Murphy Renegade
Encyclopedia
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
two-seats-in-tandem, single engine, 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....
, biplane
Biplane
A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two superimposed main wings. The Wright brothers' Wright Flyer used a biplane design, as did most aircraft in the early years of aviation. While a biplane wing structure has a structural advantage, it produces more drag than a similar monoplane wing...
s, produced by Murphy Aircraft
Murphy Aircraft
Murphy Aircraft Manufacturing Limited is a Canadian maker of civil utility aircraft kits. They have designed and produced a series of aircraft which allows builders to choose from a range of sizes - from two-seat sports planes to six-place bush transports....
and intended for amateur construction
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:...
.
In Canada all Renegade variants are eligible to be registered as amateur-builts
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:...
, basic ultralights or advanced ultralights. In the USA the Renegade is not on the list of Special light-sport aircraft, but is eligible for the Experimental - Amateur-built
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:...
category.
Development
The Renegade was designed as the result of an accident. Darryl Murphy is a mechanical engineering technologist who designed and built a rigid wing hang glider in 1978 as a school project while attending the Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and TechnologySaskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology
Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology is a diploma-granting college that has four campuses across Saskatchewan. More than 12,000 students are enrolled in its programs and has approximately 29,000 additional individual registrations....
in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. In 1984 Murphy was in a non-aviation accident that left him hospitalized for four months. During his recovery time he decided to design a biplane to fit into the then-new Canadian ultralight category
Ultralight aircraft (Canada)
The Canadian Aviation Regulations define two types of ultralight aircraft: basic ultra-light aeroplane , and advanced ultra-light aeroplane .- Canadian definition of ultra-light :...
. The resulting aircraft, C-IDJY, is a single-seat model and was intended as a one-off aircraft for his own use, with no production intentions. Murphy named it the Renegade.
After taking the aircraft to a number of fly-in
Fly-in
A fly-in is a pre-arranged gathering of aircraft, pilots and passengers for recreational and social purposes.Fly-ins may be formally or informally organised, members of the public may or may not be invited, the gathering may be at an airport or in a farmer's field.Fly-ins can be aimed at specific...
s and other aviation events, Murphy was encouraged by the large number of people who wanted him to build one for them. In 1985 he quit his job and started Murphy Aviation (later renamed Murphy Aircraft Manufacturing), with his brother Bryan and located the company in Chilliwack, British Columbia
Chilliwack, British Columbia
Chilliwack is a Canadian city in the Province of British Columbia. It is a predominantly agricultural community with an estimated population of 80,000 people. Chilliwack is the second largest city in the Fraser Valley Regional District after Abbotsford. The city is surrounded by mountains and...
. The original Renegade design was turned into a two-seater by relocating the fuel tank from the centre fuselage
Fuselage
The fuselage is an aircraft's main body section that holds crew and passengers or cargo. In single-engine aircraft it will usually contain an engine, although in some amphibious aircraft the single engine is mounted on a pylon attached to the fuselage which in turn is used as a floating hull...
to the upper wing, installing a second seat and designating it Renegade II. Initial sales were disappointing as only one kit was sold in the first six months. Sales improved greatly once the aviation press began reviewing the aircraft. By 1986 the company had a backlog of orders, including many from outside North America. Murphy displayed the Renegade at the EAA Convention, Oshkosh and returned to Chilliwack with a substantial order book. During 1989 sales totalled 129 Renegade IIs.
The Renegade two was initially offered to buyers in six different configurations:
- Plans only
- Partial materials kits
- Full materials kit
- Complete kit, unassembled
- Quick-build kit
- Fully assembled aircraft
In May 1987 a new version of the basic Renegade design first flew. Named the Renegade Spirit it added a radial engine
Radial engine
The radial engine is a reciprocating type internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinders point outward from a central crankshaft like the spokes on a wheel...
-style round cowling and additional fuselage stringers to give the aircraft a rounded look. The standard engine was the 64 hp Rotax 532 and later the Rotax 582
Rotax 582
|-Specifications :-External links:*...
of the same output, with the 80 hp four-stroke Rotax 912UL added as a later option. Fibreglass wheel pants are also an option.
Design
The Renegade fuselage is constructed of aluminiumAluminium
Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al, and its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water under normal circumstances....
square tubing extrusions and fittings, fastened with Avex rivets. The turtle deck and engine cowling are made from fibreglass. The fin, rudder, horizontal stabilizer and elevators are built from aluminum tubing and channel sections. The tail is wire-braced. A manual trim tab mounted on the elevator is an option. The landing gear is of conventional configuration
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....
and incorporates bungee suspension. The welded engine mount is 4130 steel.
The Renegades's wings have a positive stagger
Stagger (aviation)
In aviation stagger refers to the horizontal positioning of a biplane, triplane, or multiplane's wings in relation to one another.An aircraft is said to have positive stagger, or simply stagger, when the upper wing is positioned forward of the lower wing, such as the de Havilland Tiger Moth or...
and incorporate a single faired interplane strut
Interplane strut
An interplane strut is an aircraft airframe component designed to transmit lift and landing loads between wing panels on biplanes and other aircraft with multi-wing designs. They also maintain the correct angle of incidence for the connected wing panels and are often braced with wires...
and cabane struts as well as wire-bracing. The top wing has a span of 21 ft (6.4 m) and incorporates a 10 degree sweep to improve visibility from the pilot's back seat, accessibility for the front seat passenger and reduces adverse yaw
Adverse yaw
Adverse yaw is a yaw moment on an aircraft which results from an aileron deflection and a roll rate, such as when entering or exiting a turn. It is called "adverse" because it acts opposite to the yaw moment needed to execute the desired turn. Adverse yaw has three mechanisms, listed below in...
. The lower wing has 3 degrees of dihedral. Ailerons are of the Friese type, with two ailerons on the lower wing standard and four ailerons optional. The front wing spar
Spar
In sailing, a spar is a pole of wood, metal or lightweight materials such as carbon fiber used on a sailing vessel. Spars of all types In sailing, a spar is a pole of wood, metal or lightweight materials such as carbon fiber used on a sailing vessel. Spars of all types In sailing, a spar is a...
was initially a 3 in (7.6 cm) aluminum tube and the rear spar is "C" channel. Starting 1 January 1989 the front spar was changed to a rectangular spar and an outboard drag brace was added, increasing wing rigidity. The ribs are stamped aluminum and mate with an aluminium sheet leading edge. All surfaces are covered with aircraft fabric. Controls are via torque tubes.
The Renegade II wing design was sand-bag tested on 16 February 1988 to 4050 lb (1,837 kg), or +7.2 g
G-force
The g-force associated with an object is its acceleration relative to free-fall. This acceleration experienced by an object is due to the vector sum of non-gravitational forces acting on an object free to move. The accelerations that are not produced by gravity are termed proper accelerations, and...
working load, with a +10 and -6 gs ultimate load.
The company indicates that construction time varies between 300-500 hours, depending on builder experience.
Operational history
Renegades have been equipped with floatsFloatplane
A floatplane is a type of seaplane, with slender pontoons mounted under the fuselage; only the floats of a floatplane normally come into contact with water, with the fuselage remaining above water...
for operations from water.
Variants
Renegade- Single seat prototype, one built, powered by a 40 hp Rotax 447Rotax 447|-Specifications :...
powerplant.
Renegade II
Renegade Spirit
- Two seat biplane with round cowling, powered by a 64 hp Rotax 532 or Rotax 582Rotax 582|-Specifications :-External links:*...
or 80 hp four-stroke Rotax 912UL