Country of origin:

New Zealand

Description:

Single-seat light sporting monoplane

Power Plant:

One 31 kw (41 hp) Rotax 447 UL-2V two-cylinder two-stroke, fan-cooled single electronic ignition engine

Specifications:

History:

The McNair Mynah was an ultralight designed by Wallace McNair and built in Auckland, New Zealand in the mid 1980s. Its construction was along the lines of the Lincoln Sport. It was a biplane with three axis control and was unique for the time in having a folding fuselage for storage purposes. The prototype was built and flown in about 1986 and a production line was laid down at that time for six aircraft.

Reports indicate that an Austrian, Mr M de Pischoff sought to create a personalised private aeroplane which was of simplistic design, the fuselage being a two-dimensional frame similar to a bicycle with the pilot mounted on the airframe. It became known as the Bicyclette de Pischoff. It was powered by a two-cylinder horizontally-opposed engine which provided 7.5 kw (10 hp). It seems the aircraft was flown across the English Channel by Lucien Battini in a time of 4 hours and 20 mins and is said to have reached a height of 1,676 m (5,500 ft).

Later Mr de Pischoff was killed when flying the aircraft near Chatenay-Malabry in Hauts-de-Seine when he fell from the aircraft in gusty conditions, not wearing a seat-belt at the time.  In the 1980s Robert McNair decided to build an example, using the basic design of Mr de Pischoff but carrying out some redesign, one change involving the leading edge of the wing passing through the axle of the undercarriage. The new design became known as the McNair Mynah I and a number of kits were supplied to potential builders.

It is believed five were completed and flown. Examples remain on the NZ civil aircraft register, including ZK-FQU (c/n 003/MAANZ/403) registered in April 1988 and based in the Taupiri area and ZK-FSR (c/n 002) at Waitakere. One example was imported to Australia and was based in Queensland, operating under RAA Regulations. A number of engines could be installed, including the Rotax 447, Rotax 503, two-cylinder half-Volkswagen conversion, and the Komatsu Zenoah which provided 30 kw (40 hp).

Other Mynahs built included ZK-FWT (c/n 001/MAANZ/450) registered in October 1990, this aircraft being described as a Skylight Mynah 2 and being the only two-seat variant; and ZK-FQV (c/n 003/MAANZ/404) registered in April 1988 and withdrawn from service at Hamilton in July 1998. Three are known to have been airworthy in November 2013. Other examples completed were ZK-FKI (c/n MAANZ 303) registered in December 1984 but destroyed at Taupiri on 30 August 1985 and ZK-FOA (c/n MAANZ 382) registered in May 1987.

In recent years one un-built kit survived with Mr McNair. His son, Louis, completed this aircraft. It was flown and demonstrated to the public at the Classic Fighters meeting at Omaka, NZ in April 2017, at the time carrying registration ZK-FQU.