PIK-19 Muhinu

PIK-19 Muhinu
Role	Glider tug
National origin	Finland
Manufacturer	Helsinki University of Technology
First flight	26 March 1972
Number built	1

The PIK-19 Muhinu was a light aircraft developed in Finland in the early 1970s for use as a glider tug and flight trainer.[1] It was a low-wing cantilever monoplane of conventional configuration, with an enclosed cockpit and fixed, tricycle undercarriage.[1] Its construction was of composite materials throughout,[2] a novel approach at the time. When the PIK-19 flew for the first time in 1972, it was only the fourth aircraft in the world made of these materials.[3]

The project was undertaken as a joint venture by the Finnish government and the Helsinki University of Technology.[3] Its "PIK" designation belongs to a sequence of designations applied to the aircraft designed and built by the university's gliding club, Polyteknikkojen Ilmailukerho, although this was not a project by the club.[3] Design work commenced in 1969 under the leadership of Jukka Tervamäki, Ilkka Rantasalo and Pekka Tammi and the prototype flew on 26 March 1972.[1] Plans for production in series were never realised,[4] and the single prototype was the only example ever built.[1] Over the next 21 years, it accumulated 5217 hours of flying time and some 40,000 glider tows.[3] It was destroyed in a crash in June 1994 when the engine failed at low altitude.[1]

Specifications

Data from Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1974-75[5]

General characteristics

• Crew: Two
• Length: 6.90 m (22 ft 8 in)
• Wingspan: 10.00 m (32 ft 10 in)
• Height: 2.60 m (8 ft 6 in)
• Wing area: 14.00 m^2 (150.7 sq ft)
• Aspect ratio: 7.14
• Airfoil: NACA 63₂415
• Empty weight: 560 kg (1,235 lb) equipped
• Max takeoff weight: 840 kg (1,852 lb)
• Fuel capacity: 150 L (33 Imp gal; 40 ?US gal)
• Powerplant: 1 × Lycoming O-320-B2BC flat four, 120 kW (160 hp)
• Propellers: 2-bladed McCauley1A-175/GM-8241 for towing and 1C-172/MGM-7657 for other tasks, Both fixed pitch, metal blades.

Performance

• Maximum speed: 240 km/h (150 mph, 130 kn)
• Cruise speed: 220 km/h (140 mph, 120 kn) maximum, 75% power
• Stall speed: 83 km/h (52 mph, 45 kn) flaps down
• Never exceed speed: 310 km/h (190 mph, 170 kn)
• Range: 950 km (590 mi, 510 nmi) maximum fuel, no reserves, 65% power
• Rate of climb: 7.00 m/s (1,378 ft/min)
• Time to altitude: maximum
• Wing loading: 60.0 kg/m^2 (12.3 lb/sq ft)
• Take-off to 15 m (50 ft): 240 m (787 ft)
• Landing from 15 m (50 ft): 220 m (722 ft

Notes

1. "PIK-sarjan lentokoneet"
2. "Finnish Newcomer" 1979, p.1900
3. "Projects in Various Organizations"
4. Taylor 1989, p.726
5. Taylor, John W. R. p.40

References

• "Finnish Newcomer". Flight International: 1900. 8 December 1979. Retrieved 2009-01-13.
• "PIK-sarjan lentokoneet". Polyteknikkojen Ilmailukerho website. Retrieved 2009-01-12.
• Taylor, John W R (1974). Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1974-75. London: Jane's Yearbooks. ISBN 0-354-00502-2.
• Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions.
• Tervamäki, Jukka. "Projects in Various Organizations". The Home Page of Jukka Tervamaki. Retrieved 2009-01-13.