The Sochen Phoenix was a single engine, three axis control microlight designed and produced in small numbers in South Africa in the early 1980s.
The original single seat ES-1 Phoenix began as a rebuild by Edwin Sochen of a storm-destroyed Quicksilver MX but emerged a much refined aircraft, with two-surface wings, ailerons rather than spoilers and a fully steerable undercarriage. One of these was built and flown, then Sochen developed it into the CII two-seater.
Seating apart, the two variants were generally similar. The two surface wing, tapered in plan with a straight leading edge and a forward swept trailing edge, was braced from below on each side by a single strut, assisted by jury struts. The ailerons filled the whole span. The fuselage of the Phoenix was a completely open aluminium frame structure which carried the exposed pilot's seat, placing his head just below the leading edge of the wing and supporting the engine in pusher configuration immediately behind. The fuselage frame extended rearwards to carry a conventional tail with horizontal surfaces at the same height as the wing and an all-moving rudder with a swept leading edge, extending below the tailplane aft of the rudder post. The rudder of the CII was swept on both edges, unlike that of the single seat version, and extended downwards further. The tricycle undercarriage had three similarly sized wheels mounted on short legs interconnected by a triangular frame. The front wheel was steerable from the rudder bar and the rear pair were differentially brakeable.
The ES-1 was a one-off but, after two prototypes the CCII was put into production by Court Helicopters. Only eleven were completed before production was stopped.
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Sochen Phoenix".
Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.