The Meyers 200 is a single-engined light aircraft produced in the United States in the 1950s and 1960s.

Design

It was the brainchild of

Al Meyers Allen H. Meyers (September 4, 1908 – March 15, 1976) was an American pioneer aviator. He was a 20th-century aircraft designer. He was born in Allenhurst, New Jersey on September 4, 1908. After graduating from college as a mechanical engine ...

and was a development of his

Meyers MAC-145 __NOTOC__ The Meyers MAC-125 is a light sport aircraft developed in the United States in 1947, produced in a small series as the MAC-145.Taylor 1989, 654Simpson 1995, 244-45 Design and development The basic design, common to both models, was tha ...

design. The holder of a number of speed records in its class, the Meyers 200 is widely admired for its clean lines, and is also known for its exceptionally sturdy airframe. This strength is derived from a tubular 4130 chrome-moly steel truss structure with aluminum skin that protects occupants.

Acquisition by Aero Commander

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

, the Aero Commander division of North American Rockwell purchased the rights to the Meyers 145 and 200, as part of a strategy to capture a share of the light aircraft market in the United States. During this time it was in the James Bond film '' You Only Live Twice''. Known briefly as the Aero Commander 200, it soon emerged that the firm could not produce the design economically. Meyers' firm had been virtually hand-building each aircraft and no jigs or tooling for the kind of

mass production Mass production, also known as flow production or continuous production, is the production of substantial amounts of standardized products in a constant flow, including and especially on assembly lines. Together with job production and batch ...

envisaged by Aero Commander even existed at the time the rights were bought. Having spent US$4 million to produce just US$3 million worth of product, Aero Commander ceased production in

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Januar ...

and sold the rights to the

Interceptor Corporation Interceptor Corporation was a US firm founded in Norman, Oklahoma to develop and market a turboprop-powered version of the Meyers 200, known as the Interceptor 400. In the early 1970s, the market was not yet ready for a turboprop-powered single-en ...

, which developed a turboprop-powered version as the

Interceptor 400 The Interceptor 400 was a turboprop-powered single-engined light aircraft developed from the Meyers 200 single engine piston plane. It attracted buyers but was unable to obtain adequate manufacturing financing, and was perhaps too far ahead of it ...

. Ownership of the rights eventually passed to Prop-Jets, Inc., later known as Interceptor Aircraft Corporation. In 2014 the Global Parts Group, via a separately formed affiliate company called Interceptor Aviation Inc, purchased the rights along with all associated assets and intellectual property related to the Meyers 200 and Interceptor 400 model aircraft.

Operational service

The Meyers 200D has never had an in-flight structural failure and has never had an FAA mandated Airworthiness Directive (AD) issued against the airframe. The 4130 chrome-moly steel tubular roll cage and understructure act like a race car protective cage during a crash. Several Meyers aircraft have been

forced down ''Forced'' is a single-player and co-op action role-playing game developed by BetaDwarf, released in October 2013 for Windows, OS X and Linux through the Steam platform as well as Wii U. It is about gladiators fighting for their freedom in a fan ...

in the trees and off airport runways with documented instances of the occupants walking away with only minor injuries or a broken bone.

Variants

Meyers

* 200 — single prototype powered by Continental O-470 * 200A — production version powered by Continental IO-470 (11 built) * 200B — (17 built) * 200C — raised roof-line and larger windshield (9 built) * 200D — engine replaced with

Continental IO-520 The Continental O-520 is a six-cylinder, horizontally opposed aircraft engine produced by Teledyne Continental Motors. First run in 1963 as a development of the IO-346, it has been produced in versions incorporating fuel injection (IO-520), tu ...

A and flush riveted wings (8 built)

Aero Commander

* 200 — Aero Commander version of the 200D (77 built) * 200 — Aero Commander version of the 200E (1 prototype built) * T200E — experimental twin-engine conversion - never built

Interceptor

400 __NOTOC__ Year 400 ( CD) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Stilicho and Aurelianus (or, less frequently, year 11 ...

— Turboprop based on the 200

Specifications (Meyers 200D)

References

External links

Meyers Aircraft Home Page

AVweb used aircraft review
{{Aero Commander aircraft 1950s United States civil utility aircraft

200 __NOTOC__ Year 200 ( CC) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Severus and Victorinus (or, less frequently, year 953 '' Ab ur ...

Single-engined tractor aircraft Low-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1955