red750

The Kyūshū J7W Shinden (震電, "Magnificent Lightning") is a World War II Japanese propeller-driven prototype fighter plane with wings at the rear of the fuselage, a nose-mounted canard, and a pusher engine. Developed by the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) as a short-range, land-based interceptor, the J7W was a response to Boeing B-29 Superfortress raids on the Japanese home islands. For interception missions, the J7W was to be armed with four forward-firing 30 mm type 5 cannons in the nose. The Shinden was expected to be a highly maneuverable interceptor, but only two prototypes were finished before the end of the war. A jet engine–powered version was considered, but never reached the drawing board. In the IJN designation system, "J" referred to land-based fighters and "W" to Watanabe Tekkōjo, the company that oversaw the initial design. The idea of a canard-based design originated with Lieutenant Commander Masayoshi Tsuruno, of the technical staff of the IJN in early 1943. Tsuruno believed the design could easily be retrofitted with a turbojet, when suitable engines became available. His ideas were worked out by the First Naval Air Technical Arsenal (Dai-Ichi Kaigun Koku Gijitsusho), which designed three gliders designated Yokosuka MXY6, featuring canards. These were built by Chigasaki Seizo K. K. and one was later fitted with a 22 hp Semi 11 (Ha-90) 4-cylinder air-cooled engine. The feasibility of the canard design was proven by both the powered and unpowered versions of the MXY6 by the end of 1943, and the Navy were so impressed by the flight testing, they instructed the Kyushu Aircraft Company to design a canard interceptor around Tsuruno's concept. Kyushu was chosen because both its design team and production facilities were relatively unburdened, and Tsuruno was chosen to lead a team from Dai-Ichi Kaigun Koku Gijitsusho to aid Kyushu's design works. The construction of the first two prototypes started in earnest by June 1944, stress calculations were finished by January 1945, and the first prototype was completed in April 1945. The 2,130 hp Mitsubishi MK9D (Ha-43) radial engine and its supercharger were installed behind the cockpit and drove a six-bladed propeller via an extension shaft. Engine cooling was to be provided by long, narrow, obliquely mounted intakes on the side of the fuselage. It was this configuration that caused cooling problems while running the engine while it was still on the ground. This, together with the unavailability of some equipment parts postponed the first flight of the Shinden. Even before the first prototype took to the air, the Navy ordered the J7W1 into production, with a quota of 30 Shinden a month given to Kyushu's Zasshonokuma factory and 120 from Nakajima's Handa plant. It was estimated some 1,086 Shinden could be produced between April 1946 and March 1947. On 3 August 1945, the prototype first flew, with Tsuruno at the controls, from Mushiroda Airfield. Two more short flights were made, a total of 45 minutes airborne, one each on the same days as the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki occurred, before the war's end. Flights were successful, but showed a marked torque pull to starboard (due to the powerful engine), some flutter of the propeller blades, and vibration in the extended drive shaft.

The Fisher R-80 Tiger Moth is a Canadian two-seat, conventional landing gear, single engined, biplane kit aircraft designed for construction by amateur builders. The designation indicates that the aircraft is 80% the size of the aircraft that inspired it, the de Havilland Tiger Moth. Fisher Flying Products was originally based in Edgeley, North Dakota, USA but the company is now located in Woodbridge, Ontario, Canada. The R-80 was designed by Fisher Aircraft in the United States in 1994 and was intended to comply with the US Experimental - Amateur-built category, although it qualifies as an ultralight aircraft in some countries, such as Canada. It also qualifies as a US Experimental Light Sport Aircraft. The R-80's standard empty weight is 560 lb (254 kg) when equipped with a 100 hp (75 kW) Norton AE 100R engine and it has a gross weight of 1,150 lb (522 kg). The construction of the R-80 is of wood, with the wings, tail and fuselage covered with doped aircraft fabric. The aircraft features interplane struts and cabane struts. Like the original Tiger Moth, the R-80 has no flaps. The R-80's main landing gear is bungee suspended. Cockpit access is via the lower wing. The company claims an amateur builder would need 600 hours to build the R-80. Specified engines for the R-80 version have included the 80 hp (60 kW) Geo Tracker auto-conversion engine and the 100 hp (75 kW) Norton AE 100R rotary engine. By late 2011 more than 24 R-80s were flying. In 2000 Fisher introduced a welded 4130 steel tube fuselage as an alternative to the standard wooden fuselage. This version featured a LOM M132 engine of 120 hp (89 kW), a gross weight of 1,350 lb (612 kg) and was developed at the request of customers. The steel fuselage version was known as the RS-80. Six RS-80s had been completed by the end of 2004. Since the company moved to Canada, the RS-80 option is no longer available. In reviewing the R-80 Ben Millspaugh wrote in Kitplanes Magazine: She flies beautifully. Ground handling is exceptionally easy and I'd recommend this airplane to anyone who is a first-time builder or any pilot with little or no tail dragger time. Variants R-80 Original version with wooden fuselage RS-80 Version with welded 4130 steel tube fuselage, introduced in 2000 and discontinued 2008.

The Hispano HA-200 Saeta (English: Arrow) is a twin-seat jet advanced trainer designed and produced by Spanish aircraft manufacturer Hispano Aviación. It has the distinction of being the first Spanish aircraft to harness jet propulsion. The German aircraft designer Willy Messerschmitt can be largely credited for his role in designing the HA-200, which reused a substantial portion of the earlier piston-powered HA-100 Triana. On 12 August 1955, the first prototype conducted its maiden flight. It was not until 1962 that the first production aircraft performed its first flight. That same year, deliveries of the trainer aircraft commenced to the Spanish Air Force. It would be used in this capacity by the service for multiple decades. The HA-200 was later further developed into the Hispano Aviación Ha-220 "Super Saeta", which functioned as a dedicated ground attack platform, armed with rockets, bombs, and other munitions. The HA-220 served in the Spanish Air Force throughout the 1970s, seeing action during the Polisario uprisings against insurgents. The HA-200 was also exported, the type being produced under license by Egypt, where it was designated as the Helwan HA-200B Al-Kahira. During the 1980s, the more capable CASA C-101 was introduced to Spanish service, supplementing and eventually succeeding the older HA-200 in both trainer and light attack roles. The HA-200 Saeta is a jet-powered trainer aircraft. In terms of its configuration, it is a low-winged monoplane, featuring all-metal construction and a retractable tricycle undercarriage arrangement. Structurally, it was relatively conventional for the era, using semi-monocoque lightweight alloy construction. The cockpit of the HA-200 accommodated a crew of two in a tandem seating configuration; however, the ground-attack orientated HA-220 was furnished with a single-seat cockpit instead. For greater crew comfort, this cockpit was pressurised, the HA-200 being the first Spanish aircraft to possess this facility. The HA-200's propulsion consisted of a pair of Turbomeca Marboré turbojet engines, which were installed in a side-by-side arrangement inside the forward fuselage and mounted on a stressed-skin structure that forms the outer surface of the fuselage's underside. Air was fed to the engines via a large intake on the front of the nose; this particular intake arrangement has been described as being unique amongst jet aircraft. The engine's exhaust nozzles were located upon the lower fuselage, just aft of the trailing edge of the wing. A maximum of 261 gallons of fuel could be carried across a pair of fuselage tanks, two wing tanks and two permanently-attached tip tanks; provisions were made for jettisoning fuel in emergency situations. For weapons training purposes, the HA-200 featured provisions for the carriage of armaments. For more details of development, operational history and 10 varients, click here.

The Fisher FP-606 Sky Baby is a Canadian single-seat, conventional landing gear or tricycle landing gear-equipped, single-engined, high-wing monoplane kit aircraft designed for construction by amateur builders. Fisher Flying Products was originally based in Edgeley, North Dakota, United States, but the company is now located in Woodbridge, Ontario, Canada. The FP-606 was designed by Fisher Aircraft in the United States in 1986 and was intended to comply with the US FAR 103 Ultralight Vehicles category, with the category's maximum 254 lb (115 kg) empty weight. The 606's standard empty weight is 250 lb (113 kg) when equipped with a two-stroke 25 hp (19 kW) Hirth F-33 engine. The design goal was to provide an ultralight version of the Cessna 150 or Cessna 152, including its looks, styling features and docile handling. To this end the 606 incorporates the 150's Omni-Vision style rear window and the swept fin found on post-1965 Cessna 150s.[3][5][6] The wings are the same design as the Fisher FP-202 Koala with modified wingtips. The construction of the FP-606 is of wood, with the fuselage built from wood strips arranged in a geodesic form, resulting in a very strong and light aircraft with redundant load paths. The wings, tail and fuselage are covered with doped aircraft fabric. Like the Cessna 150, the 606's wings are strut-braced, but where the 150 uses a single strut, the FP-606 incorporates a "V" strut with "N" jury struts. Also unlike the 150, which has large and powerful flaps, the 606 has no flaps. The FP-606 can be fitted with either conventional-configuration (taildragger) or tricycle-style landing gear, which is bungee suspended in either configuration. The FP-606 has a single door for pilot access, that can be removed for flight. The company claims an amateur builder would need 500 hours to build the FP-606. The US FAR 103 Ultralight Vehicle category version of the FP-606 requires a light weight powerplant, such as the originally specified, but now out-of-production 28 hp (21 kW) Rotax 277 or the current 25 hp (19 kW) Hirth F-33. Amateur-built category versions can be powered by the 40 hp (30 kW) Rotax 447 or 50 hp (37 kW) Rotax 503 engines. The FP-606 won the Experimental Aircraft Association's Best New Design Award for light planes in 1988. By late 2011 more than 15 FP-606s were flying.

The I.P.D BF-1 Beija-Flôr (English: Humming Bird) was a two-seat light helicopter designed by Henrich Focke. The BF-1 was built by the aircraft department of the Brazilian Research and Development Institute Instituto de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento (IPD) (formerly the CTA - Centro Técnico Aeroespacial), using a design of Henrich Focke. It was a conventional three-bladed single rotor helicopter, powered by a 225 hp (168 kW) Continental E225 piston engine, mounted in the nose. The tail unit included a small vertical dorsal fin with a horizontal stabilizer on the starboard side. Two inter-meshing tail rotors, each inclined at 45°, provided pitch and yaw control. Three prototypes were built, the first flying on 1 January 1959, but the type did not enter production.