Flight Dynamics Flightsail VII
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| Flightsail VII | |
|---|---|
| Type | Recreational amphibian |
| Manufacturer | Homebuilt |
| Designed by | Tom Purcell |
| Maiden flight | October 1970 |
The Flight Dynamics Flightsail VII was a recreational aircraft marketed in the United States in the 1970s for homebuilding, most unusual both in its design and its method of construction. The Flightsail was intended to be built in three stages, with each stage representing a flyable aircraft of increasing complexity, capability, and cost. It was hoped that this approach would appeal to homebuilders by minimising the amount of time and money required to take the aircraft to a point where it could be flown.
The core of the Flightsail was a pod-and-boom style fuselage, the pod component of which was in the form of a thick airfoil with integral sponsons at its bottom to aid stability in water. This fuselage could be fitted with flexible, hang-glider-like wings and be flown by having it towed aloft by a speedboat. It could either be left as such and operated in this form (known as a Seasprite) or serve as "Stage I" for the Flightsail.
In "Stage II", the builder would add a powerplant to the aircraft, mounted in a nacelle set on struts above the fuselage pod while retaining the flexible wing. In "Stage III", the flexible wing would be replaced by a conventional, strut-braced monoplane wing mounted high on the fuselage.
[edit] Specifications (Flightsail VII)
General characteristics
- Crew: One pilot
- Capacity: 1 passenger
- Length: 25 ft 0 in (7.62 m)
- Wingspan: 39 ft 0 in (11.89 m)
- Height: 8 ft 10 in (2.68 m)
- Wing area: 195 ft² (18.1 m²)
- Empty weight: 1,200 lb (544 kg)
- Gross weight: 1,700 lb (771 kg)
- Powerplant: 1 × Continental C90, 90 hp (67 kW)
Performance
- Maximum speed: 95 mph (153 km/h)
- Range: 300 miles (482 km)
- Service ceiling: 12,000 ft (3,660 m)
- Rate of climb: 500 ft/min (2.5 m/s)
[edit] References
- Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions, 393.
- Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1977-78. London: Jane's Yearbooks, 540.
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