Flaglor Scooter

Scooter
Flaglor Scooter at Pima Air & Space Museum
Role Ultralight aircraft
Manufacturer Homebuilt
Designer Ken Flaglor
First flight June 1967

The Flaglor Scooter is an unusual light aircraft designed in the United States in the mid-1960s and marketed for homebuilding.

Design and development

The Scooter is a high-wing, wire-braced monoplane with the engine installed on the wing leading edge, above and in front of the pilot's seat.[1] It features weled steel tube or wooden fuselage construction with fabric covering and short legged conventional landing gear. The wing uses wooden ribs and a dual spar construction with wire bracing.[2] It was originally intended to be powered by a 18 hp (13 kW) Cushman golf buggy engine, but this was found to be inadequate and a Huggins Volkswagen automotive engine conversion was used to replace it.[3]

Operational history

Demonstrated at the 1967 EAA annual fly-in at Rockford, Illinois, the design won "Outstanding Ultralight" and "Outstanding Volkswagen-powered aircraft" awards. Plans were put on sale shortly thereafter.[3]

Specifications (Scooter)

Data from Air Trails

General characteristics

  • Crew: 1 pilot
  • Length: 15 ft 8 in (4.78 m)
  • Wingspan: 28 ft 0 in (8.64 m)
  • Height: 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
  • Wing area: 115 sq ft (10.7 m2)
  • Empty weight: 390 lb (180 kg)
  • Gross weight: 650 lb (300 kg)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Volkswagen automotive engine , 40 hp (30 kW)

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 90 mph (145 km/h, 78 kn)
  • Range: 175 mi (282 km, 152 nmi)
  • Rate of climb: 600 ft/min (3.0 m/s)

See also

Related development

References

  1. ^ Air Progress: 51. November 1971. {{cite journal}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. ^ Air Trails: 76. Winter 1971. {{cite journal}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  3. ^ a b "Inside the scooter". Air Trails Sport Aircraft. Winter 1969.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Flaglor Scooter.
  • Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions. p. 392.
  • Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1977-78. London: Jane's Yearbooks. pp. 539–41.