The slightly less well known

[Angry Turnip]

Naval Aircraft Factory N3N

The Naval Aircraft Factory N3N was a tandem-seat,open cockpit,primary training biplane aircraft from the 1930`s.
The N3N was successfully tested as both a conventional airplane and a seaplane,the seaplane used a single float under the fuselage and floats under the outer tips of the lower wing.
The prototype XN3N-1 was powered by a radial Wright designed Wright J-5 engine and had a fixed undercarriage.An intial order for 179 production aircraft was received;towards the end of the first production run the engine was replaced with the Wright R-760-2 Whirlwind radial.

The N.A.F. delivered 997 N3N aircraft beginning in 1935.These included 180 N3N-1s and 816 N3N-3s.Four N3N-3s were delivered to the United States Coast Guard in 1941. Production ended in January 1942 but the type remained in use through the rest of World War II.The N3N was the last biplane in US military service.
The N3N was unique in that it was an aircraft designed and manufactured by an aviation firm wholly owned and operated by the U.S. government (the Navy, in this case) as opposed to private industry.For this purpose,the USN bought the rights and the tooling for the Wright R-760 series engine and produced their own engines.These Navy built engines were installed on Navy built airframes.

Postwar,surviving aircraft were sold on the US civil aircraft market and bought for operation by agricultural aerial spraying firms and private pilot owners.A number are still active in the USA.


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[Angry Turnip]

Naval Aircraft Factory SBN

The Naval Aircraft Factory SBN was a three-seat mid-wing monoplane scout bomber/torpedo aircraft designed by the Brewster Aeronautical Corporation,built under license by the Naval Aircraft Factory in Philadelphia.

The USN issued specifications for a scout bomber in 1934 and Brewster won the competition.The Navy ordered one prototype,designated the XSBA-1,on 15 October 1934.
It was a two-seat,single-engine monoplane with retractable landing gear and an internal bomb bay that could accommodate a 500-pound bomb.A crewman in the rear seat was armed with a flexible machine gun.

The prototype XSBA-1 first flew on 15 April 1936,and was delivered to the Navy for testing,fitted with a Wright R-1820-4 Cyclone 770-horsepower engine.
It achieved a top speed of 254 mph with a range of 1,000 miles at cruising speed.Problems were found during testing and the aircraft was given a revised tail and rudder and a more powerful Wright R-1820-22 Cyclone 950-horsepower engine,with which it reached a top speed of 263 mph.At the time, it was believed to be the fastest single-engine bomber in the world.

Brewster was unable to manufacture production models of the XSBA-1,so the Navy acquired a license to produce the aircraft itself at the Naval Aircraft Factory.
In September 1938,the Navy placed an order for 30 aircraft,but due to pressures of work at the NAF,it did not deliver the first aircraft,re-designated the SBN, until November 1940;he remaining aircraft were delivered between June 1941 and March 1942.

They were bsolete before their delivery in 1941,however some of the early production aircraft were used for carrier operations trials with Torpedo Squadron Eight (VT-8) in 1941 and then passed on for use as trainers aboard the aircraft carrier USS Hornet (CV-8).None of the SBNs saw combat.With a lack of spare parts,the aircraft were withdrawn from service from August 1942.

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[Angry Turnip]

North American AJ Savage

The North American AJ Savage (later A-2 Savage) was a carrier-based medium bomber built for the United States Navy.At the end of World War II, the USN began a design competition on 13 August 1945 for a carrier-based bomber which could carry a 10,000-pound bomb.Later that year,the Navy decided that it needed to be able to deliver atomic bombs and that the AJ Savage design would be adapted to accommodate the latest Mark 4 nuclear bomb.

The first prototype made its maiden flight two years later on 3 July 1948,The AJ-1 was a three-seat,high-wing monoplane with tricycle landing gear.For carrier operations, the outer wing panels and the tailfin could be manually folded.It was fitted with two 2,300-brake-horsepower Pratt & Whitney R-2800-44W Double Wasp piston engines, mounted in nacelles under each wing with a large turbocharger fitted inside each engine nacelle,and a 4,600-pound-force Allison J33-A-10 turbojet in the rear fuselage. Intended to be used for takeoff and maximum speed near the target,the jet was fed by an air inlet on top of the fuselage that was normally kept closed to reduce drag.

A photo-reconnaissance version of the Savage,initially known as the AJ-1P but later as the AJ-2P,was ordered on 18 August 1950.It had improved R-2800-48 piston engines and the tail was redesigned to add 1 foot of height to the tailfin.The 12° dihedral of the tail stabilizers was eliminated and the rudder enlarged which slightly lengthened the aircraft.Early AJ-2Ps retained the three-man crew,but late-model aircraft added a fourth crewman to the upper cockpit facing aft.

Around 1954, NATC modified the sole surviving XAJ-1 to conduct inflight refueling tests using the probe and drogue configuration.The turbojet engine was removed and the fuel hose and its drogue extended out from the jet's former exhaust opening.Aircraft in service retained the turbojet and had their bomb bay doors modified to accommodate the hose and drogue.They were refueling aircraft during late 1954.

The aircraft was not popular aboard ship as "it was so big and cumbersome that it complicated any other flight operations the ship was required to conduct."One problem was that the wings had to be folded one at a time by a crewman on top of the fuselage with a portable hydraulic pump,a time-consuming process,so that the bomber could be moved out of the way to allow other aircraft to land or take off.

Most of the USN examples had been retired from 1960,but a small number were converted to operate as water bombers in the fire fighting role.

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[Angry Turnip]

North American B-45 Tornado

The B-45 began development in 1944,when the U.S. War Department,called for a group of jet bombers grossing between 80,000 lb and 200,000 lb.The proposal from North American Aviation (NA-130) won,and on September 8, 1944,the company began production of three prototypes based on the NA-130.
The B-45 proved a superior design, and on January 2, 1947, a contract for immediate production of B-45As was signed,but not long after the future of the B-45 became increasingly uncertain,and in mid-1948 the U.S. Air Staff began to question its value.Soon afterwards,President Truman's budget restraints reduced Air Force expenditure and B-45 production was reduced to a total of 142 airframes.

Plagued by engine problems along with numerous other minor flaws,the B-45 regained importance when after the US entered the Korean War in 1950,it proved its value both as a bomber and as a reconnaissance aircraft.The progress of weapons technology had led to a great reduction in the weight and size of nuclear weapons in the U.S.inventory, allowing smaller aircraft to carry out nuclear strikes,a mission which had initially been confined to heavy bombers.Suddenly,the small fleet of B-45s had great value again as a nuclear deterrent.

RB-45s of the 323rd Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron began to arrive in Japan supplementing the World War II-era piston-engine RB-29s which had proved to be easy targets for North Korean MiGs.The RB-45s provided valuable intelligence throughout the remainder of the Korean War,despite the limited number of airframes available.RB-45Cs flew many daylight missions until early 1952,when they were switched to night operations after an RB-45 was almost lost to a MiG-15.

By 1954 the RB-45C had been replaced by the RB-47E.The phased-out RB-45Cs then went to the 19th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron,which operated them until they were withdrawn from operational use in the spring of 1958.By the end of the 1950s,all B-45s had been removed from active service.However,a few continued to act as test aircraft into the early 1970s.

Under Operation Ju-jitsu,in July 1951 four aircraft were leased to Britain from the 91st SRW  to form 'Special Duties Flight, Sculthorpe'.Stripped of all USAF markings and then applied with RAF markings,the four aircraft were attached to a USAF squadron based at RAF Sculthorpe,in eastern England.They were tasked with flying deep-level reconnaissance missions over the Soviet Union to gather electronic and photographic intelligence.The Special Duties Flight conducted missions during the period 1952–54.
Subsequent flights over the Soviet Union were carried out using English Electric Canberras under the codename Project Robin,operating at much higher altitudes of around 54,000 ft.

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[Angry Turnip]

North American P-64

The North American P-64 was the designation assigned by the USAAC to the North American Aviation NA-68 fighter,an upgraded variant of the NA-50 developed during the late 1930s.Seven NA-50s were purchased by the Peruvian Air Force,which nicknamed it Torito ("Little Bull").
Six NA-68s ordered by the Royal Thai Air Force were seized before export by the US government in 1941,after the Franco-Thai War and growing ties between Thailand and the Empire of Japan.These aircraft were used by the USAAC as unarmed fighter trainers.

It was developed as a simple single-seat,low-wing,single-engined fighter for export.The design was based on the NA-16/BT-9 basic training aircraft of 1935.The NA-16 evolved into a series of aircraft that were some of the most widely used advanced and basic training aircraft produced by any country,and provided the basic design for a single-engined fighter intended for small countries that needed a simple aircraft with modern capabilities and features.

The NA-50 was powered by an 840 hp Wright R-1820-G3 radial air-cooled engine that gave the NA-50 a top speed of 295 mph at 9,500 feet.It was armed with two .30 in (7.62 mm) M1919 Browning machine guns.The aircraft were manufactured in May 1939.
One of the six intercepted Thailand-bound P-64s which survived being used for training and liaison is now displayed at the EAA AirVenture Museum. This aircraft has been restored to flying condition, with the engine running again in 2013, followed by its first flying appearance at the 2016 EAA AirVenture Oshkosh airshow.

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[Angry Turnip]

North American FJ-1 Fury

The North American FJ-1 Fury was the first operational jet aircraft in USN service,and was developed by North American Aviation as the NA-135.Ordered in late 1944 as the XFJ-1 in competition with proposals from Douglas and Vought,the Fury began as a straight-wing,tricycle gear fighter with a single turbojet passing through the fuselage.

The first flight of the prototype XFJ-1 took place on 11 September 1946,with the first of 30 deliveries beginning in October 1947.The FJ-1 made the USN's first operational aircraft carrier landing with a jet fighter at sea on 10 March 1948 aboard USS Boxer,pioneering US jet-powered carrier operations and showing the need for catapult-equipped carriers.The Fury was capable of launching without catapult assistance,but on a crowded flight deck the capability was of limited use.Taking off without a catapult launch limited the FJ-1 to a perilous,slow climb that was considered too risky for normal operations.

No provision for wing-folding had been made as dive brakes mounted in the wings made that option unfeasible.In order to conserve carrier deck space,a "kneeling" nose undercarriage along with a swivelling "jockey wheel" allowed the FJ-1 to be stacked tail-high,close to another FJ-1.
Powerplant was an Allison J35-A-2 turbojet of 4,000 lbf,with armament of 6 × 0.50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns in the nose.The initial order for 100 units was trimmed to only 30 aircraft which were mainly used in testing at NAS North Island, California.

Although VF-51 went to sea on Boxer by May 1949,the FJ-1s were phased out in favor of the new F9F-2 Panther.Ending its service career in U.S. Naval Reserve units, the FJ-1 eventually was retired in 1953.

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[Angry Turnip]

North American Navion

The Navion was originally designed at the end of World War II by North American Aviation as the NA-143 (but produced under the NA-145 designation).It was designed for the civilian market but also attracted the interest of the USAAF.
It is a single-engine,unpressurized,retractable gear,four-seat aircraft.It was later built by Ryan Aeronautical Company and the Tubular Steel Corporation (TUSCO).

The Army Air Force ordered 83 of the NA-154 version,designated the L-17A,to be used as a liaison aircraft personnel and cargo carrier,and trainer for the university-based Reserve Officers Training Corps flight training program,35 of which were later converted to L-17C standard by the Schweizer Aircraft Company by fitting them with L-17B model features such as an auxiliary fuel tank.

Ryan Aeronautical Company bought the design in 1948,and built approximately 1,200 examples over the following three years.Ryan designated the aircraft the Navion A with a 205 hp Continental E-185-3 or -9 and,later,the Navion B with 260 hp engines of either the Lycoming GO-435-C2,or optionally the Continental IO-470 engine.The Navion A`s became the basis for the military L-17B.
 
TUSCO took over production of the Navion in the mid-1950s,manufacturing D, E and F models with a variety of enhancements including tip tanks and flush rivets.Navion Rangemaster aircraft were manufactured from 1961 to 1976.Their production followed that of earlier canopy-models.TUSCO also introduced the Navion Rangemaster G model in 1960,which incorporated all previous advancements,replaced the Navion's sliding canopy with a side door,enlarged the cabin,created five separate seats,and standardized use of tiptanks and larger,late-model Continental engines.

The last few Navions were manufactured by Navion Aircraft Company during a short production run ending in 1976 during one of several attempts to restore the airplane to commercial viability.As of 2010,many Navions are still flying and there is an active Navion owners community.On 18 March 2003 Sierra Hotel Aero Inc of South St. Paul, Minnesota purchased the type certificate.


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[Angry Turnip]

North American O-47

The North American O-47 is an American observation fixed-wing aircraft monoplane used by the United States Army Air Corps.It had a low-wing configuration,retractable landing gear,and a three-blade propeller.
The O-47 was developed as a replacement for the older biplane types such as the Douglas O-38,however it was larger and heavier than most preceding observation aircraft.It`s crew of three sat in tandem under the long canopy,it also had windows in the belly as the wings presented a problem to downward observation and photography.

Design for the XO-47 prototype originated as the GA-15 with General Aviation in 1934,it was a subsidiary of North American Aviation,it had a 850 hp Wright R-1820-41 engine.
The Air Corps ordered 174 O-47s in 1937 to 1938,roughly half of which were assigned to National Guard units.In 1938, the Army ordered 74 O-47Bs with a redesigned engine cowling for better cooling, an uprated engine,a 1,060 hp Wright R-1820-57 and improved radio equipment.

The O-47 was a heavy aircraft,it lacked manoeuvrability and during WWII single-engined aircraft like the Piper L-4 and Stinson L-5 proved more capable of operating with ground troops,while fighters and twin engine bombers showed greater ability to perform recon and photo duties.The O-47s during World War II,except for those caught at overseas bases by the Japanese attacks,were relegated to secondary duties such as towing targets,coastal patrol,and anti-submarine patrol.

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[Angry Turnip]

OT Timm N2T Tutor

The Timm N2T Tutor was a training monoplane built by the Timm Aircraft Corporation,founded by Otto Timm for the United States Navy as the N2T-1.
It was a conventional tandem open-cockpit monoplane trainer first flown on the 22 May 1940.Power was a 160 hp Kinner R-5 radial engine,the N2T was a low-wing cantilever monoplane with a tailwheel landing gear.

It had an unusual feature in that the airframe structure was made from resin,impregnated and molded plywood,creating a composite material stronger and lighter than plywood.This process was patented as the Nuyon process and marketed as the Aeromold process.
The PT-175-K variant was fitted with a Kinner R-53 engine,this was followed by the PT-220-C with a 220 hp Continental W-670-6 engine and larger tail.

It was evaluated by the USN,which ordered 262 aircraft in 1943 as the N2T-1,with only slight changes from the prototypes.The Navy nicknamed it "Tiny Timm.",the entire initial order was delivered in 1943 with no follow-on contract due to the military placing too many orders for Army and Navy trainers.

Although popular and relatively reliable,the N2T-1 was not built for long-term use,especially being made almost entirely of a wood based composite material that proved to be susceptible to decomposing.
N2Ts are preserved in U.S. museums including examples at the National Museum of Naval Aviation at NAS Pensacola, Florida and at the Air Zoo at Kalamazoo Municipal Airport,Michigan.

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[Angry Turnip]

Orenco D

The Orenco D was a biplane fighter aircraft,designed by Orenco and built by Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company.It was the first fighter type of completely indigenous design to enter US military service.

The D prototype was offered to the US Army Air Service at the end of 1918.It was a two-bay biplane of all-wood construction,and fabric covered.It was powered by a 300 hp Hispano-Suiza engine which give it a top speed of around 140mph,it was armed by 2 × .30 in (7.6 mm) machine guns.Intial tests showed the aircraft had excellent handling and performance.

The military ordered 50 production aircraft,but put the production order up for bidding.Curtiss Aircraft entered the lowest bid and built the fighter,modifying it slightly with a wider wingspan and redesigned ailerons.The first Curtiss Orenco D flew on 26 August 1921.

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[Angry Turnip]

On Mark Marksman

The On Mark Marksman was a high-speed civil executive aircraft converted from surplus Douglas A-26 Invader airframes.They also produced the On Mark Executive and the On Mark Marketeer.The first conversions mainly involved the removal of military equipment and replacement with fairings and civil avionics, sealing of the bomb bay doors, soundproofing, and additional cabin windows.

In 1957 the company had developed a major modification that replaced the "carry-through" section of the rear wing spar with a circumferential steel "ring spar" that freed the fuselage space for better passenger accommodation and cockpit access.Other major improvements included a broad-chord metal-skinned rudder,Douglas DC-6 wheels and brakes, an APU,autopilot and additional fuel tanks inside the wing and the addition of wingtip tanks.It also had an extended fiberglass nose for baggage (or a radar) which increased the overall length by about 26".

Further development continued into the 1960s into what became the On Mark Marksman.The major difference was the addition of full pressurization.Improvements were also made to the cockpit with the incorporation of Douglas DC-6 flat glass windscreens and cockpit side windows.A replacement fuselage roof structure was added from the new windscreens,tapering back to the original tail section.By 1963, six Marksman conversions had been carried out for civil customers, the final seventh and eighth being a special purpose version with terrain-following radar and a cargo-dropping hatch for low level air-drops,designed by and delivered to CIA-associated companies.(Sssh!)

Between June and October 1967,the first of two aircraft,conducted low level nighttime supply drops to CIA related forces in Laos during the so-called "Secret War". The program was discontinued because the aircraft was too fast for accurate drops even with the special onboard equipment,and looked too much like a type of strike aircraft known to operate in the area.This was cited as often causing forces on the ground to be wary of turning on their marking lamps.The aircraft was damaged on takeoff at Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base after being transferred to Overseas Aeromarine, Inc.

In the end,both aircraft were handed over to the 1198th Operational Evaluation and Training (OT&E) Squadron at Norton Air Force Base,California,a unit known for alleged participation in agent dropping and other clandestine missions in Southeast Asia eg (Project Heavy Chain).The Squadron evaluated the two Marksman,but apparently found no use for them and scrapped both aircraft,which suffered from a chronic Invader issue of nose gear failure.

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[smudge]

Oh how I lusted after the Marksman as a Small Smudge...  those huge props and svelte fuselage. 

One oddity I remember was that it could be loaded with full fuel, all five passengers and maximum payload and still be below its structural maximum weight.  Probably unique in aviation history!

[Angry Turnip]

Paramount Cabinaire

The Paramount Cabinaire was a 1920s designed cabin biplane, designed by Walter J.Carr.The prototype Cabinaire was formed around a welded steel tube Travel Air 2000 fuselage modified for an enclosed cabin.A new center section of wing was added and Travel air wings were reinstalled onto the center sections.The upper wing was modified and mounted several inches above the enclosed cabin.

The biplane aircraft featured a radial engine, and conventional landing gear.The upscale cabin used two individual upholstered wicker seats in the front and a wicker bench seat for passengers. The interior used velor finishing, nickel plating, mohair rugs, mahogany panels and roll-down windows.Each production model differed slightly from each other with choices of engines, and landing gear and aileron improvements.

In 1929, Viola Gentry and Jack Ashcroft attempted an endurance record for flight with aerial refueling in a modified Cabinaire SN#5 named The Answer.The name was chosen in response to the Army aircraft that had completed previous endurance records, the Question Mark.Just a tad sarcastic!
The aircraft had a 55-gallon cabin tank, and 21 gallon wing tanks installed for the attempt.The Answer crew was unable to refuel after the first ten hours of flight due to fog and crashed 28 June 1929, killing Ashcroft.

In 1930, a Cabinaire was entered in the 4814 mile long Ford National Reliability Air Tour, placing 15th out of 18.The same aircraft has been restored and was still flown in 2011.

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[Angry Turnip]

Pazmany PL-1/PL-2

The Pazmany PL-1 Laminar and Pazmany PL-2 are US two-seat trainer and personal light aircraft, designed by Ladislao Pazmany to be marketed as a homebuilt aircraft by his company Pazmany Aircraft Corporation.

The PL-1 Laminar was the first design,the prototype first flew on the 23 March 1962.It is a cantilever low-wing monoplane with a fixed tricycle landing gear.It has side-by-side seating for a crew of two and is powered by a 95 hp Continental C-90 piston engine.The Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC) acquired plans and built a PL-1 for evaluation with a first flight on 26 October 1968.
AIDC then built 58 aircraft designated the PL-1B for the Republic of China Air Force and fitted with a 150 hp Avco Lycoming O-320 engine.

The PL-2 which had a slight increase in cockpit width and changes to the structure to make it`s construction easier for homebuilders.The PL-2 was evaluated by a number of air forces in south-east Asia. It was built under license in Indonesia as the Lipnur LT-200.

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[Angry Turnip]

Piper PA-14 Family Cruiser

The Piper PA-14 Family Cruiser is a small touring aircraft of the late 1940s.
In 1947,the PA-12 design was adapted to a four-seat layout by widening the cabin at the instrument panel and adding slotted flaps.The original high-wing and fixed tailwheel undercarriage layout features remained.The PA-14 prototype made its first flight from the company's Lock Haven Pennsylvania factory on 21 March 1947.
A second PA-14 was completed on 6 February 1948 and the first deliveries were made later that year.Powerplant was a Lycoming O-235-C1 air-cooled flat four, of 115 hp

238 examples were completed,mainly sold to private owner pilots in the United States,but overseas sales included several to France.The aircraft was launched at a time of serious financial difficulty for the company,soon after the release of the Family Cruiser, Piper was placed in receivership, from which it later successfully emerged.
126 examples remained registered in the US in April 2011, of which 81 were based in Alaska and 13 aircraft were registered in Canada.Some were fitted with floats.                 

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[Angry Turnip]

Piper-PA-28R-300 Pillán

The PA-28R-300 Pillán was developed by Piper Aircraft as a two-seat military trainer for assembly in Chile,based on a PA-32R fuselage with a new center-section and stronger wing stressed for aerobatics.The first prototype designated XBT first flew on 6 March 1981 and was followed by a second prototype,designated YBT.

The second prototype first flew on 31 August 1981 and was then delivered to Chile.The prototype XBT was delivered in January 1982 but was written off on 10 March 1982.
Production of kits at Vero Beach commenced with three pre-production kits which were delivered for assembly in Chile,then it produced 120 kits for assembly again in Chile, for the Chilean and Spanish Air Force.
The first production aircraft was delivered by ENAER to the Chilean Air Force Air Academy in August 1985, the Spanish aircraft were assembled in Spain by CASA.

Apart from a small number of turbine powered aircraft, all Pilláns were powered by a 300 hp Textron Lycoming AEIO-540-K1K5 six cylinder horizontally opposed piston engine.
Performance is 192mph max sea level speed,and a cruise of 165mph,in 1985 a turboprop variant was developed by ENAER as the T-35A Aucan.

Spain and Chile are the main operator of the type,but it is also in use with several South American Air Arms, but only in small numbers.

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[smudge]

Piper-PA-28R-300

The Spanish air force name for the type translates as 'sieve' because it sifts potential pilots from no-hopers.  Always seemed a bit blunt to me!

Ah the word finally came back to me: Tamiz

[Angry Turnip]

In Mapuche which is spoken in south-central Chile and west central Argentina,it means volcano or ancestral spirit--that would make more sense. :-)

[Angry Turnip]

Piper PA-35 Pocono

The Piper PA-35 Pocono was a 16/18 seat commuter airliner developed in the late 1960s.
Piper started the design work in 1965 for a twin-engined piston non-pressurized commuter airliner and the prototype first flew on 13 May 1968.It was a low-wing monoplane that was intended to be powered by two 475 hp Lycoming TIO-720-B1A piston engines, but during development the tail area was increased, the fuselage stretched and the engines uprated to 520 hp variants.

Development was stopped in 1969 initially to let the company develop other aircraft, but the halt was also influenced by the lack of a suitable engine and a number of third-level airline operators in the US going out of business.In 1970 the company proposed a four-engined and a turboprop version, but they were not developed.

In 1978 a cooperation program between Piper and WSK Mielec (Poland) was planned.As part of this one fuselage with wings was transported from Florida to Poland and a team of designers was assembled at the R&D Center in Mielec.The program was named M-19,but the program was abandoned when the An-28 program was launched in Mielec and the PA-35 fuselage was moved to the city of Widełka.

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[Angry Turnip]

Piper PA-48 Enforcer

The Piper PA-48 Enforcer is a turboprop-powered light close air support aircraft built by Piper in the 1970s. It is a development of the World War II-era North American P-51 Mustang fighter.The concept was originally created and flown as the Cavalier Mustang by David Lindsay, owner of Cavalier Aircraft, in response to the USAF PAVE COIN program, but Cavalier did not have the manufacturing abilities to mass-produce the Enforcer, so the program was sold to Piper by Lindsay in 1970.

Cavalier initially mated a Rolls-Royce Dart 510 turboprop to a Mustang II airframe.This privately funded prototype was also intended for the same CAS/COIN mission that the Mustang II was built for.

In 1971, Piper built two Enforcers by heavily modifying two existing Mustang airframes, fitting them with Lycoming YT55-L-9A turboprop engines along with numerous other significant modifications. One airframe was a single seat (called the PE-1 and FAA registered as N201PE), the other a dual-control aircraft (the PE-2, registered N202PE). Prior to the Pave COIN evaluation, N202PE was lost in a crash off the Florida coast on 12 July 1971 due to flutter caused by a Piper-modified elevator trim tab. Although the Enforcer performed well in the 1971–1972 Pave COIN test flown by USAF pilots, Piper failed to secure a USAF contract.

In 1984, with a $US12 million appropriation from Congress, Piper built two new Enforcers, giving the new prototypes the designation PA-48.These aircraft were evaluated by the USAF, but flown only by Piper test pilots.
By the time the PA-48s were completed, they shared less than 10 percent of their structure with the P-51,and were longer and larger.
The two PA-48s were tested during 1983 and 1984 at Eglin Air Force Base,and Edwards Air Force Base.As in the Pave COIN tests of 1971, the PA-48s were found to perform well in their intended role, but the Air Force again decided not to purchase the aircraft.

Two still exist,in 2014, PA-48 N482PE completed restoration and is on display at the Air Force Flight Test Museum at Edwards Air Force Base.N481PE has been fully restored and is currently in storage at the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.

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[Angry Turnip]

Piper PA-47 PiperJet

The Piper PA-47 PiperJet was a single-engined very light jet (VLJ) that was intended to be developed and built by Piper,however following a change of ownership at Piper, it was decided to redesign the aircraft into the PiperJet Altaire.

The PiperJet was announced in October 2006,as a competitor to the Eclipse 500 and Cessna Citation Mustang.The aircraft's fuselage was the same cross section as the propeller-driven Piper PA-46 series, with a 4 feet increase in length.It was to be capable of carrying up to 7 passengers and cruise at 360 knots at a maximum altitude of 35,000 feet Maximum range was expected to be 1,300 nautical miles with a full-fuel payload of 800 pounds.Piper selected Williams International to supply its FJ44-3AP turbofan engine for the PiperJet.

Due to the engine being mounted above the center of gravity,addition of power would push the nose down,Piper designers incorporated an automatic pitch trim system to coordinate horizontal stabilizer angle of incidence with power setting.This system was later replaced by a vectored thrust nozzle,developed by Williams International, which resulted in reduced weight and simplified manufacturing processes.
Piper announced that it had received 180 pre-orders.An entry-into-service date of early 2010 was initially anticipated,later changed to 2011-12.In October 2009 the company indicated that it had delayed the delivery of the first customer aircraft to mid-2013 and had informed depositors.

The PiperJet did not enter production and in October 2010 Piper announced it would instead develop an aircraft with a larger circular-section fuselage known as the Piper PiperJet Altaire.The 160 customers who had placed orders for the PiperJet retained their delivery positions with the new aircraft and at the same price. On 24 October 2011, despite the Altaire's development being "on schedule and on budget", the program was indefinitely suspended by Piper due to economic issues, with the company laying off a number of workers who had been assigned to the project.

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[Angry Turnip]

Quest Kodiak

The Quest Kodiak is an US utility aircraft featuring a high-wing,unpressurized,a single-engine turboprop with a fixed tricycle landing gear and is suitable for STOL operations from unimproved airfields.
Design began in 1999,it made its maiden flight on October 16, 2004 and was certified on 31 May 2007 before first delivery in January 2008.

The aircraft can accommodate 10 people.It features short-field capability and good useful load,with its STOL performance coming from a fixed, discontinuous leading edge on the outboard wing and the 750 hp Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-34 turboprop engine.Passenger seats are track-mounted and removable, it has access doors for the pilots and the aft clamshell door, with automatic steps, allows cargo loading or eight passengers boarding.The Kodiak's aluminum fuselage can be repaired in the field and offers a 54 in × 57 in (137 cm × 145 cm) cargo door.

In June 2010, Wipaire, Inc. was granted certification allowing Wipline 7000 Amphibious Floats to be installed on Kodiaks.In November of that same year it was also certified for flight into known icing after the installation of a TKS system,which protects exposed surfaces via glycol-based fluids.
The Kodiak is bigger than the DHC-2 Beaver, but smaller than the DHC-3 Otter or Cessna Caravan. It has more power than the older deHavillands and takes off in less space than the Caravan.

The first Kodiak was delivered to launch customer Spirit Air in January 2008.By September 2013, 100 Kodiaks had been built, with the 100th aircraft being delivered to US operator Sunstate Aviation.
The 200th aircraft was delivered in December 2016 for a record yearly production of 36 Kodiaks, while the production facility was extended by 25 percent in September to cope with growing demand.
The 250th was delivered in 2018, as the highest time aircraft surpassed 5,000 hours.

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[Angry Turnip]

Rans S-9 Chaos

The Rans S-9 Chaos is a US single-engined, tractor configuration, single-seat, mid-wing monoplane designed by Randy Schlitter in 1986 for aerobatics.
The idea was for an inexpensive aerobatic aircraft that will allow sportsman competition aerobatics to be flown or even advanced aerobatics if inverted fuel and oil systems are installed.The Chaos is also a capable cross country aircraft.

The S-9 features a welded 4130 steel tube cockpit, with a bolted aluminum tube rear fuselage. All fuselage, wing and tail surfaces are covered in dope and fabric. The reported construction time is 500 hours.The basic engine is the Rotax 503 of 50 hp, with the Rotax 582 of 64 hp and the Hirth 3701 of 100 hp available as options.
The S-10 Sakota aerobatic two-seater was later developed from the S-9,there were 215 S-9s built and flown by December 2011.Two are based in the UK.

Pic from abpics

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[Angry Turnip]

Rans S-19 Venterra

The Rans S-19 Venterra is a single-engined,tractor configuration,two-seats in side-by-side config,low-wing monoplane designed by Randy Schlitter as a light-sport aircraft.
The S-19 is an aluminum semi-monocoque design, with stressed skin construction supported with bulkheads, formers and stringers.The fuselage, wing and tail surfaces are covered in sheet aluminum.

It has tricycle landing gear with a fully castering nosewheel and steering via differential main wheel braking.The standard engine is the Rotax 912ULS of 100 hp allowing a cruise speed of 128mph.The Venterra is available as a complete factory-built aircraft and in kit form for amateur construction.

Around 40 have been built so far,mainly US registered,but there is one on the UK register.G-SXIX

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[smudge]

Well that's a lot prettier than the Coyote...