Adventure Air Adventurer

Last updated
Adventurer
Role Homebuilt aircraft
National origin United States
Manufacturer Adventure Air
StatusProduction completed
Unit cost
US$34,900 (Adventurer 333 kit, less engine and avionics, 1998)

The Adventure Air Adventurer is a family of American homebuilt amphibious flying boats that was designed and produced by Adventure Air of Berryville, Arkansas. When it was available the aircraft was supplied as a kit for amateur construction. The company appears to be out of business. [1]

United States federal republic in North America

The United States of America (USA), commonly known as the United States or America, is a country composed of 50 states, a federal district, five major self-governing territories, and various possessions. At 3.8 million square miles, the United States is the world's third or fourth largest country by total area and is slightly smaller than the entire continent of Europe's 3.9 million square miles. With a population of over 327 million people, the U.S. is the third most populous country. The capital is Washington, D.C., and the largest city by population is New York City. Forty-eight states and the capital's federal district are contiguous in North America between Canada and Mexico. The State of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east and across the Bering Strait from Russia to the west. The State of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U.S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, stretching across nine official time zones. The extremely diverse geography, climate, and wildlife of the United States make it one of the world's 17 megadiverse countries.

Homebuilt aircraft planes constructed by persons for whom this is not a professional activity

Homebuilt aircraft, also known as amateur-built aircraft or kit planes, are constructed by persons for whom this is not a professional activity. These aircraft may be constructed from "scratch," from plans, or from assembly kits.

Flying boat aircraft equipped with a boat hull for operation from water

A flying boat is a fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water, that usually has no type of landing gear to allow operation on land. It differs from a floatplane as it uses a purpose-designed fuselage which can float, granting the aircraft buoyancy. Flying boats may be stabilized by under-wing floats or by wing-like projections from the fuselage. Flying boats were some of the largest aircraft of the first half of the 20th century, exceeded in size only by bombers developed during World War II. Their advantage lay in using water instead of expensive land-based runways, making them the basis for international airlines in the interwar period. They were also commonly used for maritime patrol and air-sea rescue.

Contents

Design and development

The aircraft features a strut-braced high-wing, a four-seat enclosed cockpit, retractable tricycle landing gear, a boat hull with outrigger pontoons, a cruciform tail and a pod-mounted single engine in pusher configuration. [1]

Tricycle landing gear aircraft undercarriage arranged with main gear under the wing or fuselage and a third set under the nose

Tricycle gear is a type of aircraft undercarriage, or landing gear, arranged in a tricycle fashion. The tricycle arrangement has a single nose wheel in the front, and two or more main wheels slightly aft of the center of gravity. Tricycle gear aircraft are the easiest to take-off, land and taxi, and consequently the configuration is the most widely used on aircraft.

Cruciform tail

The cruciform tail is an aircraft empennage configuration which, when viewed from the aircraft's front or rear, looks much like a cross. The usual arrangement is to have the horizontal stabilizer intersect the vertical tail somewhere near the middle, and above the top of the fuselage. The design is often used to locate the horizontal stabilizer away from jet exhaust, propeller and wing wake, as well as to provide undisturbed airflow to the rudder.

Pusher configuration arrangement of propellers on an aircraft to face rearward

In a vehicle with a pusher configuration, the propeller(s) are mounted behind their respective engine(s). According to British aviation author Bill Gunston, a "pusher propeller" is one mounted behind the engine, so that the drive shaft is in compression.

The airframe is made from composites. Its 35.85 ft (10.9 m) span wing mounts flaps and has a wing area of 179.00 sq ft (16.630 m2). The cabin is 46 in (120 cm) wide. The recommended engines vary by model. The factory available options included wing tanks of 60 U.S. gallons (230 L; 50 imp gal), 120 U.S. gallons (450 L; 100 imp gal) or 180 U.S. gallons (680 L; 150 imp gal), dual controls and a pre-assembled wing. [1]

Airframe aircrafts mechanical structure

The airframe of an aircraft is its mechanical structure. It is typically considered to include fuselage, wings and undercarriage and exclude the propulsion system. Airframe design is a field of aerospace engineering that combines aerodynamics, materials technology and manufacturing methods to achieve balances of performance, reliability and cost.

The factory estimated the construction time from the supplied standard kit as 1000 hours, or 400–600 hours from the quick-build kit. [1]

Operational history

By 1998 the company reported that 120 kits had been sold and five aircraft were flying. [1]

By November 2013 ten examples had been registered in the United States with the Federal Aviation Administration. [2]

Aircraft registration registration and identification assigned to an individual aircraft by national aviation authorities

Every civil aircraft must be marked prominently on its exterior by an alphanumeric string, indicating its country of registration and its unique serial number. This code must also appear in its Certificate of Registration, issued by the relevant National Aviation Authority (NAA). An aircraft can only have one registration, in one jurisdiction.

Federal Aviation Administration United States Government agency dedicated to civil aviation matters

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of the United States is a national authority with powers to regulate all aspects of civil aviation. These include the construction and operation of airports, air traffic management, the certification of personnel and aircraft, and the protection of U.S. assets during the launch or re-entry of commercial space vehicles.

Variants

Adventurer 2+2
Model with 2+2 seating and a 7 ft (2.13 m) sleeping bunk. The standard engine recommended is the 200 hp (149 kW) Lycoming IO-360 powerplant. The aircraft has an empty weight of 1,800 lb (820 kg) and a gross weight of 3,000 lb (1,400 kg), giving a useful load of 1,200 lb (540 kg). With full fuel of 60 U.S. gallons (230 L; 50 imp gal) the payload is 840 lb (380 kg). [1]
Adventurer 333
Heavier model with higher engine power. The standard engine recommended is the 333 hp (248 kW) Chevrolet HO350 automotive conversion powerplant. The aircraft has an empty weight of 2,000 lb (910 kg) and a gross weight of 3,333 lb (1,512 kg), giving a useful load of 1,333 lb (605 kg). With full fuel of 60 U.S. gallons (230 L; 50 imp gal) the payload is 973 lb (441 kg). [1]
Adventurer Heavy Hauler
The long range and heavy lift version of the design, that was also envisioned for military sales. The standard engine recommended is the 333 hp (248 kW) Chevrolet HO350 automotive conversion powerplant. The aircraft has an empty weight of 2,220 lb (1,010 kg) and a gross weight of 4,400 lb (2,000 kg), giving a useful load of 2,180 lb (990 kg). With full fuel of 60 U.S. gallons (230 L; 50 imp gal) the payload is 1,820 lb (830 kg). The factory available options included wing tanks of 180 U.S. gallons (680 L; 150 imp gal), 216 U.S. gallons (820 L; 180 imp gal) or 260 U.S. gallons (980 L; 220 imp gal). [1]

Specifications (Adventurer 333)

Data from AeroCrafter [1]

General characteristics

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 158 mph (254 km/h; 137 kn)
  • Cruise speed: 130 mph (209 km/h; 113 kn)
  • Stall speed: 54 mph (87 km/h; 47 kn) in the landing configuration
  • Range: 850 mi (739 nmi; 1,368 km)
  • Service ceiling: 15,000 ft (4,600 m)
  • Rate of climb: 1,200 ft/min (6.1 m/s)

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Purdy, Don: AeroCrafter - Homebuilt Aircraft Sourcebook, Fifth Edition, pages 93-94. BAI Communications, 15 July 1998. ISBN   0-9636409-4-1
  2. ↑ Federal Aviation Administration (22 November 2013). "Make / Model Inquiry Results" . Retrieved 22 November 2013.
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