Spencer Air Car
| S-12-D Air Car | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Type: | Amphibious aircraft |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: |
Spencer-Larsen Aircraft Corporation |
| First flight: |
August 8, 1941 |
| Commissioning: |
1941 |
| Number of pieces: |
50+ |
The Spencer Amphibian Air Car is an American , amphibious light aircraft . The name was first used in 1940 for a prototype that was developed into the Republic Seabee . The name was later used by its designer Percival Spencer for a number of amphibious aircraft kits loosely based on the construction of the Seabee.
development and construction
Percival Spencer first founded the Spencer-Larsen Aircraft Corporation and developed the SL-12C amphibious aircraft. Because he was not granted the rights to the SL-12C due to company guidelines, he founded the Spencer Amphibian Corporation in 1940. The first Spencer S-12 Amphibian Air Car completed its maiden flight with the registration number NX29098 in August 1941. The design chosen by Spencer corresponded largely to the appearance of the S-1 Air designed by Grover Loening in 1921 with a short fuselage section, pusher propeller and a thin tail boom Yacht . An innovative feature that later reappeared at Spencer was the split front window through which access to the machine was possible.
The aircraft was then put into storage as Spencer was now working as a test pilot for Republic Aircraft . In April 1943, Spencer left Republic Aircraft for the Mills Novelty Company in Chicago. The company wanted to use the Air Car for advertising purposes. In mid-1943 Spencer designed a completely new, streamlined fuselage section for the S-12. After a demonstration at his former employer in December 1943, the aircraft and the rights to its construction were sold to Republic as the Seabee.
From the mid-1960s, Spencer worked on a modern amphibious aircraft, which should be based on the Seagull. His first project was taken over by David Hazelwood and CS Newton, who founded Trident Aircraft in 1970 and introduced the Trident TR-1 Trigull in 1973, even before a prototype was built . While he was still working on the later Trigull, Spencer founded a new company together with former Colonel of the US Air Force Dale L. Anderson in 1968 to market a four-seater amphibious aircraft kit under the name Spencer-Anderson S-12C Air Car. The basis of the S-12C is the original S-12, which however received a modern drive and the airframe was enlarged somewhat and simplified for amateur construction. The first copy made its maiden flight on May 25, 1970 in Chino , California . The subsequent water test was carried out by Spencer on Lake Havasu . The construction costs for the aircraft amounted to 8,700 US dollars .
To increase the payload and improve the hot-and-high performance , the S-12D's original 180 hp Lycoming O-360 engine of the S-12C was replaced by a Lycoming O-540 with 260 hp. In the final version, the S-12E, a Continental IO-520 with 285 hp was used. By the time Robert Kerans acquired the construction rights, 300 kit plans are said to have been sold. The number of aircraft actually built is not known.
The two-seat S-14 Air Car Junior was a scaled down version of the previous S-12C / D / E with folding wings for road transport, using composite materials as well . Spencer made the maiden flight on November 4, 1983 at the age of 86. However, the design did not meet expectations and the only copy was purchased by William Randolph Hearst , who donated it to the Museum of the Experimental Aircraft Association in Oshkosh , Wisconsin .
The Air Car is made of wood, steel and GRP . She is a striving high- wing aircraft . The floats with integrated fuel tanks are identical to those of the Seabee. The stern, however, is more angular and the aircraft has a nose wheel landing gear .
In addition to the copies that were built by Spencer himself, the construction plans were also sold for self-build and the first home-built Air Car flew in September 1974. In 2001 there were fifty airworthy copies.
variants
- S-12 Air Car
- first two-seater version from 1941 with Lycoming engine with 110 hp (81 kW )
- S-12-C
- Version from 1970 with a Lycoming O-360 with 180 PS (132 kW)
- S-12-D
- Series-produced version, powered by a Lycoming O-540 with 260 PS (191 kW)
- S-12-E
- Prototype powered by a Continental Tiara 6-285 with 285 PS (210 kW)
- S-14 Air Car Junior
- Two-seater with double boom, powered by a Lycoming O-320 , a built example
Technical data (S-12-D)
| Parameter | Data |
|---|---|
| crew | 1 |
| Passengers | 3 |
| length | 26 ft (7.9 m ) |
| span | 37.33 ft (11.4 m) |
| height | 9.5 ft (2.9 m) |
| payload | 1,050 lb (476 kg ) |
| Empty mass | 2,050 lb (930 kg) |
| Max. Takeoff mass | 3,100 lb (1,406 kg) |
| Cruising speed | 135 mph (217 km / h ) |
| Top speed | 147 mph (237 km / h) |
| Rate of climb | 800 ft / min |
| Range | 700 mi (1,127 km ) |
| Engine | Lycoming O-540- E4B5 |
literature
- ER Johnson: American Flying Boats and Amphibious Aircraft , McFarland and Co., 2009, ISBN 978-0-7864-3974-4 , pp. 208-211 (S-12), pp. 281-283 (S-12C / D / E, S-14)
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Air Trails Magazine , Summer 1971, p. 82 (Eng.)
- ↑ Steinar Saevdal: Percival H. "Spence" Spencer. December 7, 2019, accessed February 5, 2020 .
- ^ Rod Simpson: Airlife's World Aircraft . Airlife Publishing Ltd, 2001, ISBN 1-84037-115-3 , pp. 518 (English).