The Freedom Aviation Phoenix was a single-engine four-seat

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

airplane that was sold as a

homebuilt Homebuilt machines are machines built outside of specialised workshops or factories. This can include different things such as kit cars or homebuilt computers, but normally it pertains to homebuilt aircraft, also known as amateur-built aircraft or ...

composite canard aircraft. The kit was produced at a facility on St. Lucie County International Airport at Ft. Pierce, Florida.

Design and development

The Phoenix airframe was formed of carbon-fiber

composite materials A composite material (also called a composition material or shortened to composite, which is the common name) is a material which is produced from two or more constituent materials. These constituent materials have notably dissimilar chemical or ...

on factory molds. The aircraft was assembled as a homebuilt, with a factory-sponsored builder-assist program available. The aircraft has a swept, dihedral canard mounted ahead of the cabin, and a swept main lifting surface. Each wing has a

fin A fin is a thin component or appendage attached to a larger body or structure. Fins typically function as foils that produce lift or thrust, or provide the ability to steer or stabilize motion while traveling in water, air, or other fluids. Fin ...

(with full-length rudder) mounted about midway to the tip. In addition, the wingtips have swept

winglets Wingtip devices are intended to improve the efficiency of fixed-wing aircraft by reducing drag. Although there are several types of wing tip devices which function in different manners, their intended effect is always to reduce an aircraft' ...

, which provide additional yaw stability while decreasing

induced drag In aerodynamics, lift-induced drag, induced drag, vortex drag, or sometimes drag due to lift, is an aerodynamic drag force that occurs whenever a moving object redirects the airflow coming at it. This drag force occurs in airplanes due to wings or ...

. The Phoenix is powered by a six-cylinder horizontally-opposed piston engine driving a

pusher propeller In an aircraft with a pusher configuration (as opposed to a tractor configuration), the propeller(s) are mounted behind their respective engine(s). Since a pusher propeller is mounted behind the engine, the drive shaft is in compression in nor ...

. The

tricycle landing gear Tricycle gear is a type of aircraft undercarriage, or ''landing gear'', arranged in a tricycle fashion. The tricycle arrangement has a single nose wheel in the front, and two or more main wheels slightly aft of the center of gravity. Tricycle g ...

is retractable. Only one aircraft was ever built, and the company has since gone out of business.

Specifications (Phoenix)

{{Aircraft specs , ref= , prime units?=kts , genhide= , crew=1 , capacity=3 pax / maximum {{convert, 1500, lb, kg, abbr=on / {{convert, 750, lb, kg, abbr=on with full fuel , length m=6.86 , length ft= , length in= , length note= , span m=10.49 , span ft= , span in= , span note= , height m=2.21 , height ft= , height in= , height note= , wing area sqm= , wing area sqft= , wing area note= , swept area sqm= , swept area sqft= , swept area note= , volume m3= , volume ft3= , volume note= , aspect ratio= , airfoil= , empty weight kg= , empty weight lb= , empty weight note= , gross weight kg= , gross weight lb= , gross weight note= , max takeoff weight kg= , max takeoff weight lb= , max takeoff weight note= , fuel capacity={{convert, 125, USgal, impgal l, abbr=on , lift kg= , lift lb= , lift note= , more general= * Cabin width: {{convert, 50, in, mm, abbr=on * Cabin height: {{convert, 44, in, mm, abbr=on * Cabin length: {{convert, 129, in, mm, abbr=on , eng1 number=1 , eng1 name=

Continental IO-550 The Continental IO-550 engine is a large family of 9 liter fuel injected six-cylinder, horizontally opposed, air-cooled aircraft engines that were developed for use in light aircraft by Teledyne Continental Motors. The first IO-550 was deliver ...

, eng1 type=6-cylinder horizontally-opposed air-cooled

piston engine A reciprocating engine, also often known as a piston engine, is typically a heat engine that uses one or more reciprocating pistons to convert high temperature and high pressure into a rotating motion. This article describes the common featu ...

, eng1 kw= , eng1 hp=310 , eng1 shp= , eng1 kn= , eng1 lbf= , eng1 note= , power original= , thrust original= , eng1 kn-ab= , eng1 lbf-ab= , prop blade number= , prop name= , prop dia m= , prop dia ft= , prop dia in= , prop dia note= , perfhide= , max speed kmh= , max speed mph= , max speed kts= , max speed note= , max speed mach= , cruise speed kmh= , cruise speed mph= , cruise speed kts=185 , cruise speed note= at 65% power , stall speed kmh= , stall speed mph= , stall speed kts=70 , stall speed note= , never exceed speed kmh= , never exceed speed mph= , never exceed speed kts=215 , never exceed speed note=

IAS IAS may refer to: Science * Institute for Advanced Study, in Princeton, New Jersey, United States * Image Analysis & Stereology, the official journal of the International Society for Stereology & Image Analysis. * Iowa Archeological Society, Uni ...

, minimum control speed kmh= , minimum control speed mph= , minimum control speed kts= , minimum control speed note= , range km= , range miles= , range nmi=1400 , range note=with 30 minute reserve , combat range km= , combat range miles= , combat range nmi= , combat range note= , ferry range km= , ferry range miles= , ferry range nmi= , ferry range note= , endurance= , ceiling m= , ceiling ft= , ceiling note= , g limits= , roll rate= , glide ratio= , climb rate ms=6.6 , climb rate ftmin= , climb rate note= , time to altitude= , sink rate ms= , sink rate ftmin= , sink rate note= , lift to drag= , wing loading kg/m2= , wing loading lb/sqft= , wing loading note= , disk loading kg/m2= , disk loading lb/sqft= , disk loading note= , fuel consumption kg/km= , fuel consumption lb/mi=0.423 , power/mass= , thrust/weight= , more performance= , avionics=

External links

Manufacturer's website via archive.org
2000s United States civil utility aircraft Homebuilt aircraft Canard aircraft

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

Single-engined pusher aircraft Aircraft first flown in 2007