| IIA | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Type | Glider |
| National origin | United States |
| Manufacturer | Ed Minghelle |
| Designer | |
| Status | Sole example in the National Soaring Museum |
| Primary user | Ed Minghelle |
| Number built | One |
| History | |
| Introduction date | 1964 |
| First flight | October 1964 |
| Developed from | Prue Two |
The Prue IIA is an American, high-wing, two-seat, T-tailed glider that was designed by Irving Prue and constructed by Ed Minghelle of Palmdale, California. [1] [2] [3]
Based on the Prue Two, the IIA incorporates many changes to the basic design, including a T-tail in place of a low-tail, fixed instead of retractable landing gear, a shorter two-piece wing instead of a three-piece wing and an empty weight that is 210 lb (95 kg) lighter. The Prue IIA was built by Minghelle between 1961 and 1964, culminating in a first flight in October 1964. [1] [2]
The Prue IIA has a 60 ft (18.3 m) wing that employs a NACA 63-618 airfoil. The aircraft is of all-metal construction and seats two in tandem under a long single-piece canopy. [1] [2] [4]
The Prue IIA was used to set several multi-place glider records. It held the world out-and-return record of 366.88 mi (590.44 km) for a period of six months in 1967. A second world out-and-return record was set in 1972, flying 425.3 mi (684.5 km) from Pearblossom, California. In 1967 it was also flown to a world multi-place declared goal record of 322.35 mi (519 km). [1] [2]
The IIA was removed from the Federal Aviation Administration aircraft registry on 16 March 1989 and now belongs to the National Soaring Museum. [1] [3]
Data from Sailplane Directory and Soaring [1] [2]
General characteristics
Performance
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