The Malmö MFI-10 Vipan (en: Peewit) was a four-seat light utility

monoplane 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 con ...

designed and built in Sweden by

Malmö Flygindustri Malmö Flygindustri was a small aviation and car company in south Sweden which specialized in small single-propeller aircraft and various plastic objects. It was later acquired by SAAB. Products ;Aircraft * MFI-9 * MFI-10 Vipan * BA-12 Sländan ...

. Only three aircraft were built and the type did not enter quantity production.

Design and development

Designed to meet a requirement for both a civil and military utility aircraft the MFI-10 was a braced high-wing monoplane with a fixed tailwheel landing gear and a cabin for a pilot and three passengers. The aircraft made extensive use of aluminum

honeycomb structure Honeycomb structures are natural or man-made structures that have the geometry of a honeycomb to allow the minimization of the amount of used material to reach minimal weight and minimal material cost. The geometry of honeycomb structures ca ...

, with the wings, tail and rear fuselage made of honeycomb and the forward fuselage of welded steel tubes.Harrison ''Flight International'' 7 May 1964, p. 779. The prototype was powered by a nose-mounted 160 hp (119 kW)

Lycoming O-320 The Lycoming O-320 is a large family of naturally aspirated, air-cooled, four-cylinder, direct-drive engines produced by Lycoming Engines. They are commonly used on light aircraft such as the Cessna 172 and Piper Cherokee. Different variants ...

engine and first flew in 1961. It was followed by two military prototypes for the Swedish Army designated MFI-10B. The MFI-10B had a 180 hp (134 kW)

Lycoming O-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 ...

-A1A engine and first flew on 27 June 1962. Plans to produce a variant with a more powerful engine did not proceed and the aircraft did not enter quantity production. The German company Rhein-Flugzeugbau (RFB) proposed new versions of the MFI-10 in 1993, with either

tailwheel 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 ...

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 ...

s.Lambert 1993, p. 687.

Variants

;MFI-10 Vipan :Civil prototype with a 160hp (119kW)

engine, one built. ;MFI-10B Vipan :Military prototype with a 180hp (134kW)

-A1A engine, two built, designated MFI Fpl54. ;MFI-10C Vipan :Proposed by RFB - military version with tailwheel undercarriage and powered by O-360-A engine. ;MFI-10D Phönix :Proposed by RFB - civil version with nosewheel undercarriage.

Operators

; * Swedish Army

Specifications (MFI-10B)

Notes

References

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Malmo MFI-10 Vipan 1960s Swedish military utility aircraft MFI-10 Single-engined tractor aircraft High-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1961