C. W. "Bill" Whitney

Charles William "Bill" Whitney
Born	1944 (age 81–82)
Education	Bachelor of Engineering (Aeronautical)
Occupation	Aeronautical Engineer
Years active	1967 - Present

Charles William "Bill" Whitney (born 1944) is an Australian Aeronautical Engineer who has designed numerous light, very light and replica aircraft types, as well as making a number of contributions to the development of very light / recreational aircraft and aircraft safety.

Aircraft Designs

The following aircraft have been designed by C. W. Whitney during his career:

1970s

• Aerobike - Single seat very light biplane, constructed by himself. Similar in layout to the Hovey Whing Ding, only one was made.
• Cygnet - Single seat very light monoplane with parasol wing. ^[1] A small number were made by amateur builders.

1980s

• Flying replica of the Fokker F.VIIB/3m "The Southern Cross" - Based on available drawings and inspections of the original aircraft, the replica was redesigned and drawn to comply with modern airworthiness requirements. ^[2]
• Australian LightWing Model GR-532 / GR-582 / GR-912 ultralight / recreational aircraft - The original concept was proposed by Howard Hughes and it was developed into an ANO 95.25 (later CAO 101.55) approved aircraft and subsequently produced in large numbers as either ready-to-fly or in kit form. ^[3] In production.
• Flying replicas of the Bristol F2b Tourer biplanes for the TV miniseries A Thousand Skies ^[1] - Bristol Tourer aircraft were originally flown by Sir Charles Kingsford-Smith during his early flying for Western Australian Airways. Two replicas were built in a 14-week timeframe from "first pencil to paper to first flight".
• Wedgetail Gyroplane - Configured in a similar fashion to a traditional Juan de la Cierva gyroplane with a forward (tractor) engine and horizontal stabiliser for pitch stability.
• Aircorp Bushmaster two and four seat light aircraft - Fabric covering over welded tubular steel fuselage in a similar arrangement to an Auster Arrow or Piper Cub.

1990s

• Seabird Seeker - An all-metal observation aircraft of unusual pusher configuration, developed and certified to FAR 23. In production.
• Flying replica of the Vickers Vimy ^[4] - The replica aircraft was used to re-enact the first flights from England to Australia, England to South Africa and the US to England.
• Amethyst Falcon ultralight biplane - Plans-built single seat aircraft for basic aerobatic flying (+6G / -3G), employs sheet metal fabric covered wings with tubular steel fabric covered fuselage. Two constructed and flown to date.
• Magpie ultralight - Plans built single seat aircraft for recreational flying, uses a fabric covered wing with hoop pine structure and an extruded boom rear fuselage. One constructed and flown to date.

2000s

• Flying replica of the Wright Flyer III - Built in Narromine NSW, ^[5] it was launched at an event attended by Buzz Aldrin ^[6] and subsequently made a number of short flights.
• Whitney Boomerang trainer - Designed from the outset to satisfy the requirements of general aviation flying instructors, this aircraft features an all-aluminium wing and aft fuselage, using a forward fuselage constructed of welded tubular steel for impact protection. Seats and harnesses were tested to the modern 26G forward / 19G down crashworthiness requirements of FAR 23, making it only the second Australian aircraft to achieve this goal, after the GippsAero GA-8 Airvan.
• Flying replica of the Spirit of St Louis - Completed major portions of the airframe design. ^[1]

References

1. Marcel, Arthur (September 2013). "Spirit of St Louis" (PDF). Sport Pilot - Recreational Aviation Australia. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
2. Coulson, N. G. (1988). "Flight Testing of The Southern Cross Replica Aircraft" (PDF). Aircraft Research and Development Unit. Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 February 2017.
3. "Australian LightWing - History". Archived from the original on 1 March 2015. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
4. "Replicating the Vimy meant building an entire factory". www.vimy.org. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
5. "Museum Showcase". www.narromineaviationmuseum.org.au. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
6. "Thermal". bathurstsoaring.org.au. Archived from the original on 3 March 2017. Retrieved 4 April 2017.