Glasair Aviation
Encyclopedia
Arlington, Washington
Arlington is a city in northern Snohomish County, Washington, United States, bordered by the city of Marysville to the south. The population was 17,926 at the 2010 census.-History:...
that produces the Glasair and Sportsman 2+2 line of homebuilt aircraft
Homebuilt aircraft
Also known as amateur-built aircraft or kit planes, homebuilt aircraft are constructed by persons for whom this is not a professional activity. These aircraft may be constructed from "scratch," from plans, or from assembly kits.-Overview:...
.
History
Tom Hamilton began flight testing the Glasair TD and founded Stoddard-Hamilton AircraftStoddard-Hamilton Aircraft
Stoddard-Hamilton Aircraft, based in Arlington, Washington, was a designer and supplier of high-performance homebuilt aircraft kits, offering parts and plans to homebuilders. The company's popular Glasair aircraft series are low wing, two-seat fiberglass designs.The Glasair TD of 1979 was the...
in 1979. Glasair Aviation was formed in 2001 when Thomas W. Wathen purchased the Glasair assets from bankrupt Stoddard-Hamilton Aircraft, Inc. and signed an agreement with Arlington Aircraft Development, Inc. (AADI) to buy all rights to and assets of the GlaStar model. The new companies New Glasair, LLC and New GlaStar, LLC are marketed under the Glasair Aviation name. More than 3000 Glasair kits have been delivered worldwide.
Glasair I
The Glasair (called Glasair I after the introduction of the Glasair II) is a two-place (side by side), low-wing general aviationGeneral aviation
General aviation is one of the two categories of civil aviation. It refers to all flights other than military and scheduled airline and regular cargo flights, both private and commercial. General aviation flights range from gliders and powered parachutes to large, non-scheduled cargo jet flights...
airplane. First introduced in 1979, the Glasair was the first premolded composite
Composite material
Composite materials, often shortened to composites or called composition materials, are engineered or naturally occurring materials made from two or more constituent materials with significantly different physical or chemical properties which remain separate and distinct at the macroscopic or...
kit aircraft
Homebuilt aircraft
Also known as amateur-built aircraft or kit planes, homebuilt aircraft are constructed by persons for whom this is not a professional activity. These aircraft may be constructed from "scratch," from plans, or from assembly kits.-Overview:...
ever offered. The Glasair was available in retractable gear (Glasair RG), tricycle gear
Tricycle gear
Tricycle gear describes an aircraft undercarriage, or landing gear, arranged in a tricycle fashion. The tricycle arrangement has one wheel in the front, called the nose wheel, and two or more main wheels slightly aft of the center of gravity...
(Glasair FT) and tail dragger (Glasair TD) configuration. The Glasair I line is no longer in production and was superseded by the Glasair II line.
Glasair II
The Glasair II line of aircraft is a modification of the original Glasair I that improves on cockpitCockpit
A cockpit or flight deck is the area, usually near the front of an aircraft, from which a pilot controls the aircraft. Most modern cockpits are enclosed, except on some small aircraft, and cockpits on large airliners are also physically separated from the cabin...
ergonomics
Ergonomics
Ergonomics is the study of designing equipment and devices that fit the human body, its movements, and its cognitive abilities.The International Ergonomics Association defines ergonomics as follows:...
and ease of construction. The original line-up included the Glasair II, the Glasair II-S and the Glasair SII. Only the Glasair SII (Super-II) model is still in production.
By the fall of 2007, a thousand Glasair IIs of all sub-types had been completed and were flying.
Glasair III
The Glasair III is similar to the Glasair SII but is designed for higher performance. The Glasair III is capable of 313 mi/h in cruise, and is only available in retractable gear configuration.In the fall of 2007, Kitplanes magazine reported that 250 Glasair IIIs had been completed and were flying.
GlaStar
The Glasair GlaStar is a 2-place, sport-utility airplane that can be built from a kit and registered in the experimental amateur built category (in the United States). The kit was designed and originally produced by Stoddard Hamilton Aircraft, Inc. The fist prototype flew on November 29, 1994. Stoddard Hamilton filed for bankruptcy in June 2000, and the assets of the company were purchased by New GlaStar LLC, which later became Glasair Aviation LLC. That company is still in business producing kits in Arlington, Washington, but they now only sell the GlaStar kit on a special order basis.The GlaStar is noted for its outstanding slow flight capability combined with good cruise performance. It features folding wings, making it easy to store or tow on a trailer.
Although the original prototype had a 125 hp Continental engine, most kits have been completed using either the 160 hp Lycoming O-320
Lycoming O-320
The Lycoming O-320 is a large family of 92 different normally aspirated, air-cooled, four-cylinder, direct-drive engines commonly used on light aircraft such as the Cessna 172 and Piper Cherokee. Different variants are rated for 150 or 160 horsepower...
or the 180 hp Lycoming O-360 engine. The Subaru
Subaru
; is the automobile manufacturing division of Japanese transportation conglomerate Fuji Heavy Industries .Subaru is internationally known for their use of the boxer engine layout popularized in cars by the Volkswagen Beetle and Porsche 911, in most of their vehicles above 1500 cc as well as...
engine converted for airplane use also enjoys some popularity in the GlaStar, with about 50 planes incorporating some version of that engine.
The fleet consists of about 930 kits with over 360 of those completed and flying in the U. S. and 16 other countries. Builders typically complete one of these kits in about 2,500 man-hours over the course of several years. The cost of completing a GlaStar ranges from USD
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
$60,000-$120,000, depending mostly on the avionics selected by the builder.
The typical GlaStar has an empty weight of 1,200 to 1,300 pounds and a gross weight of 1,960 pounds. The gross weight on floats is 2,100 pounds. Cruise performance with wheels is about 140 knots (274.4 km/h), and the stall speed is 43 knots (84.3 km/h), making for a good combination of cruise speed and short field capability. The plane can be easily configured with tricycle landing gear or conventional landing gear
Conventional landing gear
thumb|The [[Piper PA-18|Piper Super Cub]] is a popular taildragger aircraft.thumb|right|A [[Cessna 150]] converted to taildragger configuration by installation of an after-market modification kit....
.
The Symphony SA-160
Symphony SA-160
-Similar aircraft:* Alpha 2000 * Cessna 150* Cessna 152* Cessna 172* Diamond DA20* Liberty XL2-References:* * * * * * -External links:* *...
, at one time built by Ostmecklenburgische Flugzeugbau
Ostmecklenburgische Flugzeugbau
Ostmecklenburgische Flugzeugbau GmbH, was a light aircraft manufacturer in Neubrandenburg Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania...
(OMF) and later Symphony Aircraft, was a certified
Type certificate
A Type Certificate, is awarded by aviation regulating bodies to aerospace manufacturers after it has been established that the particular design of a civil aircraft, engine, or propeller has fulfilled the regulating bodies' current prevailing airworthiness requirements for the safe conduct of...
development of the GlaStar.
Sportsman
The Sportsman 2+2 is a larger version of the GlaStar with a gross weight of 2350 lb (1,065.9 kg) and a useful load of approximately 950 - 1000 lb (453.6 kg). The first customer-built Sportsman flew in 2005. The aircraft can be powered by the Lycoming EnginesLycoming Engines
Lycoming Engines is a U.S. aircraft engine company, known primarily for its general aviation engines. For most of its history Lycoming has been part of the AVCO group as AVCO Lycoming. In 1987 AVCO was purchased by Textron to become Textron Lycoming...
of 180 hp to 210 hp. Additional power plants and options for the Sportsman 2+2 are in development. It has a second-row seat that can accommodate two passengers up to 5' tall in addition to the pilot and front seat passenger.
The Sportsman 2+2 has vortex generators on each wing and the company claims a 42 kn (82 km/h) stall speed with full flaps. Depending on the engine, the aircraft can cruise as fast as 162 kn (317 km/h).
The Sportsman 2+2 can be configured with tricycle gear or a conventional tail wheel and can be fitted with floats or skis. Folding wings allow trailering or storage with other aircraft.
See also
- Plane Driven PD-1 Roadable GlastarPlane Driven PD-1 Roadable Glastar- External links :...
a experimental modification to allow the aircraft to be roadable.