Air Command Commander 147A
{{Short description|American homebuilt autogyro}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2022}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2022}}
| {{Infobox aircraft begin
| name=Commander 147A | image= | caption= }}{{Infobox aircraft type | type=Autogyro | national origin=United States | manufacturer=Air Command International | designer= | first flight= | introduced= | retired= | status=Production completed | primary user= | more users= | produced= | number built= one | developed from= | variants with their own articles= }} |
The Air Command Commander 147A was an American autogyro that was designed and produced by Air Command International when it was located in Wylie, Texas. Now out of production, the aircraft was intended to be supplied as a kit for amateur construction.Purdy, Don: AeroCrafter - Homebuilt Aircraft Sourcebook, Fifth Edition, page 316. BAI Communications, 15 July 1998. {{ISBN|0-9636409-4-1}}
The only example known to have been registered with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was the factory prototype, which was destroyed in a fatal test flight crash in Caddo Mills, Texas in July 1998.{{cite web|url = http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=147GY|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180509013106/http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=147GY|url-status = dead|archive-date = May 9, 2018|title = N-Number Inquiry Results N147GY|accessdate = 8 May 2018|last = Federal Aviation Administration|date = 8 May 2018}}{{cite web|url = http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/AcftRef_Results.aspx?Mfrtxt=&Modeltxt=147A&PageNo=1|title = Make / Model Inquiry Results - Model "147A"|accessdate = 8 May 2018|last = Federal Aviation Administration|date = 8 May 2018|archive-date = March 5, 2016|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160305015757/http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/AcftRef_Results.aspx?Mfrtxt=&Modeltxt=147A&PageNo=1|url-status = dead}}{{cite web|url=https://app.ntsb.gov/pdfgenerator/ReportGeneratorFile.ashx?EventID=20001211X10556&AKey=1&RType=Final&IType=FA |title=NTSB Aviation Accident Final Report FTW98FA310 |publisher=National Transportation Safety Board|accessdate= 8 May 2018}}
Design and development
The Commander 147A was designed to comply with the US homebuilt aircraft rules. It featured a Skywheels single main rotor, a two-seats-in side-by-side configuration enclosed cockpit, tricycle landing gear with wheel pants, plus a small tail caster and a Mazda 13B Wankel engine {{convert|160|hp|kW|0|abbr=on}} engine in pusher configuration.
The aircraft fuselage was made from bolted-together aluminum tubing with a fiberglass fairing. Its two-bladed rotor had a diameter of {{convert|31.00|ft|m|1|abbr=on}}. The aircraft had a standard empty weight of {{convert|700|lb|kg|0|abbr=on}} and a gross weight of {{convert|1500|lb|kg|0|abbr=on}}, giving a useful load of {{convert|800|lb|kg|0|abbr=on}}.
Factory options included a long-range fuel tank, electric trim and a main rotor pre-rotator.
Operational history
The factory prototype, serial number 001, registration number N147GY, suffered a loss of rotor RPM while maneuvering over a runway at Caddo Mills Municipal Airport during a factory test flight on 15 July 1998. The rotor blades struck the tail boom, and the aircraft descended and impacted the ground in a nose-low attitude. A post-crash fire consumed the main wreckage, and the pilot, who was the sole occupant, was killed. The accident was attributed to "the pilot's failure to maintain rotor rpm while maneuvering, which resulted in the main rotor blades contacting the tail section of the gyroplane."
By May 2018, no examples were registered in the United States, with only N147GY listed as having been registered at one time; it is listed as "destroyed".
Specifications (Commander 147A)
{{Aircraft specs
|prime units?=imp
|genhide=
|crew=one
|capacity=one passenger
|length m=
|length ft=14
|length in=0
|length note=
|width m=
|width ft=
|width in=
|width note=
|height m=
|height ft=
|height in=
|height note=
|airfoil=
|empty weight kg=
|empty weight lb=700
|empty weight note=
|gross weight kg=
|gross weight lb=1500
|gross weight note=
|fuel capacity=
|more general=
|eng1 number=1
|eng1 name=Mazda 13B
|eng1 type= Wankel engine automotive engine
|eng1 kw=
|eng1 hp=160
|prop blade number=2
|prop name=Warp Drive Inc ground adjustable pitch
|prop dia m=
|prop dia ft=5
|prop dia in=8
|prop dia note=
|rot number=1
|rot dia m=
|rot dia ft=31
|rot dia in=0
|rot area sqm=
|rot area sqft=754
|rot area note=
|perfhide=
|max speed kmh=
|max speed mph=120
|max speed kts=
|max speed note=
|cruise speed kmh=
|cruise speed mph=85
|cruise speed kts=
|cruise speed note=
|never exceed speed kmh=
|never exceed speed mph=
|never exceed speed kts=
|never exceed speed note=
|range km=
|range miles=
|range nmi=
|range note=
|endurance=
|ceiling m=
|ceiling ft=
|ceiling note=
|g limits=
|roll rate=
|glide ratio=
|climb rate ms=
|climb rate ftmin=
|climb rate note=
|time to altitude=
|disk loading kg/m2=
|disk loading lb/sqft=1.98
|disk loading note=
|fuel consumption kg/km=
|fuel consumption lb/mi=
|power/mass=
|thrust/weight=
|more performance=
|avionics=
}}
See also
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.abpic.co.uk/images/images/1124290M.jpg Photo of an Air Command Commander 147A]
{{Air Command International aircraft}}
Category:1990s United States sport aircraft
Category:1990s United States civil utility aircraft