Meyers 200
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The Meyers 200 was a light aircraft produced in the US in the 1950s and 60s. It was the brainchild of Al Meyers and was a development of his Meyers 145 design. The holder of a number of speed records in its class, the Meyers 200 is widely admired for its clean lines, and is also known for its exceptionally sturdy airframe. This strength is derived from a tubular truss structure that on the one hand has provided great protection to the aircraft's occupants in forced landings, but on the other hand made the aircraft somewhat overweight with a useful payload more like that of a two-seater than a four-seater.
In 1966, the Aero Commander division of North American Rockwell purchased the rights to the Meyers 145 and 200, as part of a strategy to capture a share of the light aircraft market in the United States. Known briefly as the Aero Commander 200, it soon emerged that the firm could not produce the design economically. Meyer's firm had been virtually hand-building each aircraft and no jigs or tooling for the kind of mass production envisaged by Aero Commander even existed at the time the rights were bought. Having spent $US 4 million to produce just $US 3 million worth of product, Aero Commander ceased production in 1968 and sold the rights to the Interceptor Corporation, which developed a turboprop-powered version as the Interceptor 400. Ownership of the rights eventually passed to Interceptor stockholder Peter Luce and his firm Prop-Jets Inc.
The Meyers 200D has never had an in-flight structural failure and has never had an FAA mandated Airworthiness Directive (AD) issued against the airframe. The 4130 chrome-moly steel tubular roll cage and understructure act like a race car protective cage during a crash. Several Meyers aircraft have been forced down in the trees and off airport runways with documented instances of the occupants walking away with only minor injuries or a broken bone.
[edit] Variants
[edit] Meyers
- 200 - single prototype powered by Continental O-470
- 200A - production version powered by Continental IO-470 (11 built)
- 200B - (17 built)
- 200C - raised roof-line and larger windshield (9 built)
- 200D - engine replaced with Continental IO-520a and flush riveted wings (8 built)
[edit] Aero Commander
- 200 - Aero Commander version of the 200D (77 built)
- 200 - Aero Commander version of the 200E (1 prototype built)
- T200E - experimental twin-engine conversion - never built
[edit] Specifications (Meyers 200D)
[edit] General characteristics
- Crew: one pilot
- Capacity: 3 passengers
- Length: 24 ft 4 in (7.42 m)
- Wingspan: 30 ft 6 in (9.30 m)
- Height: 7 ft 4 in (2.24 m)
- Wing area: 162 ft² (15.0 m²)
- Empty: 1,940 lb (882 kg)
- Loaded: 3,000 lb (1,364 kg)
- Maximum takeoff: 3,000 lb (1,364 kg)
- Powerplant: 1x Continental IO-520A, 285 hp (209 kW)
[edit] Performance
- Maximum speed: 236 mph (379 km/h)
- Range: 750 miles (1,200 km)
- Service ceiling: 18,500 ft (5,640 m)
- Rate of climb: 1,350 ft/min (412 m/min)
- Wing loading: 18.5 lb/ft² ( kg/m²)
- Power/Mass: 10.5 hp/lb ( kW/kg)
[edit] See also
Related development: Meyers 145 - Interceptor 400
Comparable aircraft: Beechcraft Bonanza
[edit] External links
- Meyers Aircraft Home Page
- Meyers owner enthusiast site
- Aviation Journalist Bud Davisson's review of the Meyers 200D
- Meyers Aircraft Owners Home Page
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