Meyers Midget
| Midget | |
|---|---|
| |
| Role | Single-seat sports biplane |
| National origin | United States of America
|
| Manufacturer | Kreider-Reisner Aircraft Co.
|
| Designer | Charles W. Meyers |
| First flight | 6 September 1926 |
| Number built | 1 |
The Meyers Midget was a one-off small, low-powered, sporting single-seat
Design and development
The Midget was a small, low-powered single-seat
The fuselage construction was also unusual. Birch veneer strips about one third of the depth of the fuselage ran lengthwise, joining birch bulkheads into a girder which was then strengthened with four L-shaped spruce longerons. Stressed longitudinal spruce strips formed rounded upper and lower fuselage surfaces, so that the overall cross-section was roughly oval. A plywood double girder ran centrally along the bottom of the mid-fuselage to the engine bulkhead, forming a mounting for the lower wing pylon, the cockpit and controls and parts of the engine mounting and undercarriage. The fuselage and tail surfaces were fabric covered except for a veneered region around the open cockpit, set under the wing trailing edge. The wide chord fin had a curved leading edge; the two-piece tailplane was fixed to the upper longerons. The control surfaces were unbalanced and had non-rigid trailing edges, the fabric taking up a scalloped shape.[1]
The Midget was powered by an air-cooled 32 hp (24 kW)
The aircraft was constructed by the Kreider-Reisner Aircraft Company.[1] Not to be confused with the Kreider-Reisner A Midget, which was a low-wing monoplane racer.[2]
Operational history
The Midget made its first public appearance and its first flight at the National Air Races held in Philadelphia in September 1926. Despite the lack of preparation it did compete but retired with carburettor problems after seven laps. Speed, climb rate and control response were reportedly good.[1] It was later destroyed in a crash after suffering an engine failure.[3]
Specifications
Data from Flight 1927[1]
General characteristics
- Crew: one
- Length: 13 ft 2 in (4.01 m)
- Upper wingspan: 16 ft 0 in (4.88 m)
- Lower wingspan: 12 ft 0 in (3.66 m)
- Wing area: 70 sq ft (6.5 m2) total; 65% from upper wing
- Airfoil: Meyers M.6
- Empty weight: 304 lb (138 kg)
- Gross weight: 480 lb (218 kg)
- Fuel capacity: 2.5 U.S. gal (2.1 Imp gal, 9.5 L)
- Powerplant: 1 × Bristol Cherub 2-cylinder horizontally opposed air cooled piston engine, 32 hp (24 kW)
- Propellers: 2-bladed Curtis-Reed all metal, 3 ft 1 in (940 mm) pitch, 4 ft 6 in (1.37 m) diameter
Performance
- Maximum speed: 100 mph (160 km/h, 87 kn) approximately