AR 404 | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Role | Civil transport |
Manufacturer | Ahrens Aircraft Corporation |
First flight | December 1, 1976 [1] |
Number built | 2 |
The Ahrens AR 404 was a prototype American civil transport aircraft first flown in 1976, a high-wing monoplane powered by four turboprop engines. In order to facilitate the loading and unloading of cargo, the fuselage was of constant rectangular section along almost its entire length, the main undercarriage was retracted into sponsons on the fuselage sides, and the tail included a loading ramp. As a regional airliner, the AR 404 was designed to carry 30 passengers, or in its cargo configuration, to accommodate four standard D3 freight containers.
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.
This is a list of aviation-related events from 1976:
A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with a single main wing plane, in contrast to a biplane or other multiplane, each of which has multiple planes.
Ahrens secured a production deal with the government of Puerto Rico, which agreed to finance the type certification of the aircraft if Ahrens would establish its production facilities there. The first production aircraft was built and flown there on October 26, 1979, [1] but no more were constructed after financing was withdrawn.
Puerto Rico, officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and briefly called Porto Rico, is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the northeast Caribbean Sea, approximately 1,000 miles (1,600 km) southeast of Miami, Florida.
A type certificate signifies the airworthiness of a particular category of aircraft, according to its manufacturing design (‘type’). It confirms that the aircraft is manufactured according to an approved design, and that the design ensures compliance with airworthiness requirements.
Data from Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1980–81 [1]
General characteristics
An airfoil or aerofoil is the cross-sectional shape of a wing, blade, or sail.
A turboprop engine is a turbine engine that drives an aircraft propeller.
Performance
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era
The Aero Spacelines Super Guppy is a large, wide-bodied cargo aircraft that is used for hauling outsize cargo components. It was the successor to the Pregnant Guppy, the first of the Guppy aircraft produced by Aero Spacelines, which itself was named for its resemblance to a pregnant guppy. Five were built in two variants, both of which were colloquially referred to as the "Super Guppy".
The Antonov An-14 Pchelka (Russian: «Пчелка», "Little Bee", is a Soviet utility aircraft which was first flown on 15 March 1958. It was a twin-engined light STOL utility transport, with two 300 hp Ivchenko AI-14RF radial piston engines. Serial production started in 1966, and about 300 examples were built by the time production ended in 1972. The An-14 failed to replace the more successful An-2 biplane, which was manufactured until 1990,. The An-14's successor, the An-28 with turboprop engines, is still manufactured at PZL Mielec factories in Poland, under the names PZL M28 Skytruck and PZL M28B Bryza.
The Embraer EMB 121 Xingu is a twin-turboprop fixed-wing aircraft built by the Brazilian aircraft manufacturer, Embraer. The design is based on the EMB 110 Bandeirante, using its wing and engine design merged with an all-new fuselage. The EMB 121 first flew on 10 October 1976.
The Cessna 441 Conquest II is the first turboprop powered aircraft designed by Cessna and was meant to fill the gap between their jets and piston-engined aircraft. It was developed in November 1974, with the first aircraft delivered in September 1977. It is a pressurized, 8–9 passenger turbine development of the Cessna 404 Titan.
The Schempp-Hirth Discus is a Standard Class glider designed by Schempp-Hirth. It was produced in Germany between 1984 and 1995 but has continued in production in the Czech Republic. It replaced the Standard Cirrus. It was designed by Klaus Holighaus.
The Schempp-Hirth Janus is a high performance two-seat glider that was built by Schempp-Hirth GmbH.
The Cessna Model 404 Titan is an American twin-engined, propeller-driven light aircraft built by Cessna Aircraft. It was that company's largest twin piston-engined aircraft at the time of its development in the 1970s. Its US military designation is C-28, and Swedish Air Force designation Tp 87.
The AIDC T-CH-1 Chung Hsing was a turboprop-powered military trainer aircraft produced in Taiwan.
The AIDC XC-2 was a prototype civil transport aircraft first flown in 1978 in Taiwan. It was a high-wing monoplane powered by two turboprop engines. The main undercarriage was carried in sponsons on either side of the boxy fuselage, maximising internal space.
The Harbin SH-5 is a Chinese maritime patrol amphibious aircraft intended for a wide range of duties, including aerial firefighting, anti-submarine warfare (ASW) and air-sea rescue (SAR). One prototype and six production aircraft have been built.
The Avtek 400A was a prototype turboprop-powered business aircraft developed in the United States in the early 1980s. It was of unusual and distinctive configuration - a low-wing monoplane with two pusher engines mounted above the wings, and a large canard mounted atop the forward fuselage. The aircraft's sleek, futuristic design earned it a guest appearance on the Airwolf TV series as the X-400, the plane used by the villain Lou Stappleford in the episode Eagles.
The PZL M-17 "Duduś Kudłacz" was a Polish twin-boom pusher general aviation and trainer aircraft of 1977, which remained a prototype.
The SZD-8 Jaskółka was a single-seat glider aircraft that was designed and built in Poland at Szybowcowy Zakład Doświadczalny in Bielsko-Biała from 1951.
The Fisher FP-101 is an American single-seat, high-wing, conventional landing gear, tractor configuration single engine ultralight aircraft that was available in kit form from Lite Flite of South Webster, Ohio and later Fisher Flying Products of Edgeley, North Dakota.
The Hongdu N-5,, originally known as the Nanchang N-5, is a Chinese agricultural aircraft. First flown in 1989, and entering into production in 1992, the N-5 is a single-engined low-wing monoplane, and is available in versions powered by a piston engine or a turboprop.
The PZL Bielsko SZD-51 Junior is a Polish single-seat training and club sailplane.
The Groen Hawk 4 was a single engine, pusher configuration, four seat autogyro built in the United States in the late 1990s. Three prototypes, two piston engined and one turboprop powered, were flown but the Hawk did not go into production.
The Lightwing Type 4 Rooster is an experimental biplane glider, capable of powered or unpowered flight, built in the UK in the 1980s to explore the properties of this unusual glider configuration.
The Nippi NP-100 Albatross was a Japanese two side-by-side seat motorized glider, powered by a ducted fan rather than the usual propeller. It did not go into production.
The Diamond DART 450 is a tandem, two-seat civilian and military turboprop trainer manufactured by Austrian Diamond Aircraft, "DART" meaning Diamond Aircraft Reconnaissance Trainer.
![]() | Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ahrens AR 404 . |
John William Ransom Taylor, OBE Hon DEng FRAeS FRHistS AFIAA, was a British aviation expert and editor. He edited Jane's All the World's Aircraft for three decades during the Cold War. He retired as editor in 1989, just as the Iron Curtain obscuring the Soviet Bloc's technology started to lift.
The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a numeric commercial book identifier which is intended to be unique. Publishers purchase ISBNs from an affiliate of the International ISBN Agency.