Aviat Eagle Explained

The Christen Eagle, which later became the Aviat Eagle in the mid-1990s, is an aerobatic sporting biplane aircraft that has been produced in the United States since the late 1970s.

Design

Designed to compete with the Pitts Special by Frank Christensen originally of Salt Lake City, Utah,^[1] the Eagle II is marketed in kit form for homebuilding. The Eagle II is a small aircraft of conventional configuration with single-bay, equal-span staggered biplane wings braced with streamlined flying and landing wires and an I-strut to form a box truss. The pilot and a single passenger sit in tandem underneath a large bubble canopy. The tailwheel undercarriage is fixed, with the mainwheels mounted on spring aluminum legs. The main wheels are housed in streamlined fairings. The fuselage and tail are constructed of chromoly steel welded tube, with the forward fuselage skinned in aluminum and the rear fuselage and tail covered in fabric. The wing structure is Sitka spruce wood and fabric covered. The engine cowling is fiberglass. By 2011 over 350 aircraft were flying.^{[2] [3]}

Operational history

In 1979, the Eagles Aerobatic Team (Charlie Hillard, Tom Poberezny, and Gene Soucy) chose the Christen Eagle as a replacement for their Pitts Special airshow act "The Red Devils". The act continued until 1995. All three Christen Eagles hang from the lobby of the EAA Airventure Museum in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.^[4]

Variants

Christen Eagle I: Single seat variant. Lycoming AEIO-540 260hp. First design model, built at the San Carlos Airport. Four airframes built, one is now based in Dallas Texas, the other 3 are in the EAA Museum in Oshkosh WI.

Christen/Aviat Eagle II: Most common variant, two seat dual controls. Lycoming AEIO-360.200hpThe first Eagle II produced (Serial #001) is on display at the Connecticut Air & Space Center in Stratford, CT.^[5]

Christen Super Eagle I 540: Two built. Lycoming AEIO-540 300hp. Formerly flown by the Iron Eagles aerobatic team, now owned by Professional Pilots based in Texas and Alaska.

Christen Super Eagle II: Several examples built, two seats, limited fuel tanks.

References

• Book: Jackson . Paul . Jane's All the World's Aircraft 2003–2004 . 2003 . Coulsdon, UK . Jane's Information Group . 0-7106-2537-5 .
• Book: Taylor, Michael J. H. . Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation . 1989 . Studio Editions . London . 254 .
• Book: Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1987–88. Jane's Yearbooks. London . 585–85 .
• Manufacturer's website
• Cavanaugh Flight Museum's Christen Eagle II

Notes and References

1. Frank L. Christensen
2. Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011–12, page 94. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ISSN 1368-485X
3. Tacke, Willi; Marino Boric; et al: World Directory of Light Aviation 2015–16, page 98. Flying Pages Europe SARL, 2015.
4. Web site: Christen Eagles The Iron Eagles Aerobatic Team flew 2 identical Christen Eagle 540 aircraft from 1992–2014 . 29 March 2011 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110719095849/http://museum.eaa.org/collection/aircraft/Christen%20Eagles.asp . 19 July 2011 .
5. Web site: Home . ctairandspace.org.