The Fuji LM-1 Nikko is a Japanese light communications aircraft of the 1950s.

Development

Beech T-34 Mentor The Beechcraft T-34 Mentor is an American propeller-driven, single-engined, military trainer aircraft derived from the Beechcraft Model 35 Bonanza. The earlier versions of the T-34, dating from around the late 1940s to the 1950s, were piston ...

two-seat training aircraft under licence in the early 1950s. Fuji then redesigned the basic Mentor as a four-seat communications aircraft under the designation LM-1. A new lengthened centre fuselage was added to the Mentor's wing, undercarriage and tail assembly. 27 LM-1s were produced during 1955-1956.

Operational history

The LM-1s were delivered to the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) and were used for communications and general duties. After withdrawal from operation, several LM-1s were sold on the U.S. civil market and are flown by civil pilots as "warbirds".

Variants

;LM-1: four-seat communications aircraft with 225 h.p. (168 kW)

Continental engine Continental Aerospace Technologies is an aircraft engine manufacturer located at the Brookley Aeroplex in Mobile, Alabama, United States. It was originally spun off from automobile engine manufacturer Continental Motors Company in 1929 and owne ...

(27 built) ;LM-2: higher-powered version with 340 h.p. (254 kW) Lycoming engine (2 built) ;

RTAF-2 __NOTOC__ The RTAF-2 is a single-engine training and liaison aircraft that was developed by the Royal Thai Air Force's Science and Weapon Systems Development Centre in 1957.Braun, Jean MarcRTAF-2, B.THOR2, Royal Thai Air Force/ref>Forsgren, Joh ...

: a variant developed in

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

Thai Aviation Industry Thai Aviation Industries (TAI) (Thai ไทย: บริษัท อุตสาหกรรมการบินไทย) is Thailand's aircraft repair and maintenance service center. The Thai government approved the establishment of TAI on 2 ...

.Forsgren, John
"Aircraft Production in Thailand"
''Aeroflight.co.uk''. 20 November 2004. Retrieved 3 January 2015. ;LM-11 Supernikko: A proposed more powerful version of the LM-1 powered by a

Lycoming GSO-480-B1A6 The Lycoming O-480 is a family of six-cylinder, horizontally opposed fixed-wing aircraft engines of 479.6 cubic inch (7.86 L) displacement, made by Lycoming Engines. The engine is a six-cylinder version of the four-cylinder Lycoming O-320. De ...

engine; became the LM-2.

Specifications (LM-1)

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * * * {{Fuji aircraft 1950s Japanese military utility aircraft LM-1 Low-wing aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1955