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Heath Parasol
The Heath Parasol is an American single-place open cockpit homebuilt monoplane aircraft.
Contents
Development and production
During the late 1920s and early 1930s it was the only airplane that could be constructed at home from a factory-built kit and be licensed by the FAA. The Heath was extremely popular, being economical to build and operate, and easy to fly.
Modern Mechanix magazine published plans and subsequently, Heath sold nearly 1,000 kits on an installment basis. Fewer than 50 were factory built, but several hundred were completed and flown by homebuilders during the depression.
Heath is remembered today for having helped pioneered the homebuilt aircraft industry and, for having introduced the kit concept for packaging of materials needed to build an aircraft.
Design
The fuselage is built of welded steel tube and is fabric covered. The wings consist of two solid spruce spars, built up wooden ribs, compression struts and internal bracing.
The Parasol's empennage is built of wood, the tailplane being externally braced. Two five gallon fuel tanks are installed at the root end of each wing, the fuel being gravity fed. The only tools necessary to assemble one of the Parasol kits were a pair of small pliers, screwdriver, hacksaw (with plenty of blades), hammer, small hand drill, chisel, center punch, file and drill.
Powerplants
A variety of powerplants could be fitted, including the factory-supplied converted Henderson Motorcycle engine (viz. 25 hp Heath-Henderson B-4).
Construction
Building a Heath Parasol requires basic woodworking skills and tools. Builders also need to fabricate some metal fittings to attach the wooden parts together. Some welding is required. The plans for the Parasol were also originally published in the "Flying and Glider" Manual.
Production of an early version was undertaken as early as 1931, in Australia, by the Adcock-Heath Company.
Super Parasol specifications
Data from [citation needed]
General characteristics
- Crew: One pilot
- Length: 16 ft 9 in (5.1 m)
- Wingspan: 25 ft 0 in (7.62 m)
- Height: 5 ft 8.25 in (1.73 m)
- Wing area: 135 ft² (12.5 m²)
- Empty weight: 260 lb (117.9 kg)
- Loaded weight: 560 lb (253.9 kg)
- Powerplant: 1× Heath-Henderson B-4 (25 hp) , 25 hp ()
Performance
- Maximum speed: 112 kmh (70 mph)
- Cruise speed: 90 kmh (56 mph)
- Rate of climb: 500 ft/min (152 m/min)
- Wing loading: 5.2 lb/ft² ()
See also
Related lists
Lists relating to aviation | |
|---|---|
| General | Timeline of aviation · Aircraft · Aircraft manufacturers · Aircraft engines · Aircraft engine manufacturers · Airports · Airlines |
| Military | Air forces · Aircraft weapons · Missiles · Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) · Experimental aircraft |
| Notable incidents and accidents | Military aviation · Airliners · General aviation · Famous aviation-related deaths |
| Records | Flight airspeed record · Flight distance record · Flight altitude record · Flight endurance record · Most produced aircraft |
Video links
Robert Padget's Parasol on Facebook
Construction drawings
Portal de Aviación Ultraligera
References
- 1929 Flying and Glider Manual
- Sport Flying Quarterly, Vol.9 No.7, 1975, pp 54-63.
External links
- LNB-4
- http://www.jimforeman.com/Stories/heath.htm The Heath Story
- http://www.maam.org/aircraft/lna40.html LNA-4
- http://www.airminded.net/heath/heath.html Various models
- http://www.sun-n-fun.org/content/interior.asp?section=museum&body=planes/heathsuperparasolv V Parasol
Lists relating to aviation | |
|---|---|
| General | Timeline of aviation · Aircraft · Aircraft manufacturers · Aircraft engines · Aircraft engine manufacturers · Airports · Airlines |
| Military | Air forces · Aircraft weapons · Missiles · Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) · Experimental aircraft |
| Notable incidents and accidents | Military aviation · Airliners · General aviation · Famous aviation-related deaths |
| Records | Flight airspeed record · Flight distance record · Flight altitude record · Flight endurance record · Most produced aircraft |
| This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Heath Parasol". |
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