Volmer VJ-24W SunFun
{{Short description|American ultralight aircraft}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2022}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2022}}
| {{Infobox aircraft begin
| name=VJ-24W SunFun | image=Volmer VJ-24 Sunfun at Newark Air Museum.jpg | caption= }}{{Infobox aircraft type | type=Motor glider/Ultralight aircraft | national origin=United States | manufacturer=Volmer Aircraft | designer=Volmer Jensen | first flight= | introduced=1977 | retired= | status= | primary user= | more users= | produced= | number built= | developed from= Volmer VJ-23 Swingwing | variants with their own articles=Delta Sailplane Nomad }} |
The Volmer VJ-24W SunFun is an American high-wing, strut-braced, single-seat, pod-and-boom motor glider and ultralight aircraft that was designed by Volmer Jensen and provided as plans for amateur construction by his company Volmer Aircraft of Glendale, California.Purdy, Don: AeroCrafter - Homebuilt Aircraft Sourcebook, page 315. BAI Communications, July 1998. {{ISBN|0-9636409-4-1}}{{Cite web|url = http://virtualultralightmuseum.com/so.htm#sunfun|title = Sun Fun VJ-24W|access-date = 29 September 2011|last = Vintage Ultralight Museum|year = n.d.}}Rogers, Bennett: 1974 Sailplane Directory, Soaring Magazine, page 100. Soaring Society of America, August 1974. USPS 499-920Cliche, Andre: Ultralight Aircraft Shopper's Guide 8th Edition, page E-43. Cybair Limited Publishing, 2001. {{ISBN|0-9680628-1-4}}
Design and development
The SunFun started as a foot-launched glider design, the VJ-24, and was developed into a wheeled undercarriage motor glider, the VJ-24W. The VJ-24 was derived from the earlier Volmer VJ-23 Swingwing and differed from that design by replacing the wooden structure with metal and employing a constant chord, strut-braced wing in place of the VJ-23's cantilever, tapered wing.
The aircraft is built from aluminium tubing covered with aircraft fabric. The {{convert|36.5|ft|m|1|abbr=on}} span wing is braced by V-struts, supported by triangular jury struts. The fuselage is built around a keel tube that mounts the cruciform tail at the aft end, the wing and cockpit in the center and the engine at the front. The specified engines are the Yamaha KT100 {{convert|15|hp|kW|0|abbr=on}} go-kart powerplant and the {{convert|10|hp|kW|0|abbr=on}} McCulloch MAC-101, mounted in tractor configuration on the front of the keel tube, above the aircraft's nose. The landing gear is of conventional configuration, using spoked bicycle wheels for the main gear. Pilot weight is limited to {{convert|200|lb|kg|0|abbr=on}}.
The take-off and landing distances with the {{convert|15|hp|kW|0|abbr=on}} engine are both {{convert|100|ft|m|0|abbr=on}}.
In 1998 plans cost US$100 and the estimated cost of the materials to build the VJ-24W were US$2400. The estimated construction time is 250 hours.
Variants
;VJ-24
:Unpowered three axis-controlled hang glider version, foot launched and landed. Glide ratio is 9:1 at {{convert|20|mph|km/h|0|abbr=on}} and minimum sink is 180 fpm.
;VJ-24W
Specifications (VJ-24W)
{{Aircraft specs
|ref=Purdy, Vintage Ultralight Museum and Soaring
|prime units?=imp
|genhide=
|crew=one
|capacity=
|length m=
|length ft=18
|length in=6
|length note=
|span m=
|span ft=36
|span in=6
|span note=
|height m=
|height ft=5
|height in=7
|height note=
|wing area sqm=
|wing area sqft=163
|wing area note=
|aspect ratio=
|airfoil=
|empty weight kg=
|empty weight lb=165
|empty weight note=
|gross weight kg=
|gross weight lb=345
|gross weight note=
|fuel capacity={{convert|1|gal}}
|more general=
|eng1 number=1
|eng1 name=
|eng1 type=Yamaha tractor engine
|eng1 kw=
|eng1 hp=15
|prop blade number=2
|prop name=wooden fixed pitch
|prop dia m=
|prop dia ft=
|prop dia in=
|prop note=
|perfhide=
|max speed kmh=
|max speed mph=42
|max speed kts=
|max speed note=
|cruise speed kmh=
|cruise speed mph=28
|cruise speed kts=
|cruise speed note=
|stall speed kmh=
|stall speed mph=15
|stall speed kts=
|stall speed note=
|never exceed speed kmh=
|never exceed speed mph=
|never exceed speed kts=
|never exceed speed note=
|range km=
|range miles=30
|range nmi=
|range note=
|endurance=
|ceiling m=
|ceiling ft=
|ceiling note=
|g limits=
|roll rate=
|glide ratio=9:1
|climb rate ms=
|climb rate ftmin=350
|climb rate note=
|sink rate ms=
|sink rate ftmin=180
|sink rate note=
|lift to drag=
|wing loading kg/m2=
|wing loading lb/sqft=
|wing loading note=
|more performance=
|avionics=
}}
See also
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{commons category|Volmer VJ-24W SunFun}}
- [http://air-war.org/image_ghost_plane_3.jpg Photo of a VJ-24W Cockpit]
- [http://air-war.org/image_DSC_9892.jpg Photo of a VJ-24W Tail]
- [http://1000aircraftphotos.com/Contributions/BlackTed/10333L.jpg Photo of a VJ-24W]
{{Volmer Jensen aircraft}}
Category:1970s United States sailplanes