Coates Swalesong

Swalesong
The Swalesong S.A.II at Bourn Airfield Cambridgeshire in 1982
General information
Type	Homebuilt monoplane
Designer	James Ralph Coates
Status	Preserved
Primary user	Private pilot owner
History
First flight	1973 [1]
Retired	2007

The Coates Swalesong is a 1970s British two-seat homebuilt monoplane.

Development and operational history

The Swalesong S.A.II was designed and built by J. R. Coates. It is a low-wing wooden construction (spruce with plywood skin) cantilever monoplane with a fixed tricycle undercarriage, with pilot and passenger sitting side-by-side in an enclosed cockpit with a sliding canopy. ^[2] It first flew on 2 September 1973, ^{[2] [1]} powered by a 90 hp (67 kW) Continental PC60 Ground Power Unit converted to Continental C90 standard. ^[3] A simplified version, the Swalesong S.A.III, was designed for homebuilding, which could be powered by engines of 85–108 hp (63–81 kW). ^[4]

Only one S.A.II G-AYDV and one simplified S.A.III were built. The Swalesong S.A.II survives at Breighton Airfield, East Yorkshire. The CAA G-INFO website shows that its registration is current in February 2021.

Variants

Swalesong S.A.I

Designation of Luton Minor registration G-AMAW built by Jim Coates in the 1950s, not connected with S.A.II or S.A.III

Swalesong S.A.II

Prototype, one built. ^[4]

Swalesong S.A.III

Simplified design for amateur construction, one built. ^[4]

Specifications (SAII)

Data from Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1975–76 ^[2]

General characteristics

• Length: 19 ft 0 in (5.79 m)
• Wingspan: 26 ft 5 in (8.05 m)
• Height: 7 ft 3 in (2.21 m) (overall)
• Wing area: 120 sq ft (11 m²)
• Airfoil: NACA 23013.5
• Empty weight: 730 lb (331 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 1,207 lb (547 kg)
• Fuel capacity: 24 imp gal (29 US gal; 110 L)
• Powerplant: 1 × Continental C90 air-cooled four-cylinder horizontally opposed engine, 90 hp (67 kW)
• Propellers: wooden fixed-pitch-bladed, 5 ft 2 in (1.57 m) diameter

Performance

• Maximum speed: 130 mph (210 km/h, 110 kn) at 1,000 ft (300 m)
• Cruise speed: 95 mph (153 km/h, 83 kn) at 1,000 ft (300 m) (econ. cruise)
• Stall speed: 49 mph (79 km/h, 43 kn) (flaps down)
• Never exceed speed: 170 mph (270 km/h, 150 kn)
• Range: 450 mi (720 km, 390 nmi)

References

1. Ord-Hume 2013, p. 110
2. Taylor 1975, p. 202
3. Jackson 1974 , p. 382
4. Taylor 1982 , pp. 518–519

• Jackson, A.J. (1974). British Civil Aircraft since 1919 Volume 2. London: Putnam. ISBN   0-370-10010-7.
• Ord-Hume, A. W. J. G. (2013). British Private Aircraft 1946–1970: Volume 2. Petersfield: MMP Books. ISBN   978-83-61421-92-4.
• Taylor, John W. R., ed. (1975). Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1975–75. London: Jane's Yearbooks. ISBN   0-354-00521-9.
• Taylor, John W. R., ed. (1982). Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1982–83. London: Jane's Yearbooks. ISBN   0-7106-0748-2.