Country of origin:

United States of America

Description:

Four-seat high-wing touring cabin monoplane

Power Plant:

One 134 kw (180 hp) Lycoming O-360-A1A four-cylinder horizontally-opposed air-cooled engine

Specifications:

The AeroComp Air 4, also known as the “Comp Monster”, was one of a series of kit built aircraft produced by AeroComp Inc of Merritt Island, Florida, USA which was formed in 1993 initially to build floats for seaplanes. It was a four-seat aircraft of composite construction, carbon and Kevlar reinforcement, which could be fitted with a range of engines from 93 kw (125 hp) to 186 kw (250 hp). It could be fitted with wheels or amphibious floats.

More than 100 kits have been sold and a number have been completed, mainly in Canada and the United States. It was said to be an “easy-to-assemble kit using space-age composite materials to achieve a strong, light-weight structure. Once bonded together, the fuselage becomes a single composite structure, much stronger and more durable than metals, tube or fabric, or wooden structures”.

The prototype of the series was initially powered by an 82 kw (110 hp) Hirth F-30 four-cylinder engine but after some testing this was replaced by a 134 kw (180 hp) O-350-A1A engine from a Cessna Cardinal. The aircraft was first shown at Oshkosh, Wisconsin in 1995. It then became known as the “Comp Monster”. Models available included the 150G with a 112 kw (150 hp) Textron Lycoming O-320 engine; the 180G with a 134 kw (180 hp) Textron Lycoming O-360; and the 180SF, which was a float equipped variant of the 180G. Another variant was the Comp Air 6 which was described as a four-seater with room for two children, or a four-seater with full fuel and baggage, and was powered by engines in the 164 kw to 224 kw (220 hp to 300 hp) range. The Comp Air 7 was similar to the latter but was fitted with a Walter M601D turboprop.

The first of the type to be imported to Australasia was reported to be built by Mr Grant Farrows. This aircraft, which it was reported was to become VH-WET7, was built by Mr Farrows with the aid of CompAir during trips to the United States at the Company’s facility and was to be flown for the first time in mid-2010 in Florida before being dismantled and shipped to Australia. This aircraft was to be fitted with amphibious floats. However, by 2019 the aircraft was not known to have been imported.

The registration VH-WET has been allotted a number of times over the years. First aircraft with the registration VH-WET¹ was a de Havilland DH-82 Tiger Moth;  followed by VH-WET², a Cessna A-185A floatplane, VH-WET³ a Grumman Widgeon amphibian, VH-WET4 was a Republic Seabee amphibian, VH-WET5 was a Rotorway A-600 Talon helicopter. and VH-WET6 a Rans S-7S Courier which was registered in 2013, the registration of which was still current in early 2020.