The Falconar SAL Mustang, also called the 2/3 Mustang and the SAL P-51D Mustang is a Canadian

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 ...

, originally produced by

Falconar Avia Falconar Avia was a Canadian aircraft manufacturer based in Edmonton, Alberta. The company specialized in the design and manufacture of kits and plans for amateur construction.Purdy, Don: ''AeroCrafter - Homebuilt Aircraft Sourcebook'', page 1 ...

and introduced in 1969. The aircraft is a scale replica of the

North American P-51 Mustang The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter aircraft, fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in April 1940 by a team ...

and is supplied as a kit or as plans for amateur construction.Vandermeullen, Richard: ''2012 Kit Aircraft Buyer's Guide'', Kitplanes, Volume 28, Number 12, December 2011, page 52. Belvoir Publications. ISSN 0891-1851Purdy, Don: ''AeroCrafter - Homebuilt Aircraft Sourcebook'', page 154. BAI Communications. Since the winding up of business by Falconar Avia in 2019, the plans are now sold by

Manna Aviation Manna Aviation is an Australian aircraft manufacturer based in Toronto, New South Wales, founded by Phil Hale. The company specializes in provision of parts and plans for amateur construction. The company focuses on plans for wooden aircraft, ...

Design and development

In 1963 Falconar partnered with designer

Marcel Jurca Marcel Jurca, (1921 – 19 October 2001) was a prolific designer of homebuilt aircraft in France. He is most well known for his Tempête and Sirocco designs. Early life Born in Romania, Jurca was impressed by the PZL fighters which often flew over ...

to produce the

Jurca Gnatsum The Jurca Gnatsum is a French homebuilt near scale replica aircraft based on the North American P-51 Mustang. Design & Development The Gnatsum (Mustang spelled backwards) is one of many wooden homebuilt designs from Romanian designer Marcel ...

. By 1967, Falconar recommended a large number of changes to the design, which resulted in Jurca leaving the project. The modified aircraft was developed as the SAL Mustang and first flown in 1971 after significant cost overruns. Falconar Aircraft Ltd was sold to George F. Chivers and other investors, and operated as Sturgeon Air Ltd (SAL) with Falconar as an employee until 1973. The SAL Mustang 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, or optionally a 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 ...

, enclosed cockpit under a

bubble canopy A bubble canopy is an aircraft canopy constructed without bracing, for the purpose of providing a wider unobstructed field of view to the pilot, often providing 360° all-round visibility. The designs of bubble canopies can drastically vary; so ...

, retractable

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 ...

, including a manually retractable tailwheel 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 c ...

. The aircraft is made from wood covered with

fibreglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass clo ...

cloth and 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 ...

. Some parts, like the belly air scoop are made from fibreglass. Its span wing has an area of and mounts flaps that may be electrically or manually operated. The cockpit is wide and the bubble canopy is jettisonable. The aircraft's recommended engine power range is . Engines that have been used include the

Lycoming IO-360 The Lycoming O-360 is a family of four-cylinder, direct-drive, horizontally opposed, air-cooled, piston aircraft engines. Engines in the O-360 series produce between 145 and 225 horsepower (109 to 168 kW), with the basic O-360 producing ...

horizontally opposed A flat engine is a piston engine where the cylinders are located on either side of a central crankshaft. Flat engines are also known as horizontally opposed engines, however this is distinct from the less common opposed-piston engine design, wh ...

engine, the

Ranger L-440 The Ranger L-440 (company designation 6-440C) are six-cylinder inline inverted air-cooled aero-engines produced by the Ranger Aircraft Engine Division of the Fairchild Engine and Airplane Corporation of Farmingdale, New York, United States. The ...

inverted inline, the

Avia M 337 The Avia M 337 (originally designated the Walter M337) is an inverted six-cylinder air-cooled inline engine. It was developed by the Czechoslovak company as a six-cylinder derivative of the four-cylinder M 332 engine, going into production in 1 ...

inverted inline,

Continental O-470 The Continental O-470 engine is a family of carbureted and fuel-injected six-cylinder, horizontally opposed, air-cooled aircraft engines that was developed especially for use in light aircraft by Continental Motors. Engines designated "IO" ...

horizontally opposed, the

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

V6 automotive conversion, as well as other automotive V-6 or V-8 powerplants. Construction time from the supplied kit is estimated as 2500 hours. The paper plans supplied total an area of , weigh and include a construction manual. An alternative set of plans allows constructing a tandem two-seat version. The plans are very detailed and complete and one builder rated them as "the best I have seen on any homebuilt airplane".

Operational history

The prototype was introduced at the 1971 EAA airshow painted in the same gold and red colors as the Canadian

Golden Hawks The Golden Hawks were a Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) aerobatic flying team established in 1959 to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the RCAF and the "Golden" 50th anniversary of Canadian flight, which began with the AEA Silver Dart in 1909. ...

airshow team. In July 2012 the manufacturer indicated that 18 examples had been completed and flown in the 43 years that the plans and kits had been available.

Specifications (SAL Mustang)

References

External links

Official websitePhoto of a Falconar SAL Mustang
{{Falconar Avia aircraft Homebuilt aircraft SAL Mustang Single-engined tractor aircraft