Photograph:
Stoddard Hamilton Glastar VH-RYR (c/n Q244) at Narromine, NSW in September 2012 (David C Eyre)
Country of origin:
United States of America
Description:
Two-seat training and sport monoplane
Power Plant:
One 93 kw (125 hp) Teledyne-Continental IO-240 four-cylinder horizontally-opposed air-cooled engine
Specifications:
- Wingspan: 10.67 m (35 ft)
- Length: 6.78 m (22 ft 3 in)
- Height (tricycle undercarriage): 2.77 m (9 ft 1 in)
- Wing area: 11.89 m² (128 sq ft)
- Max speed: 268 km/h (161 mph)
- Cruising speed: 235 km/h (146 mph)
- Stalling speed flaps down: 73 km/h (45 mph)
- Max rate of climb at sea level: 610 m/min (2,000 ft/min)
- Range with max fuel: 1,366 km (849 miles)
- Service ceiling: 5,182 m (17,000 ft)
- Fuel capacity standard: 104 litres (23 Imp gals)
- Empty weight: 499 kg (1,100 lb)
- Useful load: 345 kg (760 lb)
- Loaded weight: 861 kg (1,900 lb)
History:
A further design by the Stoddard Hamilton organisation at Arlington, Washington, like the Glasair the GlaStar has been produced in kit form and has become very popular, providing good performance on the power available. The prototype GlaStar (N824G) flew for the first time on 29 November 1994 powered by a fuel-injected 93 kw (125 hp) Continental IO-240 engine, and kits were soon made available to amateur builders, orders being received for 250 examples by the end of 1995.
The GlaStar could be fitted with engines in the 93 kw (125 hp) to 119 kw (160 hp) range, the Textron Lycoming O-320 being the most common used, but a number have been fitted with the Lycoming O-360 unit and the newer O-390. It could be be fitted with a tailwheel or tricycle undercarriage, and had folding wings and removable horizontal tail surfaces for compact hangarage, or for trailering. Normal fuel capacity was 129 litres (28.3 Imp gals), but optional auxiliary tanks allowed for a further 76 litres (16.7 Imp gals). Baggage capacity was 91 kg (200 lb).
The wings and tail group were all-metal with an outer composite shell. The cockpit area was of metal tube with the fuselage being composite shells laminated together and bolted to the metal cage. The GlaStar could be fitted with Wipline 2100 amphibious floats, with which it cruised at 196 km/h (122 mph). When fitted with a 134 kw (180 hp) Lycoming O-360 engine, the tricycle undercarriage variant cruised at 267 km/h (166 mph). One engine tested was the 127 kw (170 hp) MDB/Daetwyler liquid-cooled unit; in Europe a 119 kw (160 hp) NSI EJ-22 Subaru Liberty based unit has been installed, this engine featuring fuel injection and dual ignition; and a 145 kw (195 hp) variant is said to be also available.
In 2004 a new model of the GlaStar, and new variants known as the Swiftsure and GlaStar Sportsman, were released, seating two-plus-two, being available with Montana amphibious floats, and having an increased gross weight of 1,134 kg (2,500 lb). The Sportsman with two pilots and a full fuel load was able to carry 136 kg (300 lb) of cargo or extra passengers and had a 134 kw (180 hp) Lycoming O-360 engine with a constant-speed propeller. One in the United States was modified to take a 119 kw (160 hp) Czech Republic LOM engine, a company in California marketing the firewall-forward package. One (N160FM) flew across the Atlantic Ocean from Oshkosh in Wisconsin to attend an aviation event in Berlin, Germany.
A variant was built in Germany and was known as the OMF-160 Symphony, the first of which (D-ENVG) made its debut at an airshow in Berlin in May 2000. It was a re-designed, factory-built, variant of the kitplane. The company was based in Trollenhagen. It bought certification rights to the GlaStar and held European marketing rights for the kitplane under the name Aerokits. Improvements included structural strengthening, a welded tube fuselage frame with fibreglass skins and aluminium flying surfaces, a wing-folding mechanism for hangarage and road towing.
Stoddard Hamilton went into liquidation for a period but was bought out by Thomas W Wathen, owner of Flabob Airport in California. The Company’s series of aircraft was placed back into production with new models being developed, the type being then marketed by New GlaStar, later becoming Glasair Aviation.
First of the type completed in this region became VH-FUT (c/n 376) in 1998, visiting the Sports Aircraft Association Fly-in at Mangalore, VIC at Easter. Others have been completed or are under construction, including VH-RYR (c/n Q244), VH-SGC (c/n Q197), VH-ROP (c/n N384), VH-NUM (c/n W275), VH-ZIT (c/n W272), VH-MSK (c/n V321), VH-BAQ (c/n V373), VH-MED (c/n 5157), VH-MCH (c/n 5440), VH-JJE (c/n 5767), and VH-JJR (c/n 5594) etc.
Examples completed in New Zealand include ZK-MPO (c/n 5843), ZK-NMG (c/n 5591) and ZK-PCW (c/n 5437).