ARV Super2
| Super2 | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Role | Light Aircraft |
| National origin | Great Britain |
| Manufacturer | ARV |
| Designer | Bruce Giddings |
| First flight | 11 March 1985 |
| Status | Production discontinued |
| Number built | about 35 |
The ARV Super2 is a British two-seat, strut-braced, shoulder wing, tricycle landing gear light aircraft designed by Bruce Giddings.[1] Available either factory-built or as a kit, it was intended to be both a cost-effective trainer[2] and an affordable aircraft for private owners.[3] Later called the "Opus", it gained US Federal Aviation Administration Light-sport aircraft approval in February 2008.[4][5]
About 35[6] aircraft were produced in the 1980s before the Isle of Wight-based company went into liquidation.[7] Subsequently there have been a number of attempts to restart production, all unsuccessful, of which the most recent was by Opus Aircraft. In November 2013, Opus Aircraft announced that its assets had been auctioned off successfully, adding: "We hope to see our plans continued and to see the all-aluminum plane flying by 2015".[8][9]
Contents
Design and development
Richard Noble, the world 1983 land speed record holder and UK entrepreneur, identified a gap in the market for a low-cost lightweight two-seat trainer, after expensive product-liability lawsuits in the USA had driven the major American general aviation manufacturers temporarily to abandon production of such aircraft. Noble established a factory at Sandown on the Isle of Wight to build the ARV Super2 aircraft, with the first prototype flying on 11 March 1985.[10] The factory used some novel manufacturing techniques, including British ALCAN's "Supral"[11] (a superplastic aluminium alloy), adhesives (to reduce rivet count and save weight), and a bespoke new British engine, the Hewland AE75. These innovations gave the ARV an empty weight 40% lower than the Cessna 152,[12] making the Super2 both cheaper to buy and to operate. The manufacturer claimed it could reduce pilot training costs by 25%[2]
The ARV Super2 is a side-by-side configuration two-seater with a shoulder wing for improved visibility.[11] The wing is swept forward 5° to maintain correct center of gravity balance.[11] The wing area is a small 92 sq ft (8.5 m2), giving a wing loading of 11.9 lb/ft² (58.1 kg/m²).[11] The forward sweep may also promote a spanwise airflow inwards towards the root, thereby reducing the likelihood of a wingtip stall. The ARV's tapered fibreglass wingtips help to reduce drag from wingtip vortices.
The ARV is constructed mainly of aluminium alloy, with fibreglass wingtips, cowlings and canopy frame.[2][13] The cockpit is a stiff monocoque of "Supral" alloy for lightness and improved crash protection. Aft of the cockpit bulkhead, the ARV is conventionally built, with frames, longerons and a stressed skin forming a semi-monocoque. Skin sections are both glued and riveted. The aircraft has twin control sticks, and all controls are pushrod, except the rudder, which is cable-linked. Both flaps and trim are mechanically operated. The rudder pedals control a steerable nosewheel, but the hand-operated disc brakes are not differential and do not contribute to steering.[11]
The AE75 engine, a 49 kg (108 lb)[13]75 hp (56 kW)[2] inverted three-cylinder water-cooled two-stroke unit with dual ignition and a 2.7:1 reduction gearbox,[14] was specially developed for the ARV by Hewland from their existing two-cylinder microlight engine. The AE75 engine has a TBO of only 800 hours, and, in the absence of continuing factory support, many ARVs have had their AE75s replaced with engines such as the Rotax 912,[15] the Rotax 914,[16][17] or the Jabiru 2200.[18] Three ARVs were originally manufactured with the MidWest twin-rotor wankel engine.[19][20][21][22]
The Super2 gained airworthiness certification in July 1986,[10] and soon after entered production. In November 1985, Noble had reached an agreement to supply ARV parts to Canada's Instar Aviation, where the aircraft was intended to be assembled for the North American market. Transport Canada had agreed to certify the aircraft based on it "meeting UK criteria", but in the end these Canadian production plans came to nothing.[23]
Originally, ARVs were available either as kit-built aircraft (subject to PFA Permit), or factory built (and subject to the CAA Certificate of Airworthiness). In the spring of 1990 Aviation Scotland Limited was to restart production and in 1993 that company intended to set up another facility in Sweden to build ARVs.[24] In the late 1990s the aircraft was sold in kit form in the USA as the Highlander by Highlander Aircraft Corporation of Golden Valley, Minnesota.[24]
In 2004, the CAA reclassified all ARVs as PFA (now LAA) Permit aircraft. The ARV Super2 was originally intended to be aerobatic, but the Isle of Wight factory closed before CAA clearance was obtained, so aerobatics remain prohibited. Also, the factory had planned to develop a four-seater version, wing-tip tanks and floats.[25]
Opus Aircraft upgraded some specifications for the aircraft, increasing the Vne to 134 kn (248 km/h) and increasing the gross weight to 1,168 lb (530 kg). The company intended to equip the aircraft with the Rotax 912UL or 912A of 80 hp (60 kW).[26]
Production history
The ARV Super2 has had an interrupted production history, with a number of successive companies producing 40 aircraft in total.[27]
Shortly after initial aircraft deliveries began, there were a number of forced landings. These were due to gearbox failures induced by propeller vibration, and in November 1987 the CAA grounded the aircraft.[28] Although these problems were quickly resolved, the aircraft's reputation suffered.[29] Buyers and investors lost confidence, leading to the closure of the Isle of Wight factory and the company was forced into administration. This resulted in a management buyout and the company being renamed Island Aircraft.[30] Some 30 or so aircraft were completed by ARV and then by Island Aircraft at Sandown. Production was then transferred first to Scotland and then to Sweden, where the ARV was renamed the "Opus 280",[31][32] However, no aircraft were produced in Sweden before the proprietors went bankrupt in 1995.[33] After yet another unsuccessful attempt to restart production in Ohio, USA, all manufacturing rights (plus a selection of aircraft parts) were sold to a new consortium, "Opus Aircraft".[34] Opus Aircraft established a factory at Rockingham, near Stoneville, North Carolina,[35][36] and in February 2008, the "Opus Super 2" was granted FAA Light Sport Aircraft approval.[7] The factory produced an "Opus Super 2" prototype, but the proposed resumption of production never occurred.[35] The company, valued at US$8M, was offered for sale for US$2.9M, and in October 2013 the company was successfully bought at auction.[7][8][9][35][37][38] No further restart of production has materialized.
Operational history
After initial production commenced at least two flying schools adopted the ARV, but today most Super2s in the UK are flown privately.[39][40][41]
The ARV Super2 has received favourable reviews which describe it as an aircraft with excellent visibility that is pleasant to fly.[42] The small wing area and the fairly high wing loading, produces handling that is responsive but stable.[43]
The Hewland AE75 engine has a life of 800 hours, after which time alternative engines are installed. Replacement engines have all been heavier than the 49 kg (108 lb) original, needing a lead counterweight in the tail to maintain balance. The empenage is short-coupled and its area is a little marginal for the landing flare, so flaring with a stopped engine might prove difficult.[44]
Recent modification proposals have included fuel-injection systems, ground-adjustable propellers, tundra tyres and vortex generators.[45]
Specifications (ARV Super 2)
Data from Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1988-89 [10]
General characteristics
- Crew: Two
- Length: 5.49 m (18 ft 0 in)
- Wingspan: 8.69 m (28 ft 6 in)
- Height: 2.31 m (7 ft 7 in)
- Wing area: 8.59 m² (92.5 ft²)
- Airfoil: NACA 2415 (modified)
- Empty weight: 306 kg (675 lb)
- Max. takeoff weight: 499 kg (1,100 lb)
- Powerplant: 1 × Hewland AE75 3-cylinder liquid-cooled inline engine, 57 kW (77 hp)
Performance
- Never exceed speed: 232 km/h (126 knots, 149 mph)
- Maximum speed: 190 km/h (103 knots, 118 mph) at 610 m (2,000 ft)
- Cruise speed: 153 km/h (83 knots, 95 mph) (econ cruise)
- Stall speed: 88 km/h (48 knots, 55 mph)
- Range: 500 km (270 NM, 311 mi)
- Service ceiling: m (ft)
- Rate of climb: 3.2 m/s (620 ft/min)
- Wing loading: 58.1 kg/m² (11.9 lb/ft²)
- Power/mass: 0.11 kW/kg (0.07 hp/lb)
See also
- Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era
References
Notes
<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />
Cite error: Invalid <references> tag; parameter "group" is allowed only.
<references />, or <references group="..." />Bibliography
- "Engine troubles grounds ARV Super 2", Flight International, 14 November 1987. p. 16.
- "Sweden helps ARV Super 2 to live again". Flight International, 11–17 August 1993. p. 24.
- Blech, Robin. "Super 2 Comes of Age". Flight International, 13 September 1985. pp. 48–52.
- Blech, Robin. "Super 2 - back from the brink". Flight International, 20 May 1989. pp. 92–94.
- Daly, Kieran. "Light Work". Flight International, 21–27 September 1994. p. 30.
- Green, William: Observers Aircraft. Frederick Warne Publishing, 1987. ISBN 0-7232-3458-2.
- "New UK trainer aims to break US mould". Flight International, 6 April 1985, Vol. 127, No. 3954. pp. 13–14.
- Taylor, John W.R., ed. Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1988-89. Coulsden, Surrey, UK: Jane's Information Group, 1988. ISBN 0-7106-0867-5.
External links
- ↑ "Pilot" magazine, June 1985 page 6
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Green 1987, pp 26-27
- ↑ Flight International 6 April 1985, pp. 13–14.
- ↑ Johnson, Dan (2102), Opus Aircraft LLC, retrieved 17 March 2012
- ↑ Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12, page 67. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ISSN 1368-485X
- ↑ Moss, Roger (January 2010), ARV2, retrieved 17 March 2012
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 OPUS ARV Super 2 (United States), Aircraft - Fixed-wing - Civil. Jane's.com. Jane's Information Group. 19 February 2010. Retrieved 9 September 2010.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Taylor 1988, p.279.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 "Pilot" magazine February 1986 pages 32-33
- ↑ Blech 1986, p.47.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Pilot" magazine, June 1985 pages 5-6
- ↑ "Air Pictorial" magazine April 1986
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Civil Aviation Authority (United Kingdom), GINFO Search Results, retrieved 15 December 14
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ "Pilot" magazine April 1994 page 22
- ↑ "Canadian Aviation" magazine December 1986
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 Purdy, Don: AeroCrafter - Homebuilt Aircraft Sourcebook, Fifth Edition, page 174. BAI Communications, 15 July 1998. ISBN 0-9636409-4-1
- ↑ "Pilot" magazine February 1996 page 34
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Flight International, 14 November 1987, p.16
- ↑ "Flyer" magazine, February 1994, page 13
- ↑ Belch 1989, pp. 92-94.
- ↑ Flight International 11–17 August 1993, p.24.
- ↑ Daly 1994, p.30.
- ↑ Flight International. 27 September - 3 October 1995. p.6.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 35.0 35.1 35.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ "Flyer" magazine March 1991 page 12
- ↑ "Pilot" magazine April 2003 page 66
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ "A little sweetheart" in "Flyer" magazine February 1994 page 13
- ↑ "Pilot" magazine April 1994 page 26
- ↑ "Pilot" magazine April 2003 page 65
- ↑ LAA mod nos:10360, 10906, & 12250
