Photograph:
Murphy Super Rebel ZK-MSR (c/n 012SR3) at Raglan, New Zealand in November 2014 (Keith Morris – NZCIVAIR)
Country of origin:
Canada
Description:
Four-seat utility aircraft
Power Plant:
One 186 kw (250 hp) Lycoming O-540-4A5 six-cylinder horizontally-opposed air-cooled engine
Specifications:
- Wingspan: 10.97 m (36 ft)
- Length: 7.01 m (23 ft)
- Height: 2.67 m (8 ft 9 in)
- Wing area: 16.91 m² (182 sq ft)
- Max speed: 284 km/h (177 mph)
- Cruising speed: 233 km/h (145 mph)
- Stalling speed: 65 km/h (40 mph)
- Rate of climb: 351 m/min (1,150 ft/min)
- Service ceiling: 4,575 m (15,000 ft)
- Range: 997 km (620 miles)
- Endurance: 4 hrs 15 mins
- Fuel capacity: 227 litres (50 Imp gals)
- Take-off roll: 168 m (550 ft)
- Landing roll: 140 m (460 ft)
- Empty weight: 771 kg (1,700 lb)
- Useful load: 703 kg (1,550 lb)
- Loaded weight: 1,361 kg (3,000 lb)
History:
The SR2500 Super Rebel was produced as a kit aircraft in Canada by Murphy Aircraft of British Colombia. Kits were sold for a few years but production concluded in 2008. It was designed as a larger four-seat variant of the Rebel and is an all-metal high-wing braced monoplane powered by a Lycoming O-540-4A5 piston engine driving a two-blade constant speed propeller. The prototype was first flown in November 1995 and had a tricycle undercarriage but, in its standard form, the SR2500TD was usually fitted with a tailwheel undercarriage.
As a utility aircraft the rear bench seat could be removed for luggage or freight and a separate baggage door was usually fitted on the port side of the fuselage behind the main door. The SR2500 was aimed at the utility market and could be fitted with engines in the 134 kw to 186 kw (180 hp to 250 hp) range, and could be fitted with optional fuel tanks to increase range to 1,350 km (839 miles).
An example of the SR2500 was imported to New Zealand in late 2013, becoming ZK-MSR (c/n 012SR3 – ex N833Z) to its owners I and P Stephens of Tauranga on 5 October 2017. The aircraft attended a number of aviation events but suffered a landing accident near Papamoa on 8 May 2016. It was struck off the register on 12 September 2017 and was placed in storage pending a rebuild in the future. A new fuselage was imported from the United States and, using components from the original aircraft, a new aircraft was built. This became ZK-MSR² in November 2017, the aircraft receiving a new construction number (c/n 172SR).