Country of origin:

Australia

Description:

Light sport aircraft

Power Plant:

One 224 kw (300 hp) Mazda 13B dual-rotor rotary turbocharged engine

Specifications:

History:

The Pegasus Aircar was designed by Mr Raymond Tolhurst of Pegasus Aerocars Design Australia Pty Ltd, and was built by his company, Composite Engineering at Camden, NSW in the 1990s as an all-composite light aircraft seating two. It was powered by a fuel-injected turbocharged Mazda rotary engine from an RX-7 motor vehicle driving a four-speed automatic transmission when used as a motor vehicle. During its development in 1995 the proof of concept vehicle was conveyed to Victoria and placed on display at the Australian International Airshow at Avalon, VIC.

The design had removable wings so it could be used on the highway and a prototype was close to completion but never flown. Some ground testing took place and development of the design got as far as the Mk 4A stage. However, because of more pressing work, the design was not proceeded with at that time and the machine was eventually cut up and dumped.

Composite Engineering has also been involved in the design and development of further aircraft, including the Stingray and the Hammer Head, both of which were also not completed. The designer anticipated further development of the design in the future, and commenced design and development of a gyrocopter and a helicopter.

The basic design of the Aircar was for an aeroplane to cover long distances in the shortest time; and then perform as a highway vehicle. It was a vehicle able to be converted to operate as a fixed wing aeroplane or as an automobile, comprising a body having a passenger compartment shaped to produce lift when it is in flight, ie the lifting body concept. The use of the lifting body as a fuselage or passenger compartment allowed the size of the detachable lifting surfaces to be smaller and thus able to be stored internally in the fuselage when it is used as a motor vehicle. The fuselage was of welded steel space frame with carbon fibre composite panels, the suspension being modified from a Citroen system. Steering was to be recirculating ball.

The machine was a vehicle with two tandem wings mounted on each side of the fuselage / body to produce lift and control the vehicle’s pitch, roll and trim when it would be in flight by pivoting about their respective main spars. The rear bumper bar was the door to the wings storage box, both front and rear bumpers being integral parts of the automobile body shape, reducing aerodynamic drag to a minimum. The major benefit of the tandem-wing was a theoretical 50% reduction in the induced drag and the advantage of the concept was there was no horizontal tail. The vertical tails were fixed on each side of the body with dorsal fin and removable rudders. The twin tails positioned the rudders away from the centreline.

The fuselage was generally rectangular in planform, with four wheel suspension, the two front wheels being steerable in automobile configuration. All wheels were to have disc brakes, hydraulically operated with a dual circuit system, the front discs being ventilated.  The suspension system provided that all four wheels could be partially retracted, the front wheels being partially extended at the moment of take-off in order to tilt the vehicle at the required angle of attack for take-off. Power was provided by a single, mid-mounted engine driving through a gearbox and differential drive to the front wheels, the engine being at the rear and connected to a ducted fan for forward propulsion as an aeroplane.

The ducted fan was to be stopped from rotating when the vehicle operated as an automobile. It was said the advantage of the front-wheel drive was the ability to accelerate the vehicle during the take-off phase and thus reducing the take-off distance. The designer has stated he wishes to continue with the design as time is available to achieve a viable aircraft, as has been attempted overseas on a number of occasions over the years.