The Falconar F9A and F10A are a family of

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

amateur-built 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 were designed by Chris Falconar and produced by Falconar Avia. The F9A design was introduced in 1965 and both the F9A and F10A were supplied as kits or as plans for amateur construction by Falconar. The F9A and F10A are now available in the form of plans from Manna Aviation.Purdy, Don: ''AeroCrafter - Homebuilt Aircraft Sourcebook'', page 157. BAI Communications.

Design and development

The F9 is a variant of the Jodel D9. Falconar indicated that it incorporates a larger cockpit, simplified fittings, shoulder harnesses and aerodynamic improvements to improve stall characteristics. Hans Teijgeler of Jodel.com says that the F9A varies from the D9 by using a new wing design, with new simplified

spar SPAR, originally DESPAR, styled as DE SPAR, is a Dutch multinational that provides branding, supplies and support services for independently owned and operated food retail stores. It was founded in the Netherlands in 1932, by Adriaan van Well, ...

and rib design and the dihedral point moved inboard, allowing the outer portion to fold for ground transport or storage, but at the cost of added weight. He describes the wing as "less efficient". Teijgeler says of the Falconar F9A, "the Falconar 'Jodel' should not be looked upon as a Jodel, but as a Falconar. This is ither good or bad. Just a fact to take into account" The F9A features a cantilever

low-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 ...

, a single seat enclosed cockpit that is wide, fixed

conventional landing gear Conventional landing gear, or tailwheel-type landing gear, is an aircraft undercarriage consisting of two main wheels forward of the center of gravity and a small wheel or skid to support the tail.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Term ...

and a single engine in

tractor configuration In aviation, the term tractor configuration refers to an aircraft constructed in the standard configuration with its engine mounted with the propeller in front of it so that the aircraft is "pulled" through the air. Oppositely, the pusher co ...

. The F9A and F10A are made from wood, with the flying surfaces covered in doped

aircraft fabric Aircraft fabric covering is a term used for both the material used and the process of covering aircraft open structures. It is also used for reinforcing closed plywood structures. The de Havilland Mosquito is an example of this technique, as are ...

. Its span wing has an area of . Construction time from the supplied kit is estimated as 700 hours.

Operational history

By November 2012, one F9A had been registered with

Transport Canada Transport Canada (french: Transports Canada) is the department within the Government of Canada responsible for developing regulations, policies and services of road, rail, marine and air transportation in Canada. It is part of the Transporta ...

, one F10A in the United States with the

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic ...

and none with the CAA in the United Kingdom.

Variants

;F9 :

Volkswagen air-cooled engine The Volkswagen air-cooled engine is an air-cooled, gasoline-fuelled, boxer engine with four horizontally opposed cast-iron cylinders, cast aluminum alloy cylinder heads and pistons, magnesium-alloy crankcase, and forged steel crankshaft and ...

;F9A :Initial model with an empty weight of and a gross weight of . The aircraft's recommended engine power range is and engines that have been used include the

and

Hirth Hirth Engines GmbH is an engine manufacturer based in Benningen, Germany. It is currently a part of the UMS Aero Group. Hirth began manufacturing aero engines in the 1920s, was taken over by Heinkel in WWII to develop the Heinkel-Hirth jet en ...

two-stroke A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a power cycle with two strokes (up and down movements) of the piston during one power cycle, this power cycle being completed in one revolution of ...

powerplants. ;F10A :Strengthened model to allow the installation of larger engines, with an empty weight of and a gross weight of . The aircraft's recommended engine power range is . The fuselage is lengthened from the F9A and stressed to 9 g.

Specifications (F9A)

References

External links

F9A Official websiteF10A Official website
{{Falconar Avia aircraft Homebuilt aircraft F9A Single-engined tractor aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1965