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Aviation History
1963
1963 - 0486.PDF
464 FLIGHT International 4 April 19t! Peter M. Bowers flies Fly Baby, winner of the Experimental Aircraft Association's 1962 design competition (see "Fly Baby"). The wings fold for ground transport; between the landing-gear struts is the Bowers aerodynamic suitcase S PORT AND BUSINESS were the following: civilian clubs flew a total of 30,546hr from 162,998 launches at club sites; club aircraft increased in number from 165 in 1961 to 176 in 1962, with an increase in privately owned aircraft from 124 to 145; the RAFGSA flew 7,249hr from 54,706 launches, and the results of three of the RNGSA clubs showed 590hrs and 5,598 launches. During the 1962 National Gliding Championships, 80 aircraft flew nearh 59,000 miles in eight days, achieving almost 2,400 hours' flying. A total of 28 pilots completed the first 300km triangle ever set in this country. Fly Baby Boeing research engineer Peter M. Bowers, designer of the Fly Baby amateur-built aircraft which won the 1962 design competition sponsored by the US Experimental Aircraft Associa tion has now received 165 cash-paid orders for sets of constructional plans for the machine. Illustrated in the photograph above, Sky Baby is built almost entirely of wood, covered with Dacron fabric, and features extremely simple construction. The aircraft can be powered by any conventional aero-engine of 65-85 h.p., giving a cruising speed of 95-115 m.p.h. and an initial rate of climb of 850-1,lOOft/min. High-speed performance has been deliberately sacrificed to achieve low take-off and landing speeds and best rate of climb for operation from small and basic airfields. The aircraft is inherently stable and in smooth air can be flown hands-off for long periods. The designer took 720 man-hours to complete the first Fly Baby, at a total cost of $1,050. This total was made up of $375 for new raw materials (plywood, spruce, glue, nails, sheet metal, wire, fabric and dope), and $675 for such "used hardware" items as a 65 h.p. engine, metal propeller, instruments, wheels and brakes, fuel tank and engine mount. Constructional plans for the Fly Baby are being published in the Experimental Aircraft Associa tion's magazine Sport Aviation, and are available with more detailed information at $15 from Peter M. Bowers at 13,826 Des Moines Way, Seattle 68, Washington. Crossfell Audio Among the pilots from six countries who used the Crossfell fast-response electric variometer in their sailplanes at the recent World Gliding Championships in Argentina was Dick Johnson (USA), who came fourth in the open class flying the Sisu 1A. The model adopted by Johnson was the recently developed audio version of the instrument, in which the information is presented to the pilot audibly instead of visually. For normal rates of sink in stationary air, the audio instrument is silent. When entering lift greater than a certain threshold value, it starts to whistle, the pitch rising rapidly with increasing rate of climb. Centering in a thermal is achieved by flying so as to maintain the pitch as high as possible, and the threshold level can be adjusted to suit weak or strong soaring conditions. Details are available from Crossfell Variometers. Vernmore, 10 Borrowdale Road. Malvern, Worcestershire. Gulfstream Orders Sales of the Grumman Gulfstream (two Rolls-Royce Darts) now total 103, and production is planned to continue throughout 1963. Model of the new Mitsubishi XMU-2 seven-seat executive and utility aircraft, powered by two Turbomeca Astazou turboprops. Take-off run is quoted os 300m (980ft) and maximum speed 523km/hr (325 m.p.h.) Cessna Dealers Under the Meyrin Branch, Geneva, of the Cessna Aircraft Company, the current United Kingdom Cessna dealers are Airwork Services Ltd, Perth; Steels Aviation Ltd, Bristol; W. H. and J. Rogers (Aviation) Ltd, Great Barford and Cranfield; and Westair Ltd of Blackpool. Mooney Sales A total of 387 Mooney Mark 21s were sold during 1962. Figures for other single-engined, four-seat, retractable-gear aircraft include: Beech Bonanza and Debonair, 358; Cessna 210, 281; Piper Comanche, 380. United Kingdom distributors for Mooney are R. K. Dundas Aero Ltd, Biggin Hill Airport. Gliding in 1962 Among the statistics for 1962 presented by the chairman of the British Gliding Association, Mr Philip Wills, in his annual report to the Association at the London a.g.m. recently.
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