The Mong MS1 Sport is a 1950s American

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 ...

biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...

design with over 400 sets of plans for the aircraft have been sold.

Design and development

The first Mong Sport was built as a personal aircraft by the designer Ralph Mong, Jr. Plans for homebuilding were provided afterward in collaboration with Frank Powell, an Aerospace Engineer and draftsman for Aero Commander at the time, due to demand. The original biplane was built around a Continental A65 engine. The biplane has the unique feature of lift struts placed between the lower fuselage frame and the upper wing I strut attachment. The biplane did not require expensive, drag producing support wires, using steel tubing instead. The fuselage is steel tube with

aircraft fabric covering 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 ar ...

Operational history

In the mid 1960s, a biplane class was added to the Reno Air Races. The Mong Sport met the basic qualifications, and has been extensively modified over the years by builders to be used as a biplane racer. In 1965, Bill Boland won with his ''"Boland Mong"'' at 148 mph and again in 1967 and 1970 with speeds of 151 mph and 177 mph respectively. The ''Mongster'' won the 1968 Biplane class of the Reno National Championship. ''Long Gone Mong'' won in 1987 and 1989. A highly modified Mong ''Phantom'' with carbon fiber wings won in 2006 with a speed of 251.958 mph, and has recently raised the record to 284.454mp

Variants

;MS-1 ;MS-3 ;

Green Sky Adventures Micro Mong The Green Sky Adventures Micro Mong is an ultralight biplane based on the Mong MS1 Sport. Development Ed Fisher, an avid compiler of Mong Sport history, in 1981 met with designer Ralph Mong. After the completion of the Fisher Skylite, Fisher s ...

:An ultralight designed by Ed Fisher at the suggestion of Ralph Mong in 1993. In 1996 Ed Fisher acquired the rights to the Mong Sport aircraft. In 2019, Mike Stewart acquired the rights from Fisher and currently sells plans for the MS-2 and MS-3, with some corrections to errors made in the original blueprints.

Aircraft on display

A Mong MS1 Sport is on display at the

Planes of Fame Air Museum Planes of Fame Air Museum is an aviation museum in Chino, California,World Wa ...

, Chino, California.

Specifications (Mong MS1 Sport)

References