Photograph:
Mockup of the Aero-Tec Taipan at Toowoomba, Qld (Author’s collecti0n)
Country of origin:
Australia
Description:
Single-seat light sport aircraft
Power plant:
One 37 kw (50 hp) Fuji 440 Robin two-cylinder engine driving through a 2:3.1 reduction drive
Specifications:
- Wingspan: 8.5 m (27 ft 9 in)
- Length: 5.9 m (19 ft 4 in)
- Max speed: 98 km/h (61 mph)
- Cruising speed: 83 km/h (52 mph)
- Stalling speed: 43 km/h (26 mph)
- Fuel capacity: 30 litres (6.6 Imp gals)
- Range: 450 km (280 miles)
- Empty weight: 120 kg (265 lb)
History:
The Taipan was an ultralight single-seat high performance machine designed and built in the 1980s by Aero-Tec of Toowoomba, Qld, powered by a 37 kw (50 hp) Fuji 440 Robin engine (440 cc) which was a conversion of a Snowmobile engine for aviation use. Designed to ANO 95.55, a prototype was shown to the press in 1984.
The engine had an electric starter and drove a two-blade 1.52 m (60 in) mahogany propeller through a 2:3.1 reduction drive. The aircraft had two vertical tails at the end of twin booms, similar in configuration to the de Havilland Vampire. Standard instrumentation was an ASI, altimeter, tachometer, cylinder head temperature, fuel and amp meter. The cockpit was fully enclosed. It had a tricycle undercarriage, brakes on the main wheels, and a steerable nose wheel. It does not seem like the aircraft was put into production and the ultimate fate of the prototype is not known.