Facet opal
| Facet opal | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Type: | Microlight |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: |
Eric Scott Winton |
| First flight: |
1988 |
| Number of pieces: |
1 |
The Facet Opal was an ultralight aircraft developed and built by the Australian Eric Scott Winton .
construction
The machine was made in full GRP construction and had an almost symmetrical laminar profile (actually a transonic profile from the NACA ). The machine was motorized with a Rotax 447 with 50 HP (37 kW ). It is controlled by elevons and two small rudders. To protect the propeller, an additional runner was attached under the end of the fuselage. The narrow-gauge, three-legged main landing gear was retractable.
Records
The Facet Opal holds the following altitude and climb time records for microlights:
- 3000 m in 6 minutes
- 6000 m in 20.5 minutes
- Peak height 10,300 m FAI class C1a / 0 (piston engine-powered aircraft under 300 kg)
After these climb time and altitude records, Winton planned a new Australian transcontinental record in an east-west direction over a distance of 3200 km. However, the designer and builder died on May 12, 1989 when the machine crashed after it broke in the air as a result of structural overload. According to other sources, the cause of the accident was a broken gearbox. At the 83rd FAI Conference in 1990, Eric Scott Winton was posthumously awarded the Louis Blériot Medal for Special Service in Aviation.
Technical specifications
| Parameter | Data |
|---|---|
| crew | 1 |
| length | 3.2 m |
| span | 6.6 m |
| Wing area | 10 m² |
| Wing chord | 1.6 m |
| profile | NACA 66 (1) -212 mod. 12% thickness |
| Empty mass | 110 kg |
| Max. Takeoff mass | 300-320 kg |
| Max. Wing loading | ~ 30-32 kg / m² |
| Cruising speed | ~ 250 km / h |
| Top speed | 280 km / h |
| Consumption at cruising speed | 9.2 l / h (6.9 kg / h) |
| Range | 3200-3500 km |
| Engines | 1 × Rotax 447 |
Preserved copies
In 2015, Scott Winton's brother Dean was working on rebuilding the machine in an airworthy condition. The work was 80% complete, including structural reinforcements of the wing.
literature
- Rudolf Storck among others: Flying Wings . The historical development of the world's tailless and flying wing aircraft. Bernard and Graefe, Bonn 2003, ISBN 3-7637-6242-6 .