Viking SF-2A Cygnet

SF-2A Cygnet
Role Amateur-built aircraft
National origin United States
Manufacturer Viking Aircraft
Designer Bert Sisler
First flight 1973
Introduction 1973
Status Plans available (2003)
Number built 100 (2003)
Unit cost
US$150 (plans only, 1998)[1]
Developed from Sisler SF-2 Whistler

The Viking SF-2A Cygnet, also called the Sisler SF-2A Cygnet and the HAPI SF-2A Cygnet, is an American STOL amateur-built aircraft, designed by Bert Sisler and produced by Viking Aircraft. The aircraft is supplied in the form of plans for amateur construction. The Cygnet first flew in 1973.[2][1]

The Cygnet plans were originally marketed by the designer through his company Sisler Aircraft of Bloomington, Minnesota and later by HAPI Engines, a supplier of Volkswagen air-cooled engines. By the 1990s Viking Aircraft of Elkhorn, Wisconsin took over supplying the aircraft plans.[2][1][3][4]

Design and development

The SF-2A Cygnet is a development of the earlier Sisler SF-2 Whistler introduced in 1973. The design features a strut-braced shoulder-wing, a two-seats-in-side-by-side configuration enclosed cockpit under a bubble canopy, fixed conventional landing gear and a single engine in tractor configuration.[2][1][3]

The aircraft is made from wood, 4130 steel tubing and covered in doped aircraft fabric. Its 30 ft (9.1 m) span wing employs a NACA 3413 airfoil, has an area of 125 sq ft (11.6 m2) and is supported by a single strut with a jury strut. The cockpit is 39 in (99 cm) wide and has a baggage compartment with a limit of 70 lb (32 kg), located behind the seats. The aircraft's recommended engine power range is 60 to 82 hp (45 to 61 kW) and standard engines used include the 82 hp (61 kW) Volkswagen four-stroke powerplant. Construction time from the supplied kit is estimated as 1700-1800 hours.[2][1][4]

The Cygnet won a design award at the EAA Annual Convention and Fly-In in 1973.[1]

Operational history

By January 2003 100 examples had been reported as completed and flown.[2]

In December 2012 a total of 20 SF-2A Cygnets were registered in the United States with the Federal Aviation Administration, seven with Transport Canada and seven with the Civil Aviation Authority in the United Kingdom.[5][6][7]

Specifications (SF-2A Cygnet)

SF-2A Cygnet

Data from Kitplanes and Purdy[2][1]

General characteristics

Performance

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Purdy, Don: AeroCrafter - Homebuilt Aircraft Sourcebook, page 285. BAI Communications, 15 July 1998. ISBN 0-9636409-4-1
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Downey, Julia: 2003 Plans Aircraft Directory, Kitplanes, Volume 20, Number 1, January 2003, page 29. Primedia Publications. ISSN 0891-1851
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Aerofiles (7 April 2009). "Aircraft from Saalfield SEE Skyskootor". Retrieved 4 December 2012.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Lednicer, David (2010). "The Incomplete Guide to Airfoil Usage". Retrieved 3 November 2012.
  5. ↑ Federal Aviation Administration (4 December 2012). "Make / Model Inquiry Results". Retrieved 4 December 2012.
  6. ↑ Transport Canada (4 December 2012). "Canadian Civil Aircraft Register". Retrieved 4 December 2012.
  7. ↑ Civil Aviation Authority (United Kingdom) (4 December 2012). "GINFO Search Results Summary". Retrieved 4 December 2012.

External links