Viking Dragonfly Explained

The Viking Dragonfly is an American amateur-built aircraft, designed by Bob Walters [1] and produced by Viking Aircraft LLC of Elkhorn, Wisconsin. The aircraft is supplied as a kit or as plans for amateur construction.[2]

Design and development

The Dragonfly is a two-seater aircraft that features a tandem wing layout with a forward wing mounted low and the other behind the cockpit in a shoulder position, a two-seats-in-side-by-side configuration enclosed cockpit under a bubble canopy, fixed landing gear and a single engine in tractor configuration. The cockpit is 430NaN0 wide

The aircraft is constructed from composites, based on construction techniques pioneered by Burt Rutan at Rutan Aircraft Factory (RAF). The airframe design is visually similar to the RAF's Quickie 2, which was developed independently, but the Dragonfly has larger airfoils and a smaller engine, resulting in a slower but more docile handling aircraft. Its forward 201NaN1 span wing employs a GU25-5(11)8 mod airfoil, when the aft wing (span 22 ft) uses an Eppler 1212 airfoil.[3] Both wings have a total area of 92.2square feet. Standard engines used include the 600NaN0 Volkswagen air-cooled engine and the 850NaN0 Jabiru 2200 four-stroke powerplants. Construction time from the supplied kit is estimated as 700 hours, while from plans is estimated at over 1200 hours.

Operational history

The Dragonfly was given the Outstanding New Design Award at the EAA Convention in 1980.[4] By 1998, 500 examples of all variants were reported as flying.

Variants

Dragonfly Mk I
  • Original version with main landing gear mounted in fairings at the lower wing tips. Operations require paved runways and wide taxiways due to widely spaced main wheels.
    Dragonfly Mk II
  • Version with conventional landing gear.
    Dragonfly Mk III
  • Version with tricycle landing gear.

    See also

    Similar aircraft

    References

    External links

    Notes and References

    1. Bill Cox : "...Bob Walters, an ex-Navy fighter pilot with a penchant for designing his own airplanes. Walters came up with his two-seat adaptation of the Quickie..." in Homebuilt Aircraft, March 1985, "New legs for a Dragonfly", page 18
    2. Purdy, Don: AeroCrafter - Homebuilt Aircraft Sourcebook, page 284-285. BAI Communications, 15 July 1998.
    3. Web site: The Incomplete Guide to Airfoil Usage. 4 December 2012. Lednicer. David. 2010. April 20, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100420012244/http://www.ae.illinois.edu/m-selig/ads/aircraft.html. dead.
    4. http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1980/1980%20-%203360.html "General Flight"