Photograph:
Christen Eagle II VH-BOO (c/n V.81) at RAAF Richmond, NSW in 1988 (David C Eyre)
Country of origin:
United States of America
Description:
Two-seat high-performance aerobatic biplane
Power Plant:
One 149 kw (200 hp) Avco Lycoming AEIO-360-A1D four-cylinder horizontally-opposed air-cooled engine
Specifications:
- Wingspan: 6.07 m (19 ft 11 in)
- Length: 5.64 m (18 ft 6 in)
- Height: 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in)
- Wing area: 11.61 m² (125 sq ft)
- Max speed at sea level: 296 km/h (184 mph)
- Max cruising speed at 1,825 m (6,000 ft): 265 km/h (165 mph)
- Economical cruising speed at 1,825 m (6,000 ft): 254 km/h (158 mph)
- Stalling speed: 94 km/h (58 mph)
- Max rate of climb at sea level: 645 m/min (2,120 ft/min)
- Service ceiling: 5,180 m (17,000 ft)
- Range with max fuel and max payload: 611 km (380 miles)
- Empty weight: 476 kg (1,050 lb)
- Loaded weight: 726 kg (1,600 lb)
History:
The Christen Eagle was a high-performance biplane produced in kit form by Christen Industries Inc of Afton in Wyoming, USA. Designed for advanced aerobatic training and comfortable cross-country flying, it was also able to meet the requirements of competition standard aerobatics, having a maximum roll rate of 204 degrees per second, and G limits of +9/-6.
The first model was the Eagle I, a special purpose single-seater followed by the Eagle II, which was aimed at the amateur builder, being supplied in a series of kits each containing 25 parts. In this way one kit at a time could be obtained and a separate portion of the aircraft built, thus spreading the total cost over a period of time.
Initial design work on the Eagle II commenced in June 1974, the prototype being flown for the first time in February 1977. Since then in the order of 1,000 kits have been sold around the world for amateur construction.
The wings were braced biplane type, with steel tube I-type main interplane struts, wooden spars and ribs, metal leading and trailing-edges, and polyester fabric covering. The fuselage was of welded steel tubing with removable alloy panels from the firewall to the back of the rear seat, the remainder of the fuselage being fabric covered.
First of the series in Australasia was an Eagle II, completed in early 1987 by a group at Ballarat VIC, becoming VH-BOO, later becoming VH-BQO (c/n V.81) in December 1989 at Burrendah, WA. This was followed by an Eagle II (also known as a S.2B) VH-ZZZ (c/n 5005) in Sydney, NSW; VH-SUQ (c/n XP-400) at Esk in QLD on 9 July 2012; and VH-ACE6 (c/n PS-1 – ex C-FTIJ) at Luddenham, NSW on 1 December 2017, this aircraft having been imported from the United States earlier that year.