Hegy R.C.H.I. El Chuparosa

Hegy R.C.H.I. “El Chuparosa”
Hegy R.C.H.I. El Chuparosa on display
Role Homebuilt aircraft
National origin United States of America
Designer Ray Hegy
First flight 1 May 1959

The Hegy "El Chuparosa" (English: Hummingbird) is a homebuilt, enclosed-cockpit biplane that was designed in the early 1950s.[1]

Design and development

The aircraft was designed to be a low-cost, high performance aircraft. The Ray Hegy design used full size wall drawings and wooden mock-ups. The aircraft was started in February 1950 and finished in May 1959 with the prototype displayed at the Rockford EAA Fly-In in 1960.[2]

"El Chuparosa" is a single place biplane featuring a short fuselage with a tail swept to a sharp tip. The fuselage cross section was based on the Heath Parasol design. The fuselage was constructed from welded steel tubing, with wooden wing spars from a J-3 Cub, the ailerons were made from 1929 Douglas O-38 rudders and the engine cheeks cowlings were made from Fairchild 24 wheelpants. The cockpit is enclosed.[3]

Operational history

The prototype "El Chuparosa" was donated to the EAA Airventure Museum in Oshkosh, Wisconsin on August 14, 1977.

Specifications (Hegy R.C.H.I. “El Chuparosa”)

Data from Sport Aviation

General characteristics

  • Crew: one
  • Length: 14 ft 1 in (4.29 m)
  • Wingspan: 12 ft 10 in (3.91 m)
  • Wing area: 72 sq ft (6.7 m2)
  • Empty weight: 478 lb (217 kg)
  • Fuel capacity: 19 U.S. gallons (72 L; 16 imp gal)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Continental A-65 , 65 hp (48 kW)

Performance

  • Cruise speed: 96 kn (110 mph, 180 km/h)
  • Stall speed: 52 kn (60 mph, 97 km/h)

See also

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

References

  1. ^ "Hegy R.C.H.I "Elchuparoasa"". Retrieved 21 July 2011.
  2. ^ "EAA Fly-In". Flying Magazine: 37. November 1960.
  3. ^ Sport Aviation. February 1995. {{cite journal}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
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