Smith Miniplane
DSA-1 Miniplane | |
---|---|
Role | Homebuilt sport biplane |
National origin | United States |
Manufacturer | |
Designer | [1] |
First flight | 29 October 1956[2] |
Status | Plans available (2011) |
Number built | 350 sets of plans sold by 1977[1] |
The Smith DSA-1 Miniplane ("Darn Small Aeroplane",[1][3] "Darned Small Airplane",[2][4] or "Damn Small Airplane"[5]) is a single-seat, single-engine sport aircraft designed in the United States in the 1950s and marketed for home building.[6]
Design[]
The Miniplane is a conventional single-bay biplane with staggered wings of unequal span braced with N-struts and wires.[1][7] The Miniplane design has fixed undercarriage with a steerable tailwheel[7] and although designed with an open cockpit,[1][4][7] many have been fitted with canopies. The fuselage and the tail fin are of a conventional truss design constructed of welded steel tube and covered in fabric,[1][2][7][8] and the wing spars and ribs are made from spruce and also fabric-covered.[1][2][7][8] A variant has been built with an all-metal wing construction.[9]
Engines used by builders are generally the 65-hp (48-kW) Continental A65, 85-hp (63-kW) Continental C85 or the Lycoming O-235 of 100 hp to 125 hp (75 kW to 93 kW).[8]
Development[]
Designer Frank Smith died of a heart attack shortly after completing the prototype.[4] His wife, Dorothy, and son, Donald continued to market the plans into the 1970s[1][2][4] and Donald worked on a two-seat version,[4] the Miniplane +1.[1]
In the late 1990s of Des Moines, Iowa was developing an improved version of the Miniplane designated as the Smith Sport Miniplane. This model featured more cockpit room for larger pilots, a new airfoil and re-drawn plans to aid construction.[10]
In 2010, Sky Classic Aircraft of Des Moines, Iowa marketed plans for another updated version of the Miniplane, the Miniplane 2000.[11] The Miniplane 2000 incorporates several modifications to the original design, including a slightly longer and wider fuselage to accommodate larger pilots,[11][12] adding bracing struts to reinforce the horizontal stabilizer,[11] and changing the airfoil section[13] and angles of incidence of the wings.[11][14]
Operational history[]
In August 1959, Tom Messick flew a Miniplane on a 4,200-mile (6,700-km) round trip to attend the EAA Fly-in at Rockford, Illinois and was awarded a trophy for flying the longest distance to the event.[2]
The prototype DSA-1 is preserved at the EAA AirVenture Museum.[2] Originally lent to the museum by Dorothy and Donald Smith in 1973, Donald donated the aircraft in 1988 in memory of his mother.[2]
Variants[]
- DSA-1 Miniplane
- original single-seat version by Frank Smith[3]
- Miniplane +1
- two-seat version by Donald Smith
- Miniplane 2000
- updated version by Sky Classic Aircraft[15]
- Sport Miniplane
- updated version from the late 1990s by Sky Classic Aircraft, with more cockpit room for larger pilots, a new airfoil and re-drawn plans.[10]
Specifications (DSA-1 prototype)[]
Data from Taylor 1977, p.561, and Plane & Pilot 1978, p.153 except as noted
General characteristics
- Crew: One pilot
- Length: 15 ft 3 in (4.65 m)
- Wingspan: 17 ft 0 in (5.18 m)
- Height: 5 ft 0 in (1.52 m)
- Wing area: 100 sq ft (9.29 m2)
- Empty weight: 616 lb (279 kg)
- Gross weight: 1,000 lb (454 kg)
- Powerplant: 1 × Lycoming O-235-C , 108 hp (81 kW)
Performance
- Maximum speed: 135 mph (217 km/h, 117 kn)
- Cruise speed: 122 mph (198 km/h, 106 kn)
- Stall speed: 56 mph (91 km/h, 49 kn)
- Range: 300 mi (480 km, 260 nmi) [2]
- Service ceiling: 13,000 ft (3,960 m)
- Rate of climb: 1,600 ft/min (8.1 m/s)
See also[]
- Per Il Volo Miniplane - a paramotor the same model name
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
- Hu-Go Craft
- Meyer Little Toot
- Payne Knight Twister
Notes[]
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Taylor 1977, p.561
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Smith DSA-1 Miniplane — N90P"
- ^ a b Montgomery 1992, p.12
- ^ a b c d e Davisson 1970
- ^ "Canadian Fly-in"
- ^ Taylor 1989, p.826
- ^ a b c d e Markowski 1980, p.351
- ^ a b c Plane & Pilot 1978, p.153
- ^ "Metal Winged Miniplane". Sport Aviation. May 1960.
- ^ a b Purdy, Don: AeroCrafter - Homebuilt Aircraft Sourcebook, Fifth Edition, page 358. BAI Communications, 15 July 1998. ISBN 0-9636409-4-1
- ^ a b c d "WE Love Biplanes"
- ^ Tacke, Willi; Marino Boric; et al: World Directory of Light Aviation 2015-16, page 125. Flying Pages Europe SARL, 2015. ISSN 1368-485X
- ^ the original design had a NACA 4412 profile (Taylor 1977, p.561); the revised design uses NASA 23013 ("WE Love Biplanes")
- ^ Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12, page 118. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ISSN 1368-485X
- ^ Sky Classic Aircraft. "We Love Biplanes". skyclassic.net. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
References[]
- "Canadian Fly-in". Flight International: 31. 5 July 1962. Retrieved 2010-02-28.
- Davisson, Budd (December 1970). "Mr. Smith's Mini-Plane". Air Progress. Retrieved 2010-02-28.
- Markowski, Mark (1980). The Encyclopedia of Homebuilt Aircraft. Blue Ridge Summit: Tab Books. pp. 351–54.
- Montgomery, MR & Gerald Foster (1992). A Field Guide to Airplanes, Second Edition. New York: Houghton Mifflin. p. 12.
- Plane & Pilot (1978). 1978 Aircraft Directory. Santa Monica: Werner & Werner. p. 153.
- "Smith DSA-1 Miniplane — N90P". AirVenture Museum. Retrieved 2010-02-28.
- Taylor, John W. R. (1977). Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1977–78. London: Jane's Publishing.
- Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions.
- "WE Love Biplanes". Sky Classic Aircraft. Retrieved 2010-02-28.
External links[]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Smith Miniplane. |
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- Aircraft first flown in 1956