Smith Miniplane

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DSA-1 Miniplane
Smith Mini-Plane Amateur Built C-GADB 03.JPG
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]
Smith Miniplane
Smith Miniplane

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[]

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

Notes[]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Taylor 1977, p.561
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Smith DSA-1 Miniplane — N90P"
  3. ^ a b Montgomery 1992, p.12
  4. ^ a b c d e Davisson 1970
  5. ^ "Canadian Fly-in"
  6. ^ Taylor 1989, p.826
  7. ^ a b c d e Markowski 1980, p.351
  8. ^ a b c Plane & Pilot 1978, p.153
  9. ^ "Metal Winged Miniplane". Sport Aviation. May 1960.
  10. ^ a b Purdy, Don: AeroCrafter - Homebuilt Aircraft Sourcebook, Fifth Edition, page 358. BAI Communications, 15 July 1998. ISBN 0-9636409-4-1
  11. ^ a b c d "WE Love Biplanes"
  12. ^ Tacke, Willi; Marino Boric; et al: World Directory of Light Aviation 2015-16, page 125. Flying Pages Europe SARL, 2015. ISSN 1368-485X
  13. ^ the original design had a NACA 4412 profile (Taylor 1977, p.561); the revised design uses NASA 23013 ("WE Love Biplanes")
  14. ^ Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12, page 118. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ISSN 1368-485X
  15. ^ 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[]

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