AESL Airtourer
| AESL Airtourer | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Type: | Sport plane |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
1959 |
| Production time: |
1962-1971 |
| Number of pieces: |
168 (AUS), 80 (NZ) |
The aesl airtourer is a two-seat sports plane of the Aero Engine Services Ltd .
History and construction
The Airtourer is a low-wing, light, all-metal touring aircraft that was developed in Australia and manufactured both there and later in New Zealand . It was the winning design in a competition organized by Australia's Royal Aero Club in the early 1950s. Henry Millicer designed the aircraft and a wooden prototype was built by a group of aviation enthusiasts in suburban Melbourne in the late 1950s. This prototype, registered under VH-FMM, flew for the first time in March or April 1959. The all-metal prototype (VH-MVA) was ready for series production and flew for the first time on December 12, 1961. The design aroused interest from Mervyn Richardson, chairman of the Victa Ltd., a well-known Australian lawnmower manufacturer, so that from 1961 to 1966 the Airtourer were produced by Victa. In 1966, after 168 aircraft were produced, Victa closed its production.
The production rights to the Airtourer were bought the following year by Aero Engine Services Ltd (AESL) in New Zealand, where another 80 units were produced by 1971.
variants
There were seven variants of the Airtourer:
- T1 powered by a 100 hp Continental O-200 engine
- T2 powered by a 115 hp Lycoming O-235 engine
- T3 powered by a 130 hp Rolls-Royce O-240 engine
- T4 powered by a 150 hp Lycoming O-320 -E1A with a fixed pitch propeller
- T5 powered by a 150 hp Lycoming O-320-E1A with controllable pitch propeller
- T6 a small edition of 4 aircraft for the Royal New Zealand Air Force powered by a 150 hp Lycoming O-320-E1A and 24 volt electrical equipment
- T8 powered by a 160 hp Lycoming AEIO-320 with petrol injection.
Military use
-
New Zealand : 4 -
Thailand : 1 -
Tonga : 1
Technical specifications
| Parameter | Data (Airtourer AT.115) |
|---|---|
| crew | 1 |
| Passengers | 1 |
| length | 6.55 m |
| span | 7.92 m |
| height | 2.13 m |
| Wing area | 11.15 m² |
| Empty mass | 490 kg |
| Max. Takeoff mass | 748 kg |
| Cruising speed | 200 km / h |
| Top speed | 230 km / h |
| Service ceiling | 4275 m |
| Range | 1140 km |
| Engines | 1 × Lycoming O-235 -C1B piston engine with 86 kW |
See also
literature
- Ewing, Ross and MacPherson, Ross The History of New Zealand Aviation , Heinemann, 1986
- Knowles, Alan, New Zealand Aircraft , IPL Books, Wellington, 1990
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1966-67 Taylor 1966, pp. 9-10