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Aviation History
1963
1963 - 0090.PDF
82 FLIC HI International. 17 Januarv 1963 Deliveries of the new Grand Commander produced by Aero Commander Inc are expected to begin in April. Fuselage is 6ft 2in longer than current Commander models, cabin length is 3ft 4in longer, and baggage capacity has been almost doubled to 59 cu ft. A maximum of nine pas sengers plus a two-man crew can be carried B U SPORT AND SIN ESS EAA Biplane for Britain Phoenix Aircraft Ltd of St James's Place, Cranleigh, Surrey, have been appointed British Common wealth agents for the US Experimental Aircraft Association's EAA Biplane (illustrated below), a 110 m.p.h. single-seater designed for amateur constructors who have access to welding facilities. Wings are of straightforward wooden construction with solid, unspindled, spruce spars; all ribs are substantially similar and are built in a single jig. The fuselage is based on a simple structure of welded steel tubes, the tail unit having tubular frames with flanged-steel- sheet ribs. The aircraft is fabric-covered, and is powered by any one of a range of 55-85 h.p. engines. Sets of constructional draw ings are obtainable from Phoenix at £5 per set. Type data include: span, 20ft; length, 17ft; v»ing area, 108 sq ft; empty weight. 7101b; gross weight. 1.1501b. The company are also Commonwealth agents for the Jodel D-9 Bebe single-seater and Jodel D-ll Club two seater. European-built Cessnas The Cessna 172 and the I 75 Powermatic, respectively powered by Continental 145 h.p. and 175 h.p. engines. are to be assembled in France by Reims Aviation, formerly Avions Max Holste. An agreement to this effect has existed since 1960, but the decision has recently been taken to implement it and to assemble the two types from Cessna parts, progressively substi tuting French-made parts for about 90 per cent of the airframe. The two engines will be supplied by Rolls-Royce. Most of the aircraft—a batch of 60 is to be built initially at the rate of four per month—will be 172s and will be exported in Europe and Africa. Cessna are to set up a Europe-wide sales organization, with a special subsidiary company in Geneva, as Piper have already done. The prices of the French-built Cessnas should be considerably lower than those of the imported American-built aircraft. The Reims Aviation production rate should build up to 20 aircraft per month in due course. More distant projects at Reims are reported to include a military version of the 175 Powermatic, more than 1,000 of which have been ordered by the US Army in the USA, and the "push-pull" twin-engined Skymaster. Cherokee Production A total of 723 Cherokees were produced at Piper Aircraft Corporation's Vero Beach plant during the company's last financial year (which ended on September 30, 1962). The scheduled current rate of Cherokee production, almost entirely of the 180 h.p. version, is three per day. Referring to the 1962 sales of all Piper types, company president William T. Piper writes in the firm's annual report: "Sales were slow at the start of the 1962 year, but picked up momentum during the second quarter, only to gradually taper off during the last half. Sales of aircraft to private individuals seem to have been adversely affected more than to companies. While the total unit volume was decreasing, the sales of the more expensive twin-engine models to business firms remained quite steady." Regional Gliding Contests This year's regional gliding contests, recently announced by the British Gliding Association, include: Midland Gliding Club. Long Mynd, April 12-16; Norfolk and Noiw'ch Gliding Club, Swanton Morley, April 12-21; London Gliding Club, Dunstable, July 27 to August 5. EAA Biplane Model A-1, designed by James Stewart and built by the students of St Rita's High School, Chicago, is owned by the Experimental Aircraft Association. As reported on this page, constructional plans for the type are now available in this country
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