The Evans VP-1 Volksplane is an American designed aircraft for amateur construction. The aircraft was designed by former Convair, Ryan Aircraft and

General Dynamics General Dynamics Corporation (GD) is an American publicly traded, aerospace and defense corporation headquartered in Reston, Virginia. As of 2020, it was the fifth-largest defense contractor in the world by arms sales, and 5th largest in the Uni ...

aeronautical engineer William Samuel Evans of La Jolla, California.Purdy 1998, p. 152.

Design and development

In 1966, Evans began engineering work on the VP-1, choosing an all-wood, strut-braced open-cockpit single-seat low-wing design for ease in amateur construction."Evans VP-1 Volksplane history."
''Evans Aircraft Company'', 2017. Retrieved: August 29, 2017. Designed to be simple to build and safe to fly, performance and appearance is of secondary importance.Bayerl et al. 2011, p. 101. To make construction simple, marine grade

plywood Plywood is a material manufactured from thin layers or "plies" of wood veneer that are glued together with adjacent layers having their wood grain rotated up to 90 degrees to one another. It is an engineered wood from the family of manufactured ...

is used for the slab-sided fuselage structure. The wings are designed to be detachable to allow the aircraft to transported by road.Tacke et al. 2015, p. 107. The VP-1 was designed specifically to utilize a modified VW Type 1 automotive engine from the VW Beetle. The fuselage is built in a warren truss arrangement where the exterior plywood takes the diagonal stress loads, therefore eliminating the diagonal members to maintain simplicity. The vertical and upright members are staggered to keep the joints as simple as possible. The wing is of a forward and aft blank spar design which uses stack-cut plywood ribs of equal size in order to keep construction time down. The

aileron An aileron (French for "little wing" or "fin") is a hinged flight control surface usually forming part of the trailing edge of each wing of a fixed-wing aircraft. Ailerons are used in pairs to control the aircraft in roll (or movement around ...

s are hinged directly behind the aft spar. For simplicity no flaps are provided. The wings and tail surfaces are fabric covered. Because the design lacks aerodynamic refinement, the Volksplane requires more power than most aircraft its weight to fly. Some builders have altered the fuselage design to improve the aerodynamics and aesthetics. The design was developed into a two-seat version, the

Evans VP-2 The Evans VP-2 is a development of the Evans VP-1 Volksplane, both of which were designed in La Jolla, California by aeronautical engineer William Samuel "Bud" Evans.Purdy 1998, p. 152. Evans had formerly worked at Convair, Ryan Aircraft and ...

, with an enlarged cockpit although this variant is no longer being offered.

Operational history

The Volksplane first flew in September 1968. Offered as a set of plans, and marketed as a "fun" aircraft, the Volksplane was immediately popular with home builders who saw it as an inexpensive and easy-to build project. A number of examples have been built with variations in the design. In 1973, ''Mohog'', a mahogany-skinned Volksplane, with further modifications to the basic design incorporating monocoque wings, strengthened roll bar and a blown bubble canopy, was built by the Wosika family of

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, at a cost of $3,000. Construction of the Volksplane is relatively straightforward, and, according to some home builders, almost like building a "giant model aircraft". Flying characteristics are relatively benign, as the intent was to create a simple, and easy-to-fly aircraft. Although not intended to be an aerobatic design, gentle "aileron rolls, lazy eights, wingovers, chandelles and steep stalls" have been conducted. A total of approximately 6,000 plans have been sold to date.Mooney, Walt. "Pilot report: Volksplane." ''Air Progress'', March 1970, pp. 39, 42.

Variants

;Evans VP-1 :Single-seat homebuilt ;

:Two-seat homebuilt

Specifications (VP-1 – 40 hp engine)

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Bayerl, Robby, Martin Berkemeier et al. ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011–12''. Lancaster UK: WDLA UK, 2011. . * Jackson, A.J. ''British Civil Aircraft since 1919'', Volume 2. London: Putnam, 1974. . * Purdy, Don: ''AeroCrafter – Homebuilt Aircraft Sourcebook, Fifth Edition''. Chatswood, New South Wales, Australia: BAI Communications, 1998. . * Tacke, Willi, Marino Boric et al. ''World Directory of Light Aviation 2015–16''. Ivry sur Seine, France: Flying Pages Europe SARL, 2015. . * Taylor, John W. R. ''Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1982–83''. London: Jane's Yearbooks, 1982. . {{William Evans aircraft Homebuilt aircraft 1960s United States sport aircraft Low-wing aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Evans aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1968