Falconar F9A explained

The Falconar F9A and F10A are a family of Canadian amateur-built aircraft, that were designed by Chris Falconar and produced by Falconar Avia. The F9A design was introduced in 1965 and both the F9A and F10A were supplied as kits or as plans for amateur construction by Falconar. The F9A and F10A are now available in the form of plans from Manna Aviation.^[1] ^[2] ^[3] ^[4]

Design and development

The F9 is a variant of the Jodel D9. Falconar indicated that it incorporates a larger cockpit, simplified fittings, shoulder harnesses and aerodynamic improvements to improve stall characteristics.^[5]

Hans Teijgeler of Jodel.com says that the F9A varies from the D9 by using a new wing design, with new simplified spar and rib design and the dihedral point moved inboard, allowing the outer portion to fold for ground transport or storage, but at the cost of added weight. He describes the wing as "less efficient". Teijgeler says of the Falconar F9A, "the Falconar 'Jodel' should not be looked upon as a Jodel, but as a Falconar. This is [n]either good or bad. Just a fact to take into account"^[6]

The F9A features a cantilever low-wing, a single seat enclosed cockpit that is 210NaN0 wide, fixed conventional landing gear and a single engine in tractor configuration.

The F9A and F10A are made from wood, with the flying surfaces covered in doped aircraft fabric. Its 231NaN1 span wing has an area of 99square feet. Construction time from the supplied kit is estimated as 700 hours.

Operational history

By November 2012, one F9A had been registered with Transport Canada, one F10A in the United States with the Federal Aviation Administration and none with the CAA in the United Kingdom.^[7] ^[8] ^[9]

Variants

F9

Initial model with an empty weight of 3600NaN0 and a gross weight of 6000NaN0. The aircraft's recommended engine power range is 30to and engines that have been used include the 600NaN0 Volkswagen air-cooled engine and Hirth two-stroke powerplants.

F10A

Strengthened model to allow the installation of larger engines, with an empty weight of 5500NaN0 and a gross weight of 8750NaN0. The aircraft's recommended engine power range is 40to. The fuselage is lengthened 140NaN0 from the F9A and stressed to 9g.^[10]

External links

Notes and References

Purdy, Don: AeroCrafter - Homebuilt Aircraft Sourcebook, page 157. BAI Communications.
Web site: Notification of Closure. 4 July 2019. Falconar Avia . falconaravia.com. 30 June 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190704172308/http://falconaravia.com/. 4 July 2019.
Web site: Falconar F9A Plans. 4 July 2019. Manna Aviation . mannaaviation.com. 2019.
Web site: Falconar F10A Plans. 4 July 2019. Manna Aviation . mannaaviation.com. 2019.
Web site: F Series. 11 November 2012. Falconar Avia. 1 July 2012.
Web site: Falconar Jodels . 11 November 2012 . Jodel.com . n.d. . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120205121323/http://www.jodel.com/index.asp?p=falconar&themodels . 5 February 2012 .
Web site: Make / Model Inquiry Results. 11 November 2012. Federal Aviation Administration. 11 November 2012. 4 March 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304201909/http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=14378. dead.
Web site: Canadian Civil Aircraft Register . 11 November 2012 . . 11 November 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110718042755/http://wwwapps2.tc.gc.ca/Saf-Sec-Sur/2/ccarcs/aspscripts/en/quicksearch.asp . 18 July 2011 .
Web site: GINFO Search Results Summary. 11 November 2012. Civil Aviation Authority (United Kingdom). 11 November 2012. 28 July 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120728102150/http://www.caa.co.uk/application.aspx?catid=60&pagetype=65&appid=1&mode=searchnoresult. dead.
Air Progress Sport Aircraft. Winter 1969. 76.