The Pop's Props Pinocchio is a single seat, open-cockpit, mid-wing, single-engine
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 confi ...
that was inspired by the
Fokker Eindecker and first flown in 1994. The aircraft was produced by
Pop's Props of
Cooksville, Illinois and made available as plans or in
kit form. The company is no longer in business and the aircraft kit is no longer available.
[Cliche, Andre: ''Ultralight Aircraft Shopper's Guide'' 8th Edition, page B-46. Cybair Limited Publishing, 2001. ][Purdy, Don: ''AeroCrafter - Homebuilt Aircraft Sourcebook'', page 223. BAI Communications. ][Downey, Julia: ''1999 Kit Aircraft Directory'', Kitplanes, Volume 15, Number 12, December 1998, page 61. Primedia Publications. ISSN 0891-1851]
The aircraft was designed for the
FAR 103 Ultralight Vehicles
Ultralight aircraft in the United States are much smaller and lighter than ultralight aircraft as defined by all other countries.
In the United States, ultralights are described as "ultralight vehicles" and not as aircraft. They are not requ ...
category, including the category's empty weight limit. The standard empty weight of the Pinocchio is .
Design and development
While the Pinocchio was inspired by the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
Fokker Eindecker, it is not a replica of that classic
fighter aircraft
Fighter aircraft are fixed-wing military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air superiority of the battlespace. Domination of the airspace above a battlefield ...
. Reviewer Andre Cliche explains:
The Pinocchio is constructed of wood and covered in
aircraft fabric. The landing gear is
conventional with
bungee-sprung spoked mainwheels and includes a
tailskid
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 Terms ...
. The mid-mounted wing has a double surface and full-span
aileron
An aileron (French for "little wing" or "fin") is a hinged flight control surface usually forming part of the trailing edge of each wing of a fixed-wing aircraft. Ailerons are used in pairs to control the aircraft in roll (or movement around ...
s. The wing is wire-braced from a
kingpost mounted just ahead of the single cockpit. The
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 ...
is square in cross-section and the aft part from the
wing root to the
tailplane
A tailplane, also known as a horizontal stabiliser, is a small lifting surface located on the tail (empennage) behind the main lifting surfaces of a fixed-wing aircraft as well as other non-fixed-wing aircraft such as helicopters and gyroplane ...
is not fabric covered, but is left as bare wooden structure to save weight. The standard recommended engine is the
Half VW of , with a starter as optional. The designer recommended power range is .
The open-cockpit environment, without a windshield, requires that the pilot wear goggles as was common in World War I.
Due to the laborious wood and fabric construction, builder completion time from plans is estimated at 750 man-hours and 500 hours from the kit. At the time the kit was available, it could be ordered as one kit or as several sub-kits.
Specifications (Pinocchio)
See also
References
{{Pops Props
1990s United States ultralight aircraft
Homebuilt aircraft
Pinocchio
Aircraft first flown in 1994
Mid-wing aircraft
Single-engined tractor aircraft