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Aviation History
1947
1947 - 1010.PDF
584 FLIGHT JUNE IO.TH, 1947 Super Cruiser iu the Air Description and Fly- ing Characteristics of Piper's Three- Seater with 100 h.p. Lycoming Engine A well-designed cowlingencases the flat-four Lycom- ing engine in the Piper.Aerodynamically the whole aircraft is very clean. AT Fair Oaks last week I was given the opportunity offlying the first, and I believe only Super Cruiser PA-12registered in this country. It was brought over as aliemoiistrator some months ago but is now privately owned. The British agent, Mr. A. J. Walter, is at present in Americanegotiating the delivery of more cruisers and their spares, and although they will mostly be for re-export, a permit to sell asmall percentage in this country will probably be granted. The selling price in America is approximately ^735- If num-bers sold by a manufacturer can in these days be taken as an indication of popularity as well as availability, Americanpersonal aircraft delivery figures for January and February of this year are significant. Some respective totals for comparisonwere: Maker January February Maker January February AeroncaBeech .. CessnaErco Luscombe The total of all types was 2,179 and 1,980 respectively. Size,cost and number of models must, of course, be taken into con- sideration, and Pipers produce both Cub and Super Cruiser inquantity, whilst their new Skysedan may also account for a small number. The PA-12* is fabric covered and has a steel tube fuselageand light alloy mainplane structure. A neat fixed undercar- riage with doughnut tyres, brakes and rubber shock absorptionis fitted, and the tailwheel, which is sprung, is steerable from :he rudder bar. The pilot sits forward and two passengers' :an sit side by side behind him. For instruction one man can 161 I 420 124 120 J73 12 3IO Il8 Hi North AmericanRepublic StinsonTaylorcraft Piper .. 238 ic>3 236 31 665 221 126 247 42 571 sit in the middle of the rear seat, and rudder pedals andremovable stick are provided. This three-seat arrangement seems best suited to light taxiwork since it is somewhatunfriendly for private use, the pilot always being on his own. However, he has the advantage of plenty of freedom of move-ment. Three is said to be no company at any time so perhaps the point is unimportant. Certainly I can say from experiencethat the two rear seats are very friendly and although a tight fit, they are not uncomfortable for a short trip. Good load for a long distance is a talking point of theSuper Cruiser, which, in addition to three people, can carry 40 1b of luggage for 600 miles. The fuel tanks are in thewings—19 gallons on each side—and each has a gauge and a large easily moved tap in the cockpit. When taxying, direction can be controlled quite well withsteerable tailwheel alone and no brake, but one's foot slips off the smooth tubular pedals very easily. This is no reflectionon springing of the machine which is very satisfactory. A parking brake lever is placed on the left side below the instru-ment panel, and fiddling little heel brake pedals work in con- junction with it. I have yet to be convinced that for con-venient operation there is anything to beat toe brakes, if feet are to be used as I think they should be. The Lycoming 0-235-C 100 h.p. flat four is a smooth andquiet little engine, and I was impressed with the way it per- formed and handled. The electric starter shows automobileinfluence both in appearance and being attached under the nose with a bendix pinion engaging a large open spur gearbehind the airscrew hub as if on a flywheel assembly- A hot air intake is provided, and the enclosed main air intake inside theengine port cooling air scoop has a filter. The PA-12people, with maximum flyingseen in Airborne < With two up the take-off was short and a comfortable" unsticking " speed was about 60 m.p.h. A good steep climb followed into a fairly strong wind at an airspeed of 75 m.p.h.The rate of climb given by the makers is between 500 and 600 it j vain. A weakness of this small aircraft, as supplied, is thecomplete absence of any flying instruments. Fine weather air- craft are of little use in this country but there seems to beroom to fit one or two dials to overcome the deficiency. T centre of the panel is taken up with a tiny radio receiverbe replaced on later models with an equally small two-way set. I am told that met. gen and the beam come through quitewell on the present receiver. At somewhat reduced weight '' chandelles'' and other aero-batic manoeuvres may be made, but I did not try any having a passenger, no previous knowledge of the machine, and no para-chutes. At a safe height, however, I tried reproducing the motions of some of my worst wartime " ab nits," for example,prolonged climbing turns with no speed to speak of, but plenty of rudder and some opposite stick.. The result was most unspec-tacular. With forearm aching from holding the stick back, the cruiser managed a slow sink of nose and outside wing. Re-checked in both directions, it was still the outside wing that stalled. A similar sort of test on gliding turns resulted in avhott>arei)iL.jf gentle mush with loss of bank and then immediate recovery, thpe Although there is no claim to be a "safety 'plane," it was apparent that the Super Cruiser is singularly viceless andgentle around the stall. All ordinary flying manoeuvres.
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