Arnold Wagner. Wagner and three others, two of them German ex-champions, sponsored the construction. The Wolf Hirth team was led by Prof. Richard Eppler of the Stuttgart Technische Hochschule, starting work in the Summer of 1969. The first flight of what was known as the Acrostar Mk II was on 16 April 1970.

The Acrostar is a conventionally arranged low wing single engine aircraft. The wing is straight tapered, the leading edge slightly swept and the trailing edge unswept. The aerofoil section, designed by Eppler, is quite thick with a thickness-to-chord ratio of 20%. It is a symmetric section and mounted at zero incidence. There is also zero dihedral. Full span control surfaces are fitted, flaps inboard and proportionally moving ailerons outboard. The ailerons are balanced not by the usual horn or hinge line extensions but by small surfaces which project beyond the wingtips. Unusually, both ailerons and flaps are coupled to the elevator position; this camber changing control system, together with the highly symmetric wing, produces the same control characteristics for normal and inverted manoeuvres. The basic idea in this arrangement was to keep the centerline of the fuselage horizontal in both normal and inverted horizontal flight. The result, beside this, is good controllability in low speed ballistic flight, around zero G.

Another unusual control feature, allowing for independent trimming in pitch and yaw, are the independent trim tabs on the flaps.

The plywood covered wing is built around a single glass fibre spar using foam reinforced ribs. Aft of the engine, the fuselage is a wooden semi-monocoque. The single seat cockpit is enclosed with a rearward sliding canopy. The fin and balanced rudder are straight tapered and square tipped, as is the rearward set horizontal tail. The prototype had elevator trim tabs but these were removed in favour of the flap trims noted above. Extra fin area is provided by a long strake on the lower fuselage, extending aft to the tailwheel.

The Acrostar is powered by a 220 hp (165 kW) Franklin 6A-350-C1 six cylinder horizontally opposed piston engine. This is mounted in a steel frame which is integral with the fixed cantilever main undercarriage and its optionally streamlined, tapering legs and faired wheels. This arrangement places the main landing gear further forward than usual, providing a drag moment to oppose that of the fin in vertical flight. The tailwheel is steerable.

For details of operational history, click here.

The Howard DGA-15 was a single-engine civil aircraft produced in the United States by the Howard Aircraft Corporation from 1939 to 1944. After the United States' entry into World War II, it was built in large numbers for the United States Navy and also served various roles in the United States Army Air Forces.

The Howard Aircraft Company (later Howard Aircraft Corporation) was formed in 1936 to build commercial derivatives of the Howard DGA-6 (named Mister Mulligan), a successful four-seat racing aircraft which had won both the Bendix and the Thompson Trophies in 1935, the only aircraft ever to win both races. These successes did indeed bring the DGA series much attention, and Howard produced a series of closely related models differing mainly in the engine type, consisting of the DGA-7, -8, -9, -11 and -12. Offering high performance and being comprehensively equipped, despite a high purchase price (with the DGA-11 selling for $17,865), these became coveted aircraft owned by corporations, wealthy individuals, and movie stars, such as Wallace Beery, who was himself a pilot. (In the movie Bugsy, Warren Beatty, playing the title role, is flown from Los Angeles to Las Vegas in a red Howard DGA-15.)

In 1939, the Howard Aircraft Corporation produced a new development of the basic design, the DGA-15. Like its predecessors, the DGA-15 was a single-engined high-winged monoplane with a wooden wing and a steel-tube-truss fuselage, but it was distinguished by a deeper and wider fuselage, allowing five people to be seated in comfort. It was available in several versions, differing in the engine fitted. The DGA-15P was powered by a Pratt & Whitney Wasp Junior radial engine, while the DGA-15J used a Jacobs L6MB and the DGA-15W a Wright R-760-E2 Whirlwind. In an era when airlines were flying Douglas DC-3s, the Howards cruising at 160 to 170 mph could match their speed, range and comfort with the rear seat leg room exceeding airline standards with limousine-like capaciousness, and high wing loading allowing the Howards to ride through most turbulence comfortably.

In their vintage years, Howards DGA series are prized more for their utility than for their clean lines. Contemporary cabin aircraft have already become antiques, living pampered lives as show pieces rather than working aircraft. In the 1960s a modification was offered by the Jobmaster company of Renton, Washington, including additional seating, windows, and float installation making Howard DGA-15s attractive to bush operators, and the large cabin proved popular with sky-divers as low-capital-outlay, low-operating-cost jumping platforms.

With most of the working Howard DGAs retired from active commercial service, they have become popular as restoration subjects and as alternatives to more modern equivalents with higher cost of ownership. Almost 100 of the Howard variants are still flying, mostly DGA-15s. A few of the DGA-11s also still fly, including one out of Santa Paula, California, which is probably the world headquarters for Howards, with at least five flying out of that field.

Superb travelling airplanes with much better visibility, headroom, and shoulder room than some contemporary cabin aircraft, they have very long "legs" with a fuel capacity of 151 gallons in 3 belly-mounted tanks, giving an endurance of more than 7 hours, for a range, at normal cruise (130 kn, 150 mph), of over 1,000 statute miles. With modern avionics, the Howard can compete in many respects with many contemporary light aircraft, due to its combination of room, comfort, speed, range and carrying capacity. A DGA-15P competed in the 1971 London (England) to Victoria (British Columbia, Canada) air race.

Variants

DGA-15J
Variant fitted with a Jacobs L6MB radial engine (330 hp, 246 kW)
DGA-15P (Specifications below)
Variant fitted with a Pratt & Whitney R-985 radial engine (450 hp, 336 kW)
DGA-15W
Variant fitted with a Wright Whirlwind J6-7 radial engine (350 hp, 261 kW)

For details of their military service, click here.

The IAR-823 is a civil and military trainer aircraft built in Romania from 1974 until 1983. It is a conventional low-wing monoplane with retractable tricycle undercarriage. The pilot and instructor sit side-by-side, and two more seats can be fitted behind them. The type was adopted by the Romanian Air Force as a primary trainer, and was also supplied to Romanian and Hungarian aeroclubs and the national flying school of Angola.

IAR-823 is the brainchild of one of the greatest figures in post-war Romanian aeronautics: eng. Radu Manicatide. The design was completed under his leadership in 1970, at IMFCA Bucharest (Institutul de Mecanica Fluidelor si Cercetari Aerospatiale - Institute of Fluid Mechanics and Aerospace Research). The prototype's construction began in autumn 1971 at ICA Brasov (now IAR Brasov). This plane, serialled 01, flew for the first time on 10 June 1973. The second plane built participated at the Farnborough Air Show in September 1974, registered YR-MEA.

It is a conventional low-wing monoplane with retractable tricycle undercarriage. Usually a crew of 2 - student and instructor seated side by side. Three more seats are available in the back, bringing the maximum to 5 people, including the pilot(s). This configuration can be replaced by one pilot, a stretcher for one wounded and a paramedic, or one pilot with 500 kg of freight. The last aircraft produced for the Romanian Air Club, registered YR-MEL, was displayed at Le Bourget 1985, together with IAR-831 Pelican registered YR-IGA, a development of the IAR-823, which featured tandem seat arrangement. A more distant relative was the IAR-825TP Triumph (YR-IGB) - based on the Pelican, but with a turboprop engine. Although not envisioned to be used in combat, the aircraft has 2 underwing hardpoints, stressed for 100 kg each. Total maximum allowed weight of external stores is 200 kg.

In total 78 planes were produced, with the last built in 1983. The first deliveries took place in 1974. The main customer was the Romanian Air Force, which needed to replace the IAR-813 in the basic flight training role.

Initially they were assigned to the 20th Regiment at Boboc, subsequently some were transferred to the 19th Regiment on the grass airfield at Focsani. Small numbers of aircraft were delivered to the Romanian Air Club, being operated at Brasov, Clinceni, Pitesti, Deva and other airfields.

12 IAR-823s were ordered by Angola in 1980. These aircraft were deployed to Negage in 1981. There, the Romanians put the bases of the 188th ENAM (national military aviation school), also having at their disposal 6 IAR-316B Alouette III and 6 BN-2A Islander, all manufactured in Romania.

For more information on the operational history, click here.

The aircraft is now produced in Russia. It was the first Russian aircraft to achieve Federal Aviation Administration certification, in 1998, for sales in the United States.Reviewers Dave Unwin and Marino Boric described the design in a 2015 review as "very robust, safe and comfortable. It was designed for everyday operation on poor runways and with the ability to cope with every variation of the harsh Russian climate."

Variant

Il-103M

"At the 15th Interregional Cooperation Forum held in Petropavlovsk [the Republic of Kazakhstan], Russia and Kazakhstan signed a memorandum of understanding [MoU] on the manufacturing and market promotion of the Il-103M light utility aircraft. The sides are planning to establish a joint venture [JV] that will provide manufacturing, sales and after-sales support," the corporation said in a statement.

"The establishing of the JV is scheduled for 2019, and the first serial aircraft will be delivered to the customer in 2022," said Ilyushin`s Director General Alexey Rogozin.

The Il-103M is an upgraded variant of the Il-103 plane that was certified in Russia in February 1996. According to Ilyushin, the baseline aircraft is 8 m long and 3.135 m high and has a wingspan of 10.56 m. It is powered by a single IO-360ES prop engine with a power output of 210 hp, producing a cruise speed of 180-225 km/h and a range of up to 750 km. The Il-103 has a maximum take-off weight of 1,310 kg and a maximum payload of 350 kg.

The Republic of Korea (ROK) is the biggest operator of the Il-103, with 23 aircraft being in service.

The Interstate Cadet was an American two-seat tandem, high wing, single-engine monoplane light aircraft. Around 320 of these aircraft were produced between the years 1941 and 1942 by the Interstate Aircraft and Engineering Corporation based in El Segundo, California. The construction techniques employed were a welded steel tube fuselage, wood (spruce) wing structure with metal ribs, and fabric covering, all of which were fairly standard in the 1940s.

An Interstate Cadet, flown by aviator Cornelia Fort and an unknown student, was one of the first aircraft (if not the first) to be attacked by IJNAS Japanese naval planes en route to the Pearl Harbor attack on December 7, 1941.

The original version, the S1 prototype, was powered by the 50 hp Continental A50 engine, but was soon upgraded to the Continental A65 engine and redesignated as the S1-A-65F. This was a common engine used in many small American two-seat aircraft of the time. This aircraft would be used during World War II under the L-6A designation.

In 1945 the rights to the aircraft were sold to Harlow Aircraft Company, which in turn resold the tooling and parts to the Call Aircraft Company of Afton, Wyoming in 1946 for $5,000 ($66,000 in 2020). Callair rebuilt a number of S-1, S-1A and L-6s, some with engine upgrades, for local ranchers and bush pilots as well as two examples of their own serial numbered CallAir S-1A-90C before stopping production, focusing instead on variations of its original CallAir Model A (which also sold in small numbers, fewer than 200 total units).

One reason the Cadet may not have sold well was that this aircraft cost almost three times the amount of the comparable Piper J-3 Cub. However, a close look at the two aircraft reveals that the Cadet was faster, stronger, and could be operated in a more rugged environment with its Oleo strut/Compression spring suspension system. Popular upgrades for this airframe included larger engines(75/85/90/100 hp), better brakes, and a different tailwheel system.

In the late 1960s the type certificates and tooling were bought by the newly formed Arctic Aircraft Company who transformed the S-1B1 into a bush plane by upgrading structural elements of the fuselage, landing gear and wings. This aircraft was designated the S-1B2, was used a Lycoming O-320 160 HP engine and a McCauley propeller for increased performance and was certified in 1975 as the Arctic Tern. The new Type certification also covered installing the same engine in otherwise standard Interstate Cadets.

The Interstate Cadet "Jelly Belly" performs at airshows around the world, flying low level aerobatics, while dropping an aileron to the ground. The grand finale of the show is landing on top of a truck driving down the runway. Kent Piesh performed these stunts at the 2011 Avalon Air Show.

Variants

S-1
Certified in 1940 and powered by a Continental A50-8 engine.
S-1A
Certified in 1941 and powered by a Continental A65-8 engine.

S-1A-65F
1941 variant powered by a 65hp Franklin 4AC-176-B2 engine.
S-1A-85F
1942 variant powered by an 85hp Franklin 4AC-199-D2 engine.
S-1A-90C
1952 Callair varianS-1A-90t powered by a 90hp Continental C90-8 engine.only two built.
S-1A-90F
1942 variant powered by 90hp Franklin 4AC-199-E2 engine.[4]
S-1B1
1942 variant with a Franklin 4ACG-199-H3 engine. Military production as the L-6 Grasshopper.[5]
S-1B2 (Arctic Tern)
1975 improved variant of the S-1B1 powered by a Lycoming O-320-A2B or B2B engine.[5]
XO-63 Grasshopper
United States Army designation for one S-1B for evaluation, later designated the XL-6.[6]
L-6A Grasshopper
United States Army designation for the S-1B1, 250 built.[6]
L-8A Cadet
United States Army designation for eight S-1As ordered on behalf of the Bolivian Air Force.

      (Note:  This profile will be moved to Recreational (3-Axis) when the revised weight limitations are introduced.)

The APM 20 Lionceau is a two-seat very light aircraft manufactured by the French manufacturer Issoire Aviation. Despite its classic appearance, it is entirely built from composite materials, especially carbon fibers.

Designed by Philippe Moniot and certified in 1999 (see EASA CS-VLA), this very light (400 kg empty, 634 kg loaded) and economical (80 PS engine) aircraft is primarily intended to be used to learn to fly, but also to travel with a relatively high cruise speed (113 knots).

A three-seat version, the APM 30 Lion, was presented at the 2005 Paris Air Show. See also the profile for the four-seat AMP 40 Simba in General Aviation (Single Engine).

The Issoire APM 40 Simba is a four-seat light aircraft manufactured by the French manufacturer Issoire Aviation. It is entirely built from carbon-fiber-reinforced polymers. The aircraft's first flight was on 19 May 2009, and it made its public debut at the Paris Air Show in June 2009.

It is a derivative of the 2-seater APM 20 Lionceau and 3-seater APM 30 Lion.

Variants

APM 40 Simba
Powered by a continental IO-240F.
APM 41 Simba 915iS
Powered by a Rotax 915iS. 

The Javelin V6 STOL is an American STOL homebuilt aircraft that was designed and produced by Javelin Aircraft of Wichita, Kansas. When it was available the aircraft was supplied in the form of plans for amateur construction.

The V6 STOL consists of plans to power an existing certified Piper PA-20 Pacer airframe with a Ford Motor Company V6 engine and moving it from the Certified Category to the Experimental Amateur-built category.

The aircraft features a strut-braced high wing, a four-seat enclosed cabin accessed via doors, fixed conventional landing gear and a single engine in tractor configuration.

Since it uses a standard Piper Pacer airframe, the aircraft is made from welded steel tubing, covered in doped aircraft fabric. Its 32.00 ft (9.8 m) span wing employs a USA 35B airfoil, mounts flaps and has a wing area of 168.00 sq ft (15.608 m2). The standard conversion installs a 230 hp (172 kW) Ford V6 powerplant, driving a fixed pitch propeller, although engines of up to 300 hp (224 kW) can be employed. The 230 hp (172 kW) engine gives the aircraft a sea level, standard day takeoff distance of 150 ft (46 m) and a landing distance of 300 ft (91 m).

The V6 STOL has a typical empty weight of 1,200 lb (540 kg) and a gross weight of 2,200 lb (1,000 kg), giving a useful load of 1,000 lb (450 kg). With full fuel of 36 U.S. gallons (140 L; 30 imp gal) the payload for pilot, passengers and baggage is 784 lb (356 kg).

In January 2014, 14 examples were registered in the United States with the Federal Aviation Administration, but a total of 25 had been registered at one time.

The manufacturer estimates the time to complete the conversion from the supplied plans as 400 hours.

The Javelin Wichawk is a sporting biplane designed in the United States in the early 1970s and marketed in plan form for amateur construction.

The Wichawk is a conventional design with staggered single-bay wings of equal span braced with N-struts and having fixed, tailwheel undercarriage. The pilot and a single passenger sit in side-by-side configuration in an open cockpit, but the plans make allowances for the aircraft to be built in two- or three-seat tandem configuration instead. The fuselage and empennage are of welded steel tube construction, with the wings built with wooden spars and aluminium alloy ribs, all covered in doped aircraft fabric.

The Jeffair Barracuda is a high-performance sporting monoplane that was developed in the United States in the 1970s and is marketed for homebuilding. Designed and built by Geoffrey Siers, the prototype won the prize for "Most Outstanding New Design" at the EAA Fly-in in 1976. It was a low-wing cantilever monoplane of wooden construction with retractable tricycle undercarriage and side-by-side seating for two. Around 150 sets of plans had sold by 1977.

Geoffrey Siers was a former RAF pilot and engineer for Boeing in 1967. He set out to design an aircraft that was fast, aerobatic, two place, and had range to fly long cross-country flights. The aircraft was refined after a full size cockpit mockup was made. The lightweight construction of the plywood-covered wooden de Havilland Mosquito was the inspiration for the materials choice. The retractable landing gear came from a Piper PA-24 Comanche. The wings were a three-piece design.

Test flights were performed in 1975. The aircraft takes off at 70 mph (113 km/h) and climbs at 2000 feet per minute (10.2 m/s). Full flap stalls were recorded as low as 54 mph (87 km/h).

The first example flew on 4 April 1950. Of conventional tailwheel configuration, the D11 featured a fixed, spatted undercarriage, and accommodated pilot and passenger side-by-side. The wing panels outboard of the landing gear struts had a marked dihedral. Various powerplants were installed, typically Salmson 9, Continental O-170 or Continental O-200. The aircraft uses all-wood construction with a single piece box-spar.

D.11s were licence-built by a number of manufacturers in Europe and elsewhere, including Wassmer, Aero-Difusión, and Falconar Avia. Many examples were also home-built with plans provided by Falconar.

More than 3,000 examples have been built and flown. Many Jodels have been built in Australia and flown with VH- registrations, but a number have been reregistered with RAAus.

For dtails of the numerous variants, click here.

Specifications below are for the D.117 with Continental C90-14F engine variant.

The Johnson Rocket 185 was a 1940s American two seat cabin monoplane designed by Johnson and built at Fort Worth, Texas.

Johnson originally built a homebuilt Rocket 125 which first flew in 1942. The Rocket 125 was a low-wing cabin monoplane powered by a Lycoming O-290 engine. He developed the design into the Rocket 185 with a 185 hp (138 kW) Lycoming O-435-A engine and retractable landing gear. It was a high performance aircraft for the late 1940s with a top speed of 180 mph (290 km/h). In August 1945, Fred Pittera who had been an Advanced Military Pilot Training instructor on the four-engine B-24 Bomber at the nearby Fort Worth Army Air Field, joined the Johnson Rocket Aircraft as a test pilot, flying the P-39 aircraft look-alike through its various test regimens and finally in late 1945 flew the Johnson Rocket 185 with an FAA flight examiner for its first production qualification approval. A Federal Aviation Authority Type Certificate was issued on 10 September 1946 Introduced in August 1945, the Rocket 185 was pitched with the phrase "get a super-performing airplane for only $5,000 – order your 'Rocket' now!". A sales tour began in June 1946. However, because of its high performance and limited seating (two, sometimes three), the market was limited to experienced pilots and only 18 were built.

A four-seat variant was produced as the Bullet 125 but all rights to the two designs were sold on in the early 1950s. The new owner of the design was the Aircraft Manufacturing Company based at Tyler, Texas. They developed a variant of the Bullet powered by a Menasco inline engine and named the Texas Bullet 205 but it was not successful.

The Junkers A50 Junior was a German sports plane of the 1930s.

The Junkers A50 was the first sportsplane designed by Hermann Pohlmann in Junkers works It had the same modern all-metal construction, covered with corrugated duralumin sheet, as larger Junkers passenger planes. The first flight of the A50 took place on 13 February 1929. It was followed by further four prototypes, in order to test different engines.

Junkers expected to produce 5,000 aircraft, but stopped after manufacturing only 69, of which only 50 were sold. The high prices probably inhibited sales. Apart from Germany, they were used in several other countries and some were used by airlines. The purchase price in 1930 in the United Kingdom was between £840 and £885. Starting from the A50ce variant, the wings could be folded for easier transport.

Three German A50 took part in the Challenge international touring plane competition in July 1929, taking 11th place (A50be, pilot Waldemar Roeder) and 17th place. Three A50 took part also in the Challenge 1930 next year, taking 15th (A50ce, pilot Johann Risztics), 27th and 29th places. In June 1930 a series of eight FAI world records for altitude, range and average speed were set on a floatplane variant of A50 with the Armstrong Siddeley 59 kW (79 hp) engine. In 1931 Marga von Etzdorf flew an A50 solo from Berlin to Tokyo, the first woman to do so.

Metal construction sports plane, conventional in layout, with low cantilever wings, stressed corrugated duralumin covered. Two-spar wings were folding rearwards or could be detached. Crew of two, sitting in tandem in separate open cockpits (if it flew without a passenger, one cockpit could be closed with a cover). Two-blade propeller. Conventional fixed split axle mainwheel landing gear, with a rear skid.

New production

In 2022, Junkers Aircraft Works began production of a modernized version of the A50. This new A50 features modern avionics, a 100 hp Rotax 912iS engine driving a composite MT-Propeller, and a ballistic parachute. As of May 2023, 27 new A50s have sold in Europe, and plans have been made for WACO Aircraft Corporation to produce aircraft for American customers.

Variants

A50 - Armstrong Siddeley Genet 59 kW (79 hp) radial engine
A50ba - Walter Vega 63 kW (84 hp) radial engine (one built) (Specifications below)
A50be - Armstrong Siddeley Genet 59 kW (79 hp) engine
A50ce - Armstrong Siddeley Genet II 63 kW (84 hp) engine or for export Genet Major I 74 kW, folding wings
A50ci - Siemens-Halske Sh 13, 65 kW (87 hp) radial engine, folding wings. Originally designed to be mass-produced as a "Volksflugzeug".
A50fe - Armstrong Siddeley Genet II, 63 kW (84 hp) engine, modified airframe, folding wings
KXJ1 - A single Junkers A-50 supplied to the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service for evaluation.
The -ce and -ci variants were produced in the largest numbers with about 25 of each on the German civil register.Due to their construction, the A50 were durable aircraft and they lasted long in service. The last plane was used in the 1960s in Finland. There is one A50 preserved in Deutsches Museum in Munich and another in Helsinki airport. One A50 (VH-UCC, c/n 3517) is in airworthy condition in Australia.

The Junkers F 13 was the world's first all-metal transport aircraft, developed in Germany at the end of World War I. It was an advanced cantilever-wing monoplane, with enclosed accommodation for four passengers, and a two seat open-air cockpit. 322 planes of the type were manufactured, which was exceptionally large number for a commercial airliner of the era, and were operated all over the globe. It accounted for over a third of air traffic in the early 1920s. It was in production for thirteen years and in commercial service for more than thirty. There were many versions including floatplanes for water landing, skis, mailplane, and different engines. Several survived in various states of repair in museums, and a replica of the type was put back in production in the 2010s;taking flight once again nearly a century after it first flew.

The F 13 was a very advanced aircraft when built, an aerodynamically clean all-metal low-wing cantilever (without external bracing) monoplane. Even later in the 1920s, it and other Junkers types were unusual as unbraced monoplanes in a biplane age, with only Fokker's designs of comparable modernity. It was the world's first all-metal passenger aircraft and Junkers' first commercial aircraft.

The designation letter F stood for Flugzeug, aircraft; it was the first Junkers aeroplane to use this system. Earlier Junkers notation labelled it J 13. Russian-built aircraft used the designation Ju 13.

Like all Junkers duralumin-structured designs, from the 1918 J 7 to the 1932 Ju 46, (some 35 models), it used an aluminium alloy (duralumin) structure entirely covered with Junkers' characteristic corrugated and stressed duralumin skin. Internally, the wing was built up on nine circular cross-section duralumin spars with transverse bracing. All control surfaces were horn balanced.

Behind the single engine was a semi-enclosed cockpit for the crew, roofed but without side glazing. There was an enclosed and heated cabin for four passengers with windows and doors in the fuselage sides. Passenger seats were fitted with seat belts, unusual for the time. The F 13 used a fixed conventional split landing gear with a rear skid, though some variants landed on floats or on skis.

The F 13 first flew on 25 June 1919, powered by a 127 kW (170 hp) Mercedes D IIIa inline upright water-cooled engine. The first production machines had a wing of greater span and area and had the more powerful 140 kW (185 hp) BMW IIIa upright inline water-cooled motor.

For more details of the development and design, operational history, variants and replicas under construction, click here.

Three examples came to this region. An F 13ke VH-UTS (c/n 2074 – ex SE-AEC) was operated by the Lutheran Mission from 27 February 1935, later going to the Rheinische Mission in Dutch New Guinea in September 1939. The second aircraft, an F 13L, VH-UKW (c/n 2044), was imported by Eyre Peninsula Airways Ltd, arriving in Melbourne, VIC on 19 June 1929 from Hamburg. It was used on passenger services for a period, including a service to Broken Hill, NSW, which commenced on 15 January 1930. It was then used by Goldfields Air Navigation Ltd of Kalgoorlie, WA.

In December 1931 VH-UKW was obtained by Guinea Airways for passenger and mail services between the Goldfields and Port Moresby, PNG. At about this time the 287 kw (385 hp) Junkers L-5 engine was replaced by a 336 kw (450 hp) Bristol Jupiter engine for fleet standardisation. It continued in service in New Guinea but was not evacuated at the time of the Japanese attacks, being destroyed by enemy action in March 1942.

The third aircraft, also an F 13L, VH-UPL (c/n 2075), was imported by Bishop & O’Sullivan Aircraft Service which operated as Sky Travel (Australia) Pty Ltd. It arrived on board the ‘SS Tancred’ on 28 October 1930 and was assembled at Essendon, VIC. It was the first aircraft in Australia equipped for night flying. It was test flown on 1 November 1930 by Captains W Roethe and T R Young at Point Cook, VIC and, named ‘Glorious Queensland’, was flown to Brisbane, QLD, arriving on 1 November 1930.

VH-UPL was flown to Sydney, NSW, then back to Eagle Farm, QLD, and commenced a weekly passenger service from Brisbane to St George, QLD and twice weekly services to a number of other centres, at Goondiwindi, QLD using a salt pan for a landing strip. It also made joyflights to promote the service. However, services were suspended on 15 February 1931 due to lack of patronage and the aircraft was flown to Melbourne. Whilst flying in bad weather over the Bethungra Ranges on 28 August 1931 the magneto drive on the engine failed and a forced landing was made at Illabo, NSW, where repairs were effected. After arrival in Melbourne it was dismantled and shipped to South Africa, where it became ZS-ADR in June 1932 with Union Airways.

The Junqua Ibis RJ03 is a wooden tandem seat pusher canard light aircraft, designed in France in the early 1990s for building at home. Eleven have flown and others remain under construction.

The first canard aircraft designed and built by Roger Junqua was the one-off Volucelle RJ02, first flown by the designer's son Jean-Claude in 1985. This, the first modern French canard, was used as a development vehicle to refine the final Ibis design. The Ibis first flew in 1991 and retains much in common with the Volucelle both in general layout and in some detail, though it has a more powerful Volkswagen engine. It is designed to be homebuilt from plans, not from a kit; its structure is entirely constructed from spruce or similar wood, covered with birch and Gaboon mahogany plywood.

The Ibis is a single engine pusher canard, with swept mainplanes carrying swept endplate fins and rudders. These rear wings have constant chord, so all the plywood ribs are identical for ease of construction, and are built around a constant cross section box spar. They are then filled with styrodur foam before the plywood skin is applied. There is no dihedral or washout. Full span flaperons provide roll control. The vertical surfaces are made in a similar way and extend both above and below the wing, incorporating rudders for yaw control. The canard fore wing is again similarly made but is unswept; it has constant chord with rounded tips and has no dihedral or washout. It carries slotted elevators for pitch control.

The fuselage of the Ibis is built around four wooden longerons and plywood covered, with single curvature sides and bottom. Pilot and passenger are seated in tandem under a long, single-piece, Junqua-supplied canopy, with the rear seat at the leading edge root of the mainplane; there is storage space behind the passenger's seat. The pusher engine is close to the trailing edge, driving a two blade propeller. A variety of ungeared flat four engines in the 45-60 kW (60-80 hp) can be used; Ibis have flown with Volkswagen 1835 and 1870 cc, Limbach L2000 and Jabiru 2200 motors. The Ibis has a fixed tricycle undercarriage with mainwheels, which may be spatted, mounted from the fuselage on laminated plywood legs. The nosewheel has a rocker type rubber shock absorber and is steerable via the rudder pedals.

Eleven Ibis had been built and flown by 2012, eight in France and one each in the Netherlands, Slovenia and the USA. 41 others remain under construction worldwide, six of which appear on the French civil aircraft register.

Variants

Junqua Volucelle RJ-02
A proof of concept and development vehicle for the Junqua Ibis RJ-03. Very similar in layout and construction to the Ibis, differing primarily in power-plant.
Junqua Ibis RJ-03
The home-built aircraft developed from the Volucelle RJ-02, fitted with a 60 hp (45 kW) Volkswagen air-cooled engine or an 85 hp (63 kW) Jabiru 2200.

The Jurca MJ.5 Sirocco is Marcel Jurca's fifth aircraft design, and was derived from the similar but smaller low wing single seat MJ.2 Tempete, which first flew in June, 1956. First flight of the MJ.5 Sirocco took place in August, 1962. Both designs were prepared for a number of different engines of varying horsepower, and the MJ.5 is actually certified in France to FAR Part 23 standards, being static tested to +6 g and -4 g. It is aerobatic rated for two persons aboard in the tandem seating. At least one MJ.5 was factory-built in France. Jurca's Sirocco name for the aircraft refers to the hot, dusty dry strong wind from North Africa that assaults southern Europe in the spring.

Construction is of wood framing sheathed in plywood skin and fabric covered wings in taildragger configuration. Tandem seating for two is under a huge blown clear canopy with marvelous visibility. The main landing gear is inward-retractable built as an alternate method on the plans. Gear down indicators are shown on the wings.

The Jurca MJ-2 Tempete (French: "Tempest") is a single-seat sport aircraft designed in France in the mid 1950s and marketed for homebuilding.

The Tempete is a low-wing cantilever monoplane of conventional configuration and utilising wooden construction throughout apart from the fabric covering of the flying surfaces. The undercarriage is of the fixed, tailwheel or tailskid type. The pilot's seat is enclosed by a bubble canopy; some aircraft have a second seat to carry a passenger of less than 55 kg (121 lb).

The Tempête may be powered by a wide range of engines. At least 13 possibilities have been listed, each with its own suffix letter. These engines are all either Continental or Lycoming horizontally opposed types in the power range 48.5 - 134 kW (60-180 hp). The French and UK civil registers contain examples with seven different engines, the most popular choice being the 67 kW (90 hp) Continental C90 fitted to the Tempête MJ-2D model.

The Jurca MJ-3 Dart was a one-off sport aircraft which was constructed in the United States in 1977. It was built by Denis Jacobs of Dayton, Ohio, marrying the fuselage of the single-seat Jurca Tempête with the wings of the two seat Jurca Sirocco. The Jurca Shadow was a variant with larger, swept back tail surfaces.

The Tempête has been flown since 1957 by private owner and sporting pilots. There have been 37 on the French register, though 4 of these have been withdrawn as of September 2010. Two Tempêtes have UK Permits to Fly in 2010. In 2000 there were several flying in the USA.

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Marcel Jurca died 19 October 2001 but plans are still available in 2009 from the designer's web site.

Variants

MJ-2
MJ-20 (never built)
MJ-22 - Strengthened version with a 112 kW (150 hp) engine
MJ-23 Orage ("Thunderstorm") - high-performance version with trapezoidal wings and intended for a 300-hp engine (never built)
MJ-3 Dart - MJ-2 modified (1 built)
MJ-4 Shadow - Version with enlarged, swept empennage (2 built)

The Kaminskas Jungster I aka Papoose RK-1 Jungmeister I is a single-seat homebuilt biplane.

The Jungster I is a single-engine, single-seat biplane with conventional landing gear. It was intended to be an 80 percent scale replica of the Bücker Bü 133 for homebuilt construction. The wings are swept back an additional two degrees from the Jungmeister. The fuselage uses wood trusses and the wings use spruce wood spars with fabric covering.

Rights to the Jungster I were sold to Kate & Stan McLeod (K & S). The plans are distributed by Howard Allmon.

The KS-3 agricultural aircraft was the forerunner of the Yeoman Cropmaster, and was built at Bankstown, NSW, by Kingsford Smith Aviation Services (KSAS) in the 1950s. KSAS was well versed with the Wackett, having been involved in overhauling some 50 ex-RAAF Wacketts for the Netherlands East Indies Air Force (NEIAF) in 1946.

In 1957 KSAS modified a Wackett VH-AJB (c/n 274) to improve performance. In February 1957 further modifications were made and, following tests, another Wackett VH-AJH (c/n 283) was converted for agricultural use by the installation of a hopper in the front cockpit. First flight was made on 26 March 1957, and this aircraft, known as the KS-1, could carry a 295 kg (650 lb) payload.

In August 1957 further modifications were made, including a new hopper and louvre box, and the KS-1 became known as the KS-2. The Chief Pilot of Airwork Pty Ltd of Perth, WA flew the aircraft and asked that the hopper be placed behind the pilot to improve visibility and for ease of loading, and a Wackett (c/n 363) was so converted.

Following initial use of the aircraft for a period as noted, this Company recommended changes to the conversion to make it more suitable in its design role. The result was the KS-3, which had a completely re-designed fuselage and a modified wing. The hopper was placed in a hole cut out of the centre-section of the wooden wing, and the control system was re-designed to bypass the hopper, which was installed in what was previously the rear cockpit, which had a capacity of 13 m³/364 litres (459 sq ft/80 Imp gals) and was built of aluminium.

Another Wackett VH-FBD¹ (c/n 299) was converted but this aircraft, along with the prototype PL-7 Tanker, was destroyed in a hangar fire at Bankstown on 17 January 1958. KSAS then reserved registrations VH-FBD to VH-FBM for the first production batch of ten aircraft. Another KS-3 VH-FBE (c/n 365) was completed and flown on 24 December 1957.

A fourth Wackett (c/n 410) was converted, being test flown and registered on 27 June 1958, becoming VH-FBD². Surplus equipment was removed and, despite the installation of the 123 kw (165 hp) Warner Super Scarab engine, which was considered a little under-powered for this role, the aircraft was found to have a reasonable performance.

First customer delivery was VH-FBF (c/n 375) to Airwork in Western Australia, this aircraft having been slightly damaged in the hangar fire referred to but, being repaired, flying for the first time on 21 February 1958. Later the KS-2 VH-AJH (c/n 283) was overhauled, brought up to KS-3 specifications, and bought by Airwork.

All KS-3 Cropmasters were operated by Air Culture Pty Ltd, having been obtained from Airwork, in association with Yeoman Aviation Pty Ltd of Claremont, WA, the aircraft being operated under the Yeoman Aviation airwork licence. In 1958 KSAS put to the Department a submission it would build an all-metal wing and tail for all future production aircraft, indicating it had orders for 12 aircraft at that time. It also proposed a tricycle undercarriage and installation of either a 179 kw (240 hp) Continental or a 201 kw (270 hp) Lycoming engine. In this regard Yeoman Aircraft was set up to build the new aircraft, and Yeoman later went on to develop and build the YA-1 Cropmaster, Air Culture being the major user.

Air Culture operated the KS-3s until May 1961 when legislation forced their retirement because of Departmental policy on plywood box-spar construction of wings. The aircraft were used extensively for dusting and spraying operations, as well as sowing wheat, and were the first aircraft in Australia to be used for this type of operation.

KS-3s built were: VH-FBD¹ (c/n 299) registered in December 1957, but destroyed in a hangar fire at Bankstown on 17 January 1958; VH-FBD² (c/n 410) registered on 27 June 1958 and wrecked when it ground looped at Borden, WA on 27 November 1961; VH-FBE (c/n 365) registered from December 1957 to May 1961; VH-FBF (c/n 375) registered from March 1958 to April 1961 when it crashed at Northampton, WA; and VH-AJH (c/n 283) which, after retirement from agricultural operations, was flown in the private category from May 1963 to April 1964. After having had its hopper removed and side windows fitted, it was stored for some years until placed on display at the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Association Heritage Museum at Bull Creek in Perth, WA in 1976. In 2008 VH-AJH (ex A3-49) was obtained, and placed on display, by the Queensland Air Museum at Caloundra.

The Kinner C-7 Envoy was an American four-seat cabin monoplane built by Kinner Airplane & Motor Corporation in the 1930s.

The Envoy was a four-seat version of the Sportwing. It had low wings fitted with wire bracing from fuselage points just below the cabin windows. The conventional, fixed tailwheel undercarriage was fitted with streamlined spats on the main gear. The low-set tailplane was braced by wires from the middle of the fin.

Four civil examples were completed from 1934. These were fitted with a 300 h.p. Kinner C-7 engine and were sold to civil pilot owners. The civil aircraft were followed in 1936 by three aircraft for the United States Navy (USN) for use in communications work and designated XRK-1. The USN machines served until the early years of World War II. The Imperial Japanese Navy evaluated a single example as the LXK.

When they were delivered the USN examples were fitted with a 340 h.p. Kinner R-1044-2 engine, but one example used for VIP transport was later fitted with a 400 h.p. Pratt & Whitney R-985-38 radial engine.

The C-7 was the last of Kinner's production models. A total of 8 units were produced. 

The Kinner R Playboy was a 1930s American two-seat sporting monoplane built by Kinner Airplane & Motor Corporation.

The Playboy was a two-seat (side-by-side) sporting monoplane designed by Max B. Harlow and built by the Kinner Airplane & Motor Corporation in 1933. Originally built with an enclosed cockpit the sole R was modified to have an open cockpit as the Kinner R-1 Playboy. Production aircraft were designated Kinner R-5 Playboy. one of the 12 built being supplied to the China Aviation Assn (Shanghai), fitted with a 210 hp (157 kW) Kinner C-5 engine. The Center for Freedom and Flight in Vacaville, California has one of the two remaining aircraft on display.

Variants
 

Kinner R Playboy
The original closed cockpit version of the Playboy.
Kinner R-1 Playboy
The R modified to have an open cockpit.
Kinner R-5 Playboy
The production version with enclosed cockpit, 12 aircraft were built.

The Kinner Sportster was a 1930s American light monoplane built by Kinner Airplane & Motor Corporation.

The Kinner Airplane & Motor Corporation had been producing radial engines since 1919 decided to enter the light aircraft market. The first design was a single-seat low-wing monoplane the Kinner Sportster K with a fixed tailwheel landing gear. Further versions followed with different engines. The strut-braced, low-wing, open cockpit, conventional gear aircraft featured folding wings. In 1933, an improved version the Sportwing B-2 was introduced. An enlarged four-seat version was produced in 1935 as the Kinner Envoy. Kinner became bankrupt in 1937 and rights to the Sportster were acquired by the Timm Aircraft Company. The Sportster was also produced after the Bankruptcy by Security-National Corp as the Security S-1 Airster.

Variants
K Sportster
Powered by a 100 hp (75 kW) Kinner K-5 engine.
K-5 Sportster
B Sportster
Powered by a 125 hp (93 kW) Kinner B-5 engine.
B-1 Sportster
Powered by a 125 hp (93 kW) Kinner B-5 engine.
B-2R Sportster
B-2 Sportsters modified by Timm aircraft, with 160 hp (119 kW) Kinner R-5 engines, after Kinners bankruptcy;also marketed as the Timm 160.
Timm 160
Sportsaters modified by the Timm Aircraft Company powered by 160 hp (119 kW) Kinner R-5 engines.
Security S-1 Airster
Production of the re-named Sportster by Security-National Corp, formed by Kinner after the original company's bankruptcy