Whittaker MW6

Last updated
MW6
Whittaker MW-6-1-1 Merlin AN0354147.jpg
Whittaker MW-6-1-1 Merlin
Role Amateur-built aircraft
National origin United Kingdom
Designer Mike Whittaker
Status Plans available (2015)
Number built over 200 sets of plans sold
Unit cost
£70 (Plans only, 2015)
Developed from Whittaker MW5 Sorcerer

The Whittaker MW6 is a family of British amateur-built aircraft that was designed by Mike Whittaker and supplied as plans for amateur construction. [1] [2]

United Kingdom Country in Europe

The United Kingdom (UK), officially the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, is a sovereign country located off the north-western coast of the European mainland. The United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland, and many smaller islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state, the Republic of Ireland. Apart from this land border, the United Kingdom is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the North Sea to the east, the English Channel to the south and the Celtic Sea to the south-west, giving it the 12th-longest coastline in the world. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland. With an area of 242,500 square kilometres (93,600 sq mi), the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world. It is also the 22nd-most populous country, with an estimated 66.0 million inhabitants in 2017.

Contents

Design and development

The MW6 series is based upon the earlier single-seat Whittaker MW5 Sorcerer. The MW6 features a strut-braced parasol wing, a two-seat open cockpit, fixed tricycle landing gear and a single engine in tractor configuration, mounted on the keel tube, above the cockpit. [1] [2]

Whittaker MW5 Sorcerer

The Whittaker MW5 Sorcerer is a British amateur-built aircraft that was designed by Mike Whittaker in the mid-1980s and supplied as plans for amateur construction.

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.

Tractor configuration arrangement of propellers on an aircraft to face forward

An aircraft constructed with a tractor configuration has the engine mounted with the airscrew in front of it so that the aircraft is "pulled" through the air, as opposed to the pusher configuration, in which the airscrew is behind and propels the aircraft forward. Through common usage, the word "propeller" has come to mean any airscrew, whether it actually propels or pulls the plane.

The aircraft is made from aluminium tubing, with its flying surfaces covered in doped aircraft fabric. Its 9.98 m (32.7 ft) span wing has an area of 15.24 m2 (164.0 sq ft). The standard engine used is the 50 hp (37 kW) Rotax 503 two-stroke powerplant. [1] [2]

Aluminium Chemical element with atomic number 13

Aluminium or aluminum is a chemical element with symbol Al and atomic number 13. It is a silvery-white, soft, nonmagnetic and ductile metal in the boron group. By mass, aluminium makes up about 8% of the Earth's crust; it is the third most abundant element after oxygen and silicon and the most abundant metal in the crust, though it is less common in the mantle below. The chief ore of aluminium is bauxite. Aluminium metal is so chemically reactive that native specimens are rare and limited to extreme reducing environments. Instead, it is found combined in over 270 different minerals.

Aircraft dope

Aircraft dope is a plasticised lacquer that is applied to fabric-covered aircraft. It tightens and stiffens fabric stretched over airframes, which renders them airtight and weatherproof.

Rotax 503 two-stroke engine

The Rotax 503 is a 37 kW (50 hp), inline 2-cylinder, two-stroke aircraft engine, built by BRP-Rotax GmbH & Co. KG of Austria for use in ultralight aircraft.

The design is Whittaker's most popular aircraft, with over 200 sets of plans sold. It is approved by the Light Aircraft Association in the UK. [1] [2] [3]

Light Aircraft Association organization

The Light Aircraft Association is the representative body in the United Kingdom for amateur aircraft construction, and recreational and sport flying. It oversees the construction and maintenance of homebuilt aircraft, under an approval from the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

Operational history

Bayerl et al. said of the MW6S and MW6T, "Both are very solid and safe, though performance doesn't match the latest hotships." [1] [2]

Variants

Whittaker MW6S Fatboy Whittaker MW-6-S Fatboy Flyer AN0417257.jpg
Whittaker MW6S Fatboy
MW6S Fatboy
Model with side-by-side configuration seating [1] [2]
MW6T Merlin
Model with tandem seating [1] [2]

Specifications (MW6S Fatboy)

Data from Bayerl and Tacke [1] [2]

General characteristics

Aircraft engine Engine designed for use in powered aircraft

An aircraft engine is a component of the propulsion system for an aircraft that generates mechanical power. Aircraft engines are almost always either lightweight piston engines or gas turbines, except for small multicopter UAVs which are almost always electric aircraft.

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 148 km/h (92 mph; 80 kn)
  • Cruise speed: 102 km/h (63 mph; 55 kn)
  • Stall speed: 56 km/h (35 mph; 30 kn)
  • Rate of climb: 2.5 m/s (490 ft/min)
  • Wing loading: 25.6 kg/m2 (5.2 lb/sq ft)

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12, page 111. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ISSN   1368-485X
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Tacke, Willi; Marino Boric; et al: World Directory of Light Aviation 2015-16, page 117. Flying Pages Europe SARL, 2015. ISSN   1368-485X
  3. ↑ Light Aircraft Association (25 September 2012). "Approved Homebuilt Types" (PDF). Retrieved 10 October 2012.
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