EAA Biplane

EAA Biplane
EAA Biplane on display
Role Recreational aircraft
Manufacturer Homebuilt
Designer EAA
First flight 10 June 1960
Unit cost
approximately $2385 to build in 1971[1]

The EAA Biplane is a recreational aircraft that was designed in the United States in the late 1950s and marketed as plans for homebuilding.[2]

Design and development

The design was produced for the EAA by a team of Allison engineers led by EAA member Jim D. Stewart. This team took the Gere Sport of the 1930s as their starting point and eventually developed a completely new design.

It is a single-seat biplane of conventional configuration, with staggered, single-bay equal-span wings braced with N-struts. The undercarriage is of fixed tailwheel type. The fuselage is fabric-covered welded steel tube, and the wings fabric-covered wood. Plans for the biplane remained available until 1972, by which time some 7,000 sets had been sold. The prototype is now preserved at the EAA Aviation Museum in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

The prototype was constructed by students at St. Rita of Cascia High School, Chicago and first flew in 1960. Another example named the "Parkside Eagle" was constructed by students of Parkside High School in Michigan in 1971 and test flown for the first time by Paul Poberezny.[3][4]

Specifications (typical)

General characteristics

  • Crew: One pilot
  • Length: 17 ft 0 in (5.18 m)
  • Wingspan: 20 ft 0 in (6.10 m)
  • Height: 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
  • Wing area: 108 ft2 (10.03 m2)
  • Empty weight: 695 lb (315 kg)
  • Gross weight: 1,023 lb (464 kg)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Continental C85, 85 hp (63 kW)

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 105 mph (169 km/h)
  • Stall speed: 42 mph (67 km/h)
  • Range: 200 miles (322 km)
  • Service ceiling: 11,500 ft (3,505 m)

References

  1. ↑ Leo J. Kohn (Winter 1971). "The true cost of building your own plane". Air Trails: 63.
  2. ↑ "All these planes you can build from plans". Popular Science: 99. June 1970.
  3. ↑ Air PRogress: 20. September 1971. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. ↑ "Parkside's Eagle Swoops and Soars". Sport Aviation: 4. September 1971.
  • Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions. p. 347.
  • Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1977-78. London: Jane's Yearbooks. pp. 536–37.
  • AirVenture Museum page on type
  • airVenture Museum specification page for Biplane with 85 hp engine and open cockpit
  • List of magazine articles about the EAA Biplane
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