Photograph:
Ganagobie N60G at the EAA Museum at Oshkosh, Wisconsin USA in 1997 (David C Eyre)
Country of origin:
France
Description:
Single-seat light sporting monoplane
Power Plant:
One 54 kw (72 hp) McCulloch 4138A four-cylinder horizontally-opposed two-stroke air-cooled engine
Specifications:
- Wingspan: 7.4 m (24 ft 3 in)
- Length: 4.92 m (16 ft 1 in)
- Wing area: 8.57 m² (92.12 sq ft)
- Max speed: 182 km/h (113 mph)
- Cruising speed: 161 km/h (100 mph)
- Stalling speed: 76 km/h (47 mph)
- Rate of climb: 305 m/min (1,000 ft/min)
- Service ceiling: 3,048 m (10,000 ft)
- Take-off distance: 150 m (492 ft)
- Landing distance: 137 m (449 ft)
- Fuel capacity: 69 litres (15 Imp gals)
- Empty weight: 286 kg (630 lb)
- Loaded weight: 363 kg (800 lb)
History:
In 1953 the Lobert brothers, William and James, decided to design and build their own aircraft and this machine (F-WECC) became known as the Lobert 01, flying for the first time at Lille in France in 1953. It was powered by a 11.9 kw (16 hp) Clerget four stroke engine which weighed 22 kg (48 lb). However, this engine was not particularly suitable and, as no other engine was available, the aircraft was placed in storage.
In 1955 a Canadian engineer, George Jacquemin, had discussions with the Lobert brothers about re-engineering the aircraft to take a 54 kw (72 hp) McCulloch two-stroke engine and this lead to the airframe being increased in size. The first of the new model was built in Toronto and became known as the Ganagobie 02. Initial engine fitted was in fact a 26 kw (35 hp) Poinsard two-cylinder unit but this failed. A couple were built by amateur builders and one flew in Alberta, Canada with a McCulloch engine and became known as the Ganagobie 03. Another fitted with a Continental A-40 engine in Oregon became known as the Ganagobie 04, and yet another completed in Canada was fitted with a Volkswagen conversion (1600 cc). In more recent times examples have been fitted with the Limbach SL (1700 cc) engine.
James Lobert emigrated to Australia in 1969 and in 1971 re-designed the aircraft. The first of this model was built in Australia and was shipped to New Zealand for completion but it seems was never completed. In 1999 James Lobert moved to New Zealand and took up residence at Waihi Beach and in November 1999 began work on the Ganagobie Mousebird. Two new designs were produced, the single-seat Mousebird and the two-seat Bushbird. Some testing was performed on a quarter scale radio-control model of the Bushbird.
The line of aircraft is built around a distinct diamond shape fuselage and they are all high-wing strut-braced machines. It was of all wood construction. At one stage in the late 1990s construction commenced of a small batch of Ganagobies at Camden, NSW but the aircraft were later moved to another site for completion. One machine known to be airworthy in recent years is ZK-JLO (c/n JL-0100).