The Jameson RJJ-1 Gipsy Hawk was a single-engine light aircraft intended to be

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 ...

from plans. The prototype was designed and constructed in the U.S. by Richard Jameson in the late 1960s-early 1970s.

Design and development

The Gypsy Hawk was an all-metal low wing monoplane, constructed throughout from light alloy angle spars and frames under a light alloy skin. The wings and tailplane had constant chord and square tips. There was a fuel tank in the outer panel of each wing. The all-moving tail was set at the extreme rear

fuselage The fuselage (; from the French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an engine as well, although in some amphibious aircraft t ...

and had external

mass balance In physics, a mass balance, also called a material balance, is an application of conservation of mass to the analysis of physical systems. By accounting for material entering and leaving a system, mass flows can be identified which might have bee ...

s and an

anti-servo tab __NOTOC__ A servo tab is a small hinged device installed on an aircraft control surface to assist the movement of the control surfaces. Introduced by the German firm Flettner, servo tabs were formerly known as Flettner tabs. Servo tabs are not ...

. The

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 ...

and

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (generally aircraft, air or watercraft, water). On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to ...

were further forward, swept and with a

fillet Fillet may refer to: *Annulet (architecture), part of a column capital, also called a fillet *Fillet (aircraft), a fairing smoothing the airflow at a joint between two components *Fillet (clothing), a headband *Fillet (cut), a piece of meat *Fille ...

to lead the fin into the strongly sloping upper fuselage. The fuselage was a light alloy semi-

monocoque Monocoque ( ), also called structural skin, is a structural system in which loads are supported by an object's external skin, in a manner similar to an egg shell. The word ''monocoque'' is a French term for "single shell". First used for boats, ...

with a nose-mounted 65 hp (48 kW)

Continental A65 The Continental O-170 engine is the collective military designation for a family of small aircraft engines, known under the company designation of A50, A65, A75 and A80. The line was designed and built by Continental Motors commencing in the 194 ...

flat-four A flat-four engine, also known as a horizontally opposed-four engine, is a four-cylinder piston engine with two banks of cylinders lying on opposite sides of a common crankshaft. The most common type of flat-four engine is the boxer-four engine, ...

engine driving a fixed pitch, two-blade propeller. The single-seat

cockpit A cockpit or flight deck is the area, usually near the front of an aircraft or spacecraft, from which a Pilot in command, pilot controls the aircraft. The cockpit of an aircraft contains flight instruments on an instrument panel, and the ...

placed the pilot over the wing under a two-piece blown

canopy Canopy may refer to: Plants * Canopy (biology), aboveground portion of plant community or crop (including forests) * Canopy (grape), aboveground portion of grapes Religion and ceremonies * Baldachin or canopy of state, typically placed over an a ...

. The Gypsy Hawk had a fixed, unfaired

tricycle undercarriage 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 ge ...

. Construction of the Gypsy Hawk began about 1968 and the first flight was in 1972.

Operational history

By the end of February 1974 the Gypsy Hawk had logged 200 hours of testing but there is no record of other examples. By November 2012 the sole example was no longer registered 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 m ...

and may no longer exist.

Specifications

References

External links

{{Commons category, Jameson RJJ-1 Gipsy Hawk
NACA 747A315 airfoil
1970s United States sport aircraft Low-wing aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1972