Luton Minor
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| L.A.4 Minor | |
|---|---|
| Type | Ultralight |
| Manufacturer | Homebuilt |
| Designed by | C.H. Latimer-Needham |
| Maiden flight | 1936 |
The Luton L.A.4 Minor was a 1930s British single-seat high-wing ultra-light. Prototype built by the Luton Aircraft Limited and design plans sold for home building.
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[edit] History
The Minor ultralight was powered by a 35hp Anzani inverted Vee air-cooled engine, and was of spruce, ply and fabric construction. The Minor was designed by C.H. Latimer-Needham and built by Luton Aircraft at Barton-in-the-Clay, Bedfordshire in 1936. The prototype registered G-AEPD, designated the L.A.3 Minor, used the fuselage and components of the earlier experimental L.A.2 tandem-wing aircraft. The aircraft was a successful flyer despite the low-powered engine and it was redesigned for home construction. Designated the L.A.4 Minor it had a strutted undercarriage, parallel wing struts. The first L.A.4 Minor was built at the companies new factory (the Phoenix Works) at Gerrards Cross in Buckinghamshire. It was fitted with a 40hp ABC Scorpion two-cylinder horizontally opposed engine. All subsequent Luton Minors were home-built from plans sold by the company.
The Phoenix Works had burnt down during 1943 and Luton Aircraft had closed the designer C.H. Latimer-Needham and A.W.J.G. Ord-Hume created a new company in March 1958 to take over the design rights for the Luton Minor. Latimer-Needham updated the design to take more modern lightweight four-cylinder engines and an increased all-up weight. The redesigned aircraft was designated the L.A.4A. The design and subsequently the aircraft has been built all over the world as homebuilt aircraft with a wide variety of engines, with the plans for the aircraft being distributed by the Popular Flying Association in the UK[1].
[edit] Variants
- L.A.3 Minor
- Prototype ultralight, one built.
- L.A.4 Minor
- Homebuilt version, one factory built and numerous homebuilt examples.
- L.A.4A Minor
- Updated homebuilt version to take more modern engines, all homebuilt.
[edit] Specifications (L.A.4A)
General characteristics
- Crew: 1
- Length: 20 ft 0 in (6.10 m)
- Wingspan: 25 ft 0 in (7.62 m)
- Height: 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
- Wing area: 125 ft² (11.6 m²)
- Airfoil: RAF 48 [1]
- Empty weight: 450 lb (205 kg)
- Max takeoff weight: 750 lb (341 kg)
- Powerplant: 1× Lycoming O-145-A2 four-cylinder horizontal opposed, 55hp (41 kW)
Performance
- Maximum speed: 74 knots (85 mph, 137 km/h)
- Range: 156 nm (180 miles, 290 km)
- Rate of climb: 450 ft/min (2.3 m/s)
[edit] References
- ^ a b Taylor, JWR (Editor) (1988). Jane's All the World's Aircraft, 1988-1989. Jane's Information Group. ISBN 0 7106-0867-5.
- Jackson, A.J. (1974). British Civil Aircraft since 1919 Volume 3. London: Putnam. ISBN 0 370 10014 X.
[edit] External links
[edit] See also
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