The Carlson Criquet is an American, two-seats-in-
tandem
Tandem, or in tandem, is an arrangement in which a team of machines, animals or people are lined up one behind another, all facing in the same direction.
The original use of the term in English was in ''tandem harness'', which is used for two ...
,
high wing
A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes.
A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing confi ...
,
strut-braced, single engine,
homebuilt aircraft
Homebuilt aircraft, also known as amateur-built aircraft or kit planes, are constructed by persons for whom this is not a professional activity. These aircraft may be constructed from "scratch", from plans, or from assembly kits.Armstrong, Kenn ...
that was designed by Ernst W. Carlson and produced by
Carlson Aircraft of
East Palestine, Ohio
East Palestine ( ) is a village in northeastern Columbiana County, Ohio, United States. The population was 4,761 at the 2020 census. Located on the state's border with Pennsylvania, East Palestine is 20 miles (31 km) south of Youngstown and ...
in kit form. The prototype was completed in 1999.
[Downey, Julia: ''2001 Kit Aircraft Directory'', Kitplanes, Volume 17, Number 12, December 2000, page 40. Kitplanes Acquisition Company. ISSN 0891-1851][Newby-Gonzalez, Tori: ''2004 Kit Aircraft Directory'', Kitplanes, Volume 20, Number 12, December 2003, page 50. Belvoir Publications. ISSN 0891-1851][Downey, Julia: ''2005 Kit Aircraft Directory'', Kitplanes, Volume 21, Number 12, December 2004, page 52. Belvoir Publications. ISSN 0891-1851]
The Criquet is a 3/4 scale replica of the German
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
liaison aircraft, the
Fieseler Fi 156 Storch
The Fieseler Fi 156 ''Storch'' (, " stork") was a German liaison aircraft built by Fieseler before and during World War II. Production continued in other countries into the 1950s for the private market. It was notable for its excellent short fi ...
(English: ''Stork'') and is named for the French post-war production model of the same aircraft, the
Morane-Saulnier MS.505 Criquet.
Design and development
The Criquet has a
4130 steel tube frame
fuselage
The fuselage (; from the French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an engine as well, although in some amphibious aircraf ...
, with the fuselage and wing all covered in
doped fabric. The wings are supported by V-
strut
A strut is a structural component commonly found in engineering, aeronautics, architecture and anatomy. Struts generally work by resisting longitudinal compression, but they may also serve in tension.
Human anatomy
Part of the functionality o ...
s with
jury strut
In aeronautics, bracing comprises additional structural members which stiffen the functional airframe to give it rigidity and strength under load. Bracing may be applied both internally and externally, and may take the form of strut, which act in ...
s. The landing gear is fixed and of
conventional configuration. The Criquet was available as a kit that included a pre-welded fuselage. The aircraft's power range is and the original standard engine specified was the Walter Lom
Avia M332
The Avia M 332 (originally known as the Walter M332) is an air-cooled four-cylinder inverted inline engine. It was designed by Bohumil Šimůnek, of Motorlet Walter Aircraft Engines, as a more powerful replacement for the four-cylinder Walter M ...
.
With a stall speed of the Criquet is capable of operation from small, unprepared fields and has a reported take-off and landing distance of .
Construction time from the kit is reported to be 1000 hours. Only one prototype, N22CA, was completed and it was destroyed in an accident on 24 May 2000 at
East Palestine, Ohio
East Palestine ( ) is a village in northeastern Columbiana County, Ohio, United States. The population was 4,761 at the 2020 census. Located on the state's border with Pennsylvania, East Palestine is 20 miles (31 km) south of Youngstown and ...
, USA, with one fatality. The kit was no longer offered after 2005.
Specifications (Criquet)
See also
References
{{Carlson Aircraft
Homebuilt aircraft
Single-engined tractor aircraft
High-wing aircraft
STOL aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1999
Replica aircraft