Rohr 2-175 – Aircraft of the Month

I found this Gem on the Cancelled Aircraft Facebook group

very limited information exist on the aircraft, it was a 2 seat delta wing with a fan pusher configuration from the mid 1970’s

Only 2-3 protypes where built before the project ran out of money.

Beyond the out of funds issue, it looks like a real clean design and if the construction & flight qualities where really dialed in it would have likely done well.

The folding wings & tail would have been a huge selling point.

Looks like it could be a real speed demon.

There is a good history written up on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/WeirdWings/comments/dsw64v/rohr_2175_fan_jet_a_ducted_fan_delta_wing/

There is an out of print book about the 2-175 that may come up on e-bay or if you setup some kind of notified search.

Working in aircraft propulsion most of my career for the 1970’s era, a conventional pusher setup like a Long Eze would have done better, I do see a little bit of 737 Max contentions at play with the ducted fan its a much smaller diameter than a conventional prop, this gives it centerline thrust and very short landing gear. In the modern era there are some gas turbines that would likely do well with this configuration. Taking on a unique engine and airframe at the same time is a game of many will enter, few will win.

While a pusher can offer better visibility and “ramp apeal” a tractor configuration usually wins out in the end as most aircraft regardless of configuration need concentrated mass in the nose, not the tail and Tractor aircraft are way better at cooling particularly on the ground. With a Nose wheel configuration, a prop strike is not a factor like it is on a pusher. And like in cars an engine in the front usually provides better crash protection than an engine in the rear.

With this in mind the Dyke Delta 9/19 aircraft of the month, & Verhees D-Plane 12/23 aircraft of the month have lived on still flying today in several flying examples both have conventional tractor configurations

There are some YouTube videos on the 2-175

1st one wont let me embed it but you can click the watch on youtube link in the screen

I know from RC aircraft that delta wing aircraft if designed correctly can be Steller performers with a very high strength to weight ratio structure due to the short, thick wings. The glide ratio is not as good as a long aspect ratio conventional aircraft and can loose energy in a turn however the natural lighter wing loadings often help mitigate some of these flight qualities.

My original Moth (green) was powered by a Norvel .061 and logged a ton of flight time, it is a very reliable with predictable flight qualities. I had a ridiculous armada of RC planes to chose from with much larger, more advanced back in the day however my Green Moth was usually the go to.

2nd one was the E-Moth (blue) built around the time when 3 phase electric motors and lipo batteries first started becoming common in the mid 2000’s. Electric propulsion is more dialed in now to it would be worth it to try out a 5″ racing drone motor on it.

DCP_3506

This one is the Climax Delta from RCM Plans, it was also another RC aircraft that I racked up alot of time on, featured a K&B engine with a factory tuned pipe

C delta 4

Plans are still available on outerzone = https://outerzone.co.uk/plan_details.asp?ID=5875

Monnett Moni – Aircraft of the Month

The Moni is the precursor to the Sonex line of home built aircraft both designed by John Monnett. 380 kits where shipped during its 1982 – 1986 run. The aircraft was powered by a 30 hp 2 cylinder engine and is a motor glider.

One is on display suspended from the celling at the National Air and Space Museum at Dulles VA, another is on display at the EAA museum in Oshkosh

They show up every now and then at Air Venture and Sun N Fun.

The Xenos motor glider is a modern interpretation of the Moni, with 2 seats and a more capable engine.

More info at: https://www.sonexaircraft.com/xenos/

YouTube has a few Moni videos:

Outerzone has a 40″ 1/8th scale RC version:

https://outerzone.co.uk/plan_details.asp?ID=7595

PL-12 Airtruk AOM update

Update to the August 2019 PL-12 Airtruk – Aircraft of the Month

The original 2019 article did not have any RC options at the time that I could find through normal search sources. Fast forward to 2025 and Outerzone recently published a 60″ span PL-12 by Frank Marcie

https://outerzone.co.uk/plan_details.asp?ID=14531

This gives an RC modeler a huge leg up on making one from scratch.

It’s setup for glow power but can easily be converted to Electric power.

Facebook also has a group dedicated to the aircraft, quite interesting to see the detail photos and stories on this amazing airplane: https://www.facebook.com/groups/124798170867597/

I also created a YouTube Play List for the PA-12 with multiple actual aircraft and RC videos:

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLt7Tz6Li9ADNsRnYeEF-AIuyqexn6fldF&si=lqxLYykq6Moa2X2Y

Porsche Powered Mooney – Aircraft of the Month

While a normal Mooney M20 would be quite a bland aircraft for the list, this one is different. Rather than the “common” engine options this was spiced up with a with a specialty engine from Porsche

Porsche famous for its flat 6 configuration engines spanning decades of production took on a new engine, directly intended at the general aviation market with the PFM 3200. Being developed in the mid 80’s. A few airframes where tried out but the Mooney M20L was the only one with a small production run of 41 units in 1988-1989. Small by car numbers but common in the GA industry. Porsche ran into significant financial troubles in the late 80’s and exited the GA powerplant industry.

I’ve seen one a few times at KAPA centennial before, with its unique pointed nose.

I got to fly a standard issue Mooney once, they where extremely cramped inside but had stunning performance.

An excellent in depth article can be found in: https://www.pca.org/news/porsche-powered-airplane-the-story-of-my-mooney-porsche-pfm

Another: https://newsroom.porsche.com/en/2024/history/porsche-aircraft-engine-pfm-mooney-35243.html

Excessive general aviation law suits of the late 80’s / early 90’s also did not help. Still one what have wondered what could have happened if conditions where more favorable.

Working on Corvair auto to aero engine conversions for WW back in the 2000’s I was amazed at how much push back there is in aviation community for anything Auto going into Aero. Take the identification stickers off the M20 shown in this article to the naysayers and they would likely not have a clue the engines genesis was automotive based. Particularly if you said it was a standard, un modified certified Mooney model.

Quite a few YouTube Videos

With 41 units produced one may come up for sale from time to time but would take a real die hard to take the project on as the PFM 3200 was mostly unique part’s requiring one off custom builds to keep it flying beyond basic M20 airframe hardware.

No true M20 plan hits on outerzone for an RC option.

Amazon does have a few generic Mooney options

Mooney M20 Typography Airplane Art History Pilot T-Shirt Premium T-Shirt

Orldit Mooney Aircraft Flag Men's 170g Combed Cotton Short Sleeve T-Shirt

Orldit Mooney Aircraft Hat Adjustable Baseball Cap Cotton Cowboy Hat, Fashionable for Man Woman

Mooney Parking Only All Others Will Be Towed Plane Jet Pilot Aircraft Novelty Garage Wall Decor Aluminum 8"x12" Sign Plate

Mooney Airplane Wood Model

#AM

Wing D-1 Derringer – Aircraft of the Month

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An interesting find the D-1 can be quite the rare site with only 12 built and 9 still registered as of 2009. It was designed by John Thorp famous for being the lead on the preliminary design team for the T-16 / PA-28 for Piper and the Thorp T-18 kit-plane. The prototype was originally powered by O-200 engines but where later upgraded to more powerful IO-320′s.

It’s quite the good looking twin but due to many factors it was not produced in mass.

YouTube videos are very limited, here are a few I found:

x-plane has a download for the D-1

https://forums.x-plane.org/files/file/39264-wing-aircraft-co-d-1-derringer/

No Dice for RC options on Outerzone, surprising as it looks like it would be an easy balsa build.

There are 3 other Thorp designs for the T-18 on OZ: https://outerzone.co.uk/search/results.asp?keyword=thorp

ELA 10 Eclipse – Aircraft of the month

This month was kind of a head scratcher to find an aircraft to cover, going back to my LSA Expo 2018 coverage https://gouldaero.com/aviation-events-destinations/florida-events/lsa-expo-2018-sebring/ I came across an auto gyro I took quite a few pictures of, the10 Eclipse by ELA Aviacion ELA is based out of Cordoba Spain selling ready to fly Auto Gyro’s.

This type of Auto Gyro with a 2 blade main rotor and fairly slim profile makes it easy to transport and store in a trailer. The slow flight speeds can open up all kinds of flight adventures.

For the US market see https://elaaviation-us.com/ for details, looks like they are based out of Okeechobee FL

The composites work on this bird was truly impressive and the metallic green color I still remember to this day.

The tandem cockpit was quite ergonomic

impressive looking tail feathers

2 Blade main mast

Show special price and build sheet, good thing I took this photo to get the name of the aircraft.

Quite a few YouTube videos on the 10 Eclipse:

I could find no RC options for the 10 Eclipse, in fact RC auto gyros are very rare, I built a scratch built one around 20 years ago, here it is next to my Century 30 hawk RC Helicopter, It flew well but needed a better rotor system for more durability.

DCP_8473

A few plans options on Outerzone: https://outerzone.co.uk/search/results.asp?keyword=autogyro

one of the few RC turn key Auto Gyro options is the Durafly Auto-G2V2 from Hobby King:

https://hobbyking.com/en_us/durafly-pnf-auto-g2-v2-gyrocopter-w-auto-start-821mm.html

Durafly (PNF) Auto-G2 V2 Gyrocopter w/Auto-Start 821mm

Hipp’s Superbirds J-3 Kitten – Aircraft of the Month

The J-3 Kitten is a cub inspired US Ultralight with an empty weight of under 254 Lbs. It features a single seat and tube and fabric construction. First Flight was in 1986.

Power comes from a Rotax 277 / 28 hp or similar power.

Plans are still available on: https://buildandfly.shop/product/j3-kitten/

The J-3 Kitten has decent YouTube coverage:

For RC options Outerzone has one hit on the search:

https://outerzone.co.uk/plan_details.asp?ID=14993

No hits directly for the J-3 Kitten but plenty for the J3 Cub

J3 Cub Airplane Weathervane

J-3 Cub Airplane “Live to Fly” Vintage Pilot T-shirt T-Shirt

J3 RC Plane, 5 Channel RC Airplane

J-3 Cub Pilot Front with Floats Vinyl Sticker

Sling – High Wing – Aircraft of the Month

The Sling High Wing is a recent E-AB kit plane available from Sling Aircraft. First Flight was at the end of 2020. The first time it actually cut through the noise is when I saw it in a recent Trent Palmer video where N669JP was flying along with Trent’s new Cub on an Idaho adventure. An N number look up let me know the aircraft make & type. Being very familiar with the general Kit Plane offerings this one was rather unique having a slick fuselage, a Tail Wheel configuration and fairly new construction. I knew it was way to big to be a Jabiru and not the right shape to be a Glasair 2+2.

MoJoGrip’s YouTube Channel has been a great ambassador for the Sling TSi where I learned a lot about there low wing aircraft.

The HW is offered in a tail wheel or nose wheel configuration. uses a Rotax 915 iS for power.

Main Web Page: https://slingaircraft.com/aircraft/sling-hw/

Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sling_Aircraft_Sling_HW

Some Additional Articles & Resources:

Quite a few YT videos for the HW:

Beyond what could be offered on the Sling web site I did not see any Books, Models or other Merch related to the aircraft.

Bellanca Viking – Aircraft of the Month

The Bellanca Viking was developed in the late 1960’s and with 1,356 aircraft produced they can still be seen at some airports and there are usually a few at the major air shows. It’s DNA can be trased back to the Cruisair that first flew in the late 1930’s. Production run was 1968 – 1975

I found this great exposed view on the https://aerospaceblog.wordpress.com web site. Much thanks to there information for putting this article together.

While its contemporaries at the time from Piper, Cessna and Beechcraft where all Aluminum, the Viking featured a welded steel tube fuselage, wood wings and fabric covering. Unfortunately wood wings require TLC storage or long term environment to last compared to all Aluminum aircraft that are still flying 6 decades later and are still in production.

Viking’s do come up for sale on the various aviation used aircraft web sites. If you have serious interest in one I highly recommend a prebuy with an A&P with wooden aircraft experience.

Likely because of its lower production numbers & a mid 70’s end of production it seems to have a style that is lost in the see it every day PA-28’s & 172’s.

I found a great historical article on the Viking on the same aerospace blog above beyond the coverage of a wiki page: https://aerospaceblog.wordpress.com/2010/02/16/bellanca-story-viking-17-30/ Its well worth the visit.

Power options looked to always be 500+ cubic inch variants of Continental and Lycoming’s

Ownership of Bellanca has changed hands a few times and has had its share of up and downs but it looks like it still functions today:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AviaBellanca_Aircraft

https://bellancaaircraft.com/

There are a good amount of YouTube videos on the Viking:

The Popular Microsoft Flight sim has a very detailed Viking from Lionheart Creations:

Dedicated web page for the Lionheart Creations Viking: https://lionheartsimulations.com/super_viking.html

The Lionheart Creations Viking 58 page POH pdf for the MS flight sim can be found on: https://downloads.justflight.com/support/manuals/SV_300_Super_Viking_POH.pdf PDF looks like it could offer good pointers on flying the actual thing as it has a very accurate 3D interior with functioning buttons and controls.

Amazon has a few offerings:

Bellanca Viking Service Maintenance Library 17-30a 17-31a 17-31atc

Bellanca Super Viking (Yellow) Custom HD Airplane Parking Sign

Bellanca Turbo Viking (Red/Blue) Airplane Ceramic Mug – Personalized w/N#

Bellanca Super Viking Airplane Custom Throw Pillow Case Stuffed & Sewn

Bellanca Turbo Viking (Brown/Green) T-Shirt – Personalized w/Your N#

I was quite surprised I was not able to find any RC plans on Outerzone for the Viking

With the 3 views below and some additional research it would be quite feasible to get this into CAD for a Scale RC model

Grab Cad does have a 3 View: https://grabcad.com/library/bellanca-super-viking-1

This scan in of an original Viking drawing thanks to the aerospaceblog site listed above.

#AD / #AM

Aura Aero Integral R – Aircraft of the Month

The Integral R is a recent 2 seat acrobatic training aircraft from France. It’s powered by a Lycoming AEIO-390. I think its a fairly sharp looking acrobatic aircraft for a side by side configuration and it reminds me of a CAP 232 also from France. The Integral R is available in a tail draggier and nose wheel config.

Company Web site: https://aura-aero.com/en/integral/integral-r/

AVweb coverage: https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/french-aerobatic-market-entry-has-a-rich-pedigree/

Certification Article: https://www.aerospacetestinginternational.com/news/aura-aero-achieves-certification-of-integral-r-aircraft.html

The aircraft is currently EASA certificated with FAA cert efforts in progress.

With the Integral R being a recently developed production aircraft there is a good amount of YouTube content available.

I was not able to find any Merch or RC options for the Integral R at this time.

Horizon Hobby would be a prime candidate to offer a Foam and Electric scale RC version of the aircraft likely in a popular 1.5M wing span size.