The Wren 460 is a

STOL A short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft is a conventional fixed-wing aircraft that has short runway requirements for takeoff and landing. Many STOL-designed aircraft also feature various arrangements for use on airstrips with harsh conditio ...

conversion of a

Cessna 180 The Cessna 180 Skywagon is a four- or six-seat, fixed conventional gear general aviation airplane which was produced between 1953 and 1981. Though the design is no longer in production, many of these aircraft are still in use as personal aircr ...

182 Year 182 ( CLXXXII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Sura and Rufus (or, less frequently, year 935 ''Ab urbe condita'') ...

airframe.

Design and development

The Wren 460 traces its history to the Skyshark, a modification of the earlier Robertson Skylark SRX-1, built by James Robertson, son of Robertson Aircraft Corporation founder William B. Robertson, in the late 1950s. The Skyshark incorporated a number of modifications, most notably a

canard Canard is French for duck, a type of aquatic bird. Canard may also refer to: Aviation *Canard (aeronautics), a small wing in front of an aircraft's main wing * Aviafiber Canard 2FL, a single seat recreational aircraft of canard design * Blé ...

fitted with elevators in the slipstream behind the propeller. It was a technological success but too expensive to produce. Robertson incorporated many features of the Skyshark into the Wren Aircraft Company's Wren 460. A conversion of the Cessna 180 or 182 airframe, the Wren 460 featured full-span double-slotted flaps, movable spoilers to assist the ailerons with roll control, and an optional reversible pitch propeller for shorter landing runs. Like the Skyshark, the Wren 460 also featured a set of canards immediately behind the propeller, taking advantage of the propeller's airstream and allowing the nose to pitch up even when the aircraft is motionless. The angle of the airfoil was also changed from 16 to 20 degrees, a modification that would later be incorporated in the standard 182.

Operational history

The Wren 460, modified from a Cessna 182A, made its first flight in January 1963, and received

FAA 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 ...

certification Certification is the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestation or confirmation of certain characteristics of a ...

on June 30, 1964. Pilots praised the Wren 460 for its STOL performance. Kevin Brown of ''

Popular Mechanics ''Popular Mechanics'' (sometimes PM or PopMech) is a magazine of popular science and technology, featuring automotive, home, outdoor, electronics, science, do-it-yourself, and technology topics. Military topics, aviation and transportation o ...

'' noting that it "lands like a carrier plane", but also noted that such a touchdown was "quite hard". Despite the publicity of its initial release, few were built due in part to its price, which was over twice that of a stock Cessna 182 at the time. Wren Aircraft eventually went bankrupt in 1969 after the United States military rejected its projects. The type certificate of the Wren 460 was sold to Galen Means, and was again sold to Todd Peterson in 1977. Peterson, the owner of Advanced Lift Systems (later Peterson's Performance Plus), began production of the Wren 460 once again as the Wren 460P, this time modified from used 182 airframes of newer models as opposed to the new, early model airframes of the original. Unlike the original, the Wren 460P did not have the option of a reversible propeller as Peterson believed it offered too little benefit for its cost. By 1986, a Wren 460P cost less than a new 182 by almost $20,000.

Variants

;Wren 460 :Original conversions by Wren Aircraft Company. About 200 modified from new Cessna 180 and 182 airframes. ;Wren 460 Beta :Wren 460 with optional reversible propeller. ;Wren 460G :Designation of aircraft converted from 182G airframes. ;Wren 460H :Designation of aircraft converted from new 182H airframes. Certified June 1965. ;Wren 460P :Conversions by Advanced Lift Systems (later Peterson's Performance Plus). Modified from used 182H through 182M airframes, no option for reversible propeller. ;Wren 460QB :"Quiet Bird". Modified Wren 460B to compete with the

Lockheed YO-3 Quiet Star The Lockheed YO-3 Quiet Star is an American single-engined, propeller-driven aircraft that was developed for battlefield observation during the Vietnam War. Designed to be as quiet as possible, it was intended to observe troop movements in near-s ...

. Speculated to have been a candidate for the ZO-4A designation, with the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

proposing to buy 28 aircraft before the O-4 program was canceled in 1970. ;Peterson 260SE :Simplified conversion with stock wings and a 260 hp Continental IO-470-F engine. Over 500 converted. ;Peterson 230SE :Further simplified conversion with only the canard modification. ;Super Skylane :Non-STOL conversion of the 182 with the 260 hp IO-470-F. ;Bushmaster :Version of the 260SE with strengthened landing gear and large tires, intended for

bush flying Bush flying refers to aircraft operations carried out in the bush. Bush flying involves operations in rough terrain where there are often no prepared landing strips or runways, frequently necessitating that bush planes be equipped with abnormally ...

. ;Katmai :Peterson 260 SE with lengthened wings. ;King Katmai :Katmai with a 300 hp Continental IO-550 engine. ;Kenai :King Katmai with stock 182 wings.

Specifications (Wren 460)

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Taylor, John W. R. ''Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1988-89''. Coulsdon, UK:Jane's Defence Data, 1988. . * Brown, K.; "Takeoff at 30: Cockpit test of new toothwing plane", ''Popular mechanics'', September 1963, Pages 94–97,203-20

(retrieved 6 October 2014).

External links

Manufacturer's websitePhoto galleries
Peterson 230/260SEs and Wren 460s
Wren 460 picture
Spoilers, full-wing double-slotted flaps and canard clearly visible.
Wren 460
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wren 460 1980s United States civil utility aircraft Canard aircraft High-wing aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1963