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The Hovey Whing Ding is an extremely minimalist American ultralight aircraft that was designed by Bob Hovey of Saugus, California, first flying in 1971. The aircraft is supplied in the form of plans for amateur construction by the Vintage Ultralight and Lightplane Association of Marietta, Georgia. Hovey set out to create the lightest aircraft to carry a person ever to fly, with the resulting design being a biplane, with a plywood box filled with Polyurethane foam serving as the fuselage, supporting the pilot's seat. The aircraft features a conventional fabric-covered empennage carried at the end of a short tailboom made of aluminum tube. The horizontal stabilizer is made from reinforced cardboard. Early versions used wing warping for roll control, while later models used full-span ailerons. The specified pusher configuration powerplant is a McCulloch chainsaw engine turning a hand-carved wooden propeller via a chain drive. The first prototype had a monowheel undercarriage, with skids under the wingtips, but this was soon changed to twin mainwheels carried on a spring-type strut. With no brakes to stop the aircraft after landing, pilots were supposed to press their heels against the mainwheels. The Whing Ding was designed long before the US FAR 103 Ultralight Vehicles regulations were introduced, but it fully conforms to the rules. The Whing Ding helped generate interest in ultralight aircraft and lead to the ultralight boom of the late 1970s and 1980s. Hovey conceived of the aircraft as an experimental project and not as a form of transportation. Due to its unreliable powerplant he intended it to only be flown over open areas where a safe landing could be carried out at any time. The plans were complex to follow and were not intended to make construction easy. Construction time typically is about 400 hours. The Whing Ding was marketed as plans, and sold extremely well - by 1979, over 6,000 sets had been purchased. In 2011 the plans were still available, and at no cost. Depending on the density altitude and the weight of the pilot, some builders discovered that the aircraft was under powered and suffered from too small a wing area to climb out of ground effect. Variants Whing Ding Initial version Whing Ding II Improved version, incorporating a higher seat to prevent pilots dragging their feet on the ground to stop the aircraft, which resulting in broken bones in some cases.

The Vickers Vulcan was a British single-engine biplane airliner of the 1920s built by Vickers Limited at Brooklands Aerodrome, Surrey. It carried eight passengers and a pilot. The Vickers Vulcan was designed by Rex Pierson of Vickers. It first flew in April 1922 at the hands of chief test pilot, S. Cockerell, at Brooklands Aerodrome in Surrey, UK. The Vulcan was based on a civil version of the Vimy bomber, but featured many changes, including a much larger, taller fuselage and one, instead of two, Rolls-Royce Eagle VIII engines, the intention being low operating costs. The shape of its fuselage, as well as its flying characteristics, earned it the nickname "Flying Pig". The first delivery took place in August 1922, to Instone Air Line Ltd. Other operators included Imperial Airways and Qantas (however, the latter returned the aircraft as their performance was too poor for the company's needs). The last Vulcan flying was a Type 74 with Imperial Airways. It crashed in July 1928 while on a test flight from Croydon Airport. Variants Type 61 - first production version, five built. Type 63 - cargo version based on the Type 61, one built Type 68 - proposed colonial variant with an Eagle VIII engine, not built. Type 74 - upgraded to 450 hp Napier Lion engine, two built (Specifications below) Type 86 - proposed all-metal variant with an Eagle VIII engine, not built.

The Ayres Thrush, formerly the Snow S-2, Aero Commander Ag Commander, and Rockwell Thrush Commander, is an American agricultural aircraft produced by Ayres Corporation and more recently by Thrush Aircraft. It is one of the most successful and long-lived agricultural application aircraft types in the world, with almost 2,000 sold since the first example flew 68 years ago. Typical of agricultural aircraft, it is a single-seat monoplane of conventional taildragger configuration. Originally powered by a radial piston engine, most examples produced since the 1980s have been turboprop-powered. The Thrush, designed by Leland Snow, first flew in 1956 and before long was being produced in series as the S-2 by the company he founded, Snow Aeronautical. In 1965, the corporation and all of its assets were purchased by the Aero Commander division of Rockwell, which put it into production alongside the CallAir A-9 that it had also acquired, branding both unrelated (though similar) machines as "Ag Commanders". When Rockwell dropped the Aero Commander brand, the S-2 was renamed the "Thrush Commander". In 1977, Rockwell sold off the production rights to the aircraft and the production facility at Albany, Georgia, which were purchased by Ayres Corporation, a firm which had been built on retro-fitting turboprop engines to Thrush Commanders. On June 30, 2003, Ayres' assets were purchased by Thrush Aircraft, the current producer of the aircraft. The S-2 and its several variants have been purchased by agricultural spraying operators in many countries. Large numbers are operated in the United States and Australia, while other countries using the type include Costa Rica, France, Guyana, Iran, Israel, Jamaica, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Ayres developed a special anti-narcotics crop-spraying version of the Turbo-Thrush for the United States Department of State. This version, known as the Narcotics Eradication Delivery System (NEDS) featured an armored cockpit and engine to protect against hostile ground fire. Nine were sold to the Department of State between 1983 and 1985. Ayres also attempted to market a militarized version as the Ayres Vigilante, intended for the Close Air Support role, but this failed to attract customers. IOMAX USA of North Carolina, which had previously modified Air Tractor AT-802 agricultural aircraft as reconnaissance/attack aircraft, has developed the Archangel attack aircraft modeled on the S-2R-660. The United Arab Emirates has ordered 24 Archangels, with delivery from June 2015. Two Thrush 510Gs were modified to perform a counter-insurgency role by the Austrian company Airborne Technologies at the direction of Erik Prince, the former head of Blackwater, but in the absence of an export license the aircraft have not been used operationally. For details of the 24 variants, click here. Specifications below are for the Thrush Commander 600 variant.

In 2011, Airbus redesigned the A350-1000 with higher weights and a more powerful engine variant to provide more range for trans-Pacific operations. This boosted its appeal to Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines, who were committed to purchase 20 Boeing 777-9s, and to United Airlines, which was considering Boeing 777-300ERs to replace its 747-400s. Emirates was disappointed with the changes and cancelled its order for 50 A350-900s and 20 A350-1000s, instead of changing the whole order to the larger variant. Assembly of the first fuselage major components started in September 2015. In February 2016, final assembly started at the A350 Final Assembly Line in Toulouse. Three flight test aircraft were planned, with entry into service scheduled for mid-2017. The first aircraft completed its body join on 15 April 2016. Its maiden flight took place on 24 November 2016. In 2011, Airbus redesigned the A350-1000 with higher weights and a more powerful engine variant to provide more range for trans-Pacific operations. This boosted its appeal to Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines, who were committed to purchase 20 Boeing 777-9s, and to United Airlines, which was considering Boeing 777-300ERs to replace its 747-400s. Emirates was disappointed with the changes and cancelled its order for 50 A350-900s and 20 A350-1000s, instead of changing the whole order to the larger variant. Assembly of the first fuselage major components started in September 2015. In February 2016, final assembly started at the A350 Final Assembly Line in Toulouse. Three flight test aircraft were planned, with entry into service scheduled for mid-2017. The first aircraft completed its body join on 15 April 2016. Its maiden flight took place on 24 November 2016.

The Softex-Aero V-24 is a proposed five place twin engined aircraft from Ukrainian-based Softex-Aero. The V-24 is a T-tailed twin engine composite construction pusher aircraft with retractable tricycle landing gear. The aircraft will be powered by either Rotax 912, or 160 hp Lycoming IO-320 engines. The aircraft has a Galaxy GRS 1200 parachute system integrated into the airframe. Turboprop engines are also under consideration. First flight 2012 Introduction 2014 Status In development Variants V-24 Rotax 912 power V-24L 160hp Lycoming IO-320 V-24TP PBS TJ-100 turboprop power

The Stearman-Hammond Y-1 was a 1930s American utility monoplane built by the Stearman-Hammond Aircraft Corporation and evaluated by the United States Navy and the British Royal Air Force. In the early 1930s Dean Hammond designed the Hammond Model Y, a low-wing monoplane twin-boom pusher monoplane. Hammond cooperated with the aircraft designer Lloyd Stearman to develop the type for production. They formed the Stearman-Hammond Aircraft Corporation in 1936 to build the aircraft as the Stearman-Hammond Y-1. The first aircraft was powered by a 125 hp (93 kW) Menasco C-4 piston engine driving a pusher propeller. The performance was not impressive so it was re-engined with a 150 hp (112 kW) Menasco C-4S and re-named the Y-1S. Although designed to be easy to fly the high price meant only 20 aircraft were produced. The aircraft had no rudder as such, the tailplane fins being adjustable but fixed in flight. Turning was by differential aileron and elevator alone. In 1934 the Bureau of Air Commerce held a competition for a safe and practical $700 aircraft. In 1936 the winner of the competition was the Stearman-Hammond Y-1, incorporating many of the safety features of the Ercoupe W-1. Two other winners were the Waterman Aeroplane and a roadable autogyro from the Autogiro Company of America, the AC-35. Twenty-five examples were ordered by the bureau at a price of $3,190 each. The first delivery was considered unacceptable in finish, prompting the production of the re-engineered Y-S model. Two Y-1S, serial numbers 0908 and 0909,were used for radio controlled development trials by the United States Navy as the JH-1. A successful unmanned radio-controlled flight was made with a JH-1 drone on 23 December 1937 at the Coast Guard Air Station, Cape May, N.J. Take-off and landing was controlled via a land based radio set; for flight maneuvers, control was shifted to an airborne TG-2. KLM purchased a Y-1 (PH-APY) for use in training their pilots in tricycle undercarriage. The Royal Air Force also evaluated a former KLM Y-1S in the 1940s. Variants Hammond Model Y Prototype for the 1934 Bureau of Air Commerce safe airplane competition. Stearman-Hammond Y-1 Prototype aircraft with a 125hp (93kW) Menasco C-4 engine. Stearman-Hammond Y-1S Production aircraft with a 150hp (112kW) Menasco C-4S engine. JH-1 United States Navy designation for two Y-1S used for tests.

The Ball-Bartoe JW-1 Jetwing was a US research aircraft flown in the 1970s to investigate blown wing technology. The Jetwing was a small, mid-wing design powered by a turbofan and fitted with tail-wheel undercarriage. The upper surface of the swept wings incorporated a slot along 70% span, through which air from the engine's fan stage could be discharged. Mounted above this slot was a small secondary airfoil called an "augmentor", intended to direct the discharged airflow over the wing. With this arrangement, it was found that the aircraft remained controllable at airspeeds as low as 34.76 kn (64.38 km/h; 40.00 mph). The US Navy considered developing the Jetwing for use on short aircraft carriers. A new series of test flights were then carried out. Despite its top speed of 350 mph, the Navy was able to land the Jetwing in a mere 300 feet. Ultimately, the Navy discontinued blown-wing research in favor of vectored thrust technology. Following the test program, the aircraft was donated to the University of Tennessee Space Institute in Tullahoma, which donated the Jetwing to the Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum in Denver, Colorado in 2007. Only one prototype/test machine was built.

The Myasishchev M-4 Molot (Russian: Молот (Hammer), USAF/DoD reporting name "Type 37", ASCC reporting name Bison) was a four-engined strategic bomber designed by Vladimir Mikhailovich Myasishchev and manufactured by the Soviet Union in the 1950s to provide a Long Range Aviation bomber capable of attacking targets in North America. The aircraft fell well short of its intended range and was not fully capable of attacking the most valuable targets in the United States. As this became clear, production was shut down. In spite of the failure to produce a capable strategic design and the resulting small numbers, the M-4 nevertheless sparked fears of a "bomber gap" when 18 of the aircraft were flown in a public demonstration on May Day in 1954. The US responded by building hundreds of Boeing B-47s and B-52s to counter this perceived threat. The design was updated with more efficient engines, inflight refuelling (IFR) support and the removal of the glass nose for optical bombing and moving the radar to this location. With these changes, production restarted as the 3M. Even with these modifications the design was not truly effective in the nuclear bomber role, and only 125 aircraft, both M-4s and 3Ms, were produced before the production line was shut down for good in 1963. Only 19 of these served on nuclear alert. M-4s and 3Ms were primarily used as long-range maritime reconnaissance and strike aircraft and other supporting roles. Most were converted in the 1970s and 80s to tanker aircraft, especially as the Tupolev Tu-22M took over the maritime missions. The tanker conversions remained in service until 1994. Most surviving examples were broken up as part of post-Cold War arms limitations agreements. The M-4 was the first four-engine jet bomber deployed operationally by the Soviet Union. The M-4 was made mostly of aircraft aluminum alloys with some steel and magnesium components. It had wings swept at 35-degrees and powered initially by four Mikulin AM-3A engines with a maximum thrust of 85.8 kN (8,750 kgp; 19,290 lbf), but later upgraded to RD-3M-500 turbojets with a maximum thrust of 93.2 kN (9,500 kgp; 20,940 lbf). There were 18 bladder fuel tanks in the fuselage and wings, providing a total fuel capacity of 123,600 liters (32,610 US gallons); this gave the aircraft a range of 9,500 km (5,900 mi), although this fell short of the 12,000 km (7,500 mi) range initially specified. It had a payload of 24 tonnes (26.4 tons) in various configurations. Defensive armament consisted of six AM-23 23 mm cannons with a rate of fire of 1,250 rpm each in a manned twin tail turret with 400 rounds per gun and two twin remote controlled turrets in the top and bottom fuselage with 300 rounds per gun each. The aircraft had a crew of eight: a navigator/bombardier in the nose; pilot and copilot in the cockpit; radar operator/navigator, flight engineer/gunner, radio operator/gunner, and dorsal turret gunner in a compartment behind the cockpit; and a tail gunner. The M-4 was first displayed to the public in Red Square, on May Day, 1954. The aircraft was a surprise to the United States, which had not known that the Soviets had built a jet bomber. However, it soon became clear that the bomber had an insufficient range to attack the United States and still return to the Soviet Union. Only a few of the original production M-4s were actually put into service. To remedy this problem, the Myasishchev design bureau introduced the 3M, known to the West as the 'Bison-B', which was considerably more powerful than the previous version. This new model first flew in 1955. Among other things, two of the five original gun barbettes were removed to lighten the aircraft. For more details of design, operational history and variants, click here.

The American Sportscopter Ultrasport 496 is an American helicopter that was designed and produced by American Sportscopter of Newport News, Virginia. Now out of production, when it was available the aircraft was supplied as a kit for amateur construction. The Ultrasport 496 is a two-seat trainer development of the Ultrasport 254 and, like that model, is named for its empty weight in pounds. The aircraft was designed to comply with the US Experimental - Amateur-built aircraft rules. It could also have been registered as a FAR 103 Ultralight Vehicles rules exemption trainer. It features a single main rotor, a two-seats in side-by-side configuration enclosed cockpit with optional doors, skid-type landing gear and a four-cylinder, horizontally opposed, air-cooled, two-stroke, dual-ignition 95 hp (71 kW) Hirth F-30 engine. The aircraft fuselage is made from composites. Its 23.00 ft (7.0 m) diameter two-bladed rotor employs an ATI 012 (VR-7 mod) airfoil at the blade root, transitioning to an ATI 008 (VR-7 mod) airfoil at the tip. The dual controls include cyclic controls mounted from the cockpit ceiling, but are otherwise conventional. The tail rotor is ring-mounted and the horizontal tailplane mounts end-fins for directional stability. A ballistic parachute was a factory option. The aircraft has an empty weight of 495 lb (225 kg) and a gross weight of 1,085 lb (492 kg), giving a useful load of 590 lb (268 kg). With full fuel of 16 U.S. gallons (61 L; 13 imp gal) the payload for crew and baggage is 494 lb (224 kg). The manufacturer estimated the construction time from the supplied kit as 60 hours. In June 2014 one example was registered in the United States with the Federal Aviation Administration, although a total of seven had been registered at one time.

The Aeronca C-3 was a light plane built by the Aeronautical Corporation of America in the United States during the 1930s. Its design was derived from the Aeronca C-2. Introduced in 1931, it featured room for a passenger seated next to the pilot. Powered by a new 36 hp (27 kW) Aeronca E-113 engine, the seating configuration made flight training much easier and many Aeronca owners often took to the skies with only five hours of instruction, largely because of the C-3's predictable flying characteristics. Both the C-2 and C-3 are often described as “powered gliders” because of their gliding ability and gentle landing speeds. The C-3's distinctive razorback design was drastically altered in 1935 with the appearance of the “roundback” C-3 Master. Retaining the tubular fuselage frame construction, the C-3 Master featured a smaller vertical stabilizer and rudder with a “filled out” fuselage shape that created the new “roundback” appearance and improved the airflow over the tail. It featured an enclosed cabin with a proper door (brakes and wing light still cost extra), and a revised undercarriage dispensing with external struts in favour of a neater arrangement largely hidden in the fuselage. The 1935 C-3 Master was priced at only $1,895—just a few hundred dollars more than the primitive C-2 of 1930. The low price generated significant sales; 128 C-3 Masters were built in 1935 alone (of 430 C-3s built in all), and the 500th Aeronca aircraft also rolled off the assembly line that same year. A strengthened version of the C-3 with fabric-covered ailerons (instead of metal), designated the Aeronca 100, was built in England under license by Light Aircraft Ltd. (operating as Aeronautical Corporation of Great Britain Ltd. sometimes called Aeronco), and marketed by its associated company Aircraft Exchange & Mart. It was powered by a modified Aeronca E-113C engine built by J. A. Prestwich and Company and called the JAP J-99, and this led to the aircraft being marketed as the Aeronca-JAP. The expected sales never materialized – only 24 British-built aircraft were manufactured before production was halted. The aircraft could be fitted with floats, and those so equipped were sometimes designated PC-3, with the P standing for Pontoon. Production of the C-3 was halted in 1937 when the aircraft no longer met new U.S. government standards for airworthiness. Many of the C-3's peculiarities – a strictly external wire-braced wing with no wing struts directly connecting the wing panels with the fuselage, extensive fabric construction, single-ignition engine, and lack of an airspeed indicator – were no longer permitted. Fortunately for the legion of Aeronca owners, a “grandfather” clause in the federal regulations allowed their airplanes to continue flying, although they could no longer be manufactured. A total of 400 were built. Variants C-3 Production variant, early versions of which were built as the C-2 Collegian. C-3 Master Improved variant. Aeronca 100 British-built variant powered by an Aeronca JAP J-99 (a licence built Aeronca E-113C), 21 built. Aeronca 300 Improved British variant of the Aeronca 100, one built. Ely 700 British variant with wider fuselage and two doors, two built.