The Associated Air Liberty 181 is an American

homebuilt aircraft Homebuilt aircraft, also known as amateur-built aircraft or kit planes, are constructed by persons for whom this is not a professional activity. These aircraft may be constructed from "scratch", from plans, or from assembly kits.Armstrong, Kenn ...

that was designed and produced by Associated Air of

Woodland, Washington Woodland is a city in Clark and Cowlitz counties in the State of Washington. Most residents live within Cowlitz County, in which the majority of the city lies. It is part of the ' Longview, Washington Metropolitan Statistical Area'. The populatio ...

, introduced in the late 1990s. When it was available the aircraft was supplied as a kit for amateur construction.Purdy, Don: ''AeroCrafter - Homebuilt Aircraft Sourcebook, Fifth Edition'', page 118. BAI Communications, 15 July 1998.

Design and development

The Liberty 181 was designed as a

bushplane A bush airplane is a general aviation aircraft used to provide both scheduled and unscheduled passenger and flight services to remote, undeveloped areas, such as the Canadian north or bush, Alaskan tundra, the African bush, or savanna, Amazon rai ...

for hauling heavy loads into unprepared airstrips. It features a strut-braced

high-wing 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 co ...

, a four-seat enclosed cabin with doors, fixed

conventional landing gear 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 ...

and a single engine in

tractor configuration In aviation, the term tractor configuration refers to an aircraft constructed in the standard configuration with its engine mounted with the propeller in front of it so that the aircraft is "pulled" through the air. Oppositely, the pusher co ...

. The aircraft is made from mixed metal and composites and features extra large doors for loading bulky items. Its span wing mounts flaps, has a wing area of and is supported by two parallel

lift strut In aeronautics, bracing comprises additional structural members which stiffen the functional airframe to give it rigidity and strength under load. Bracing may be applied both internally and externally, and may take the form of strut, which act in ...

s per side, with

jury struts In aeronautics, bracing comprises additional structural members which stiffen the functional airframe to give it rigidity and strength under load. Bracing may be applied both internally and externally, and may take the form of strut, which act in ...

. The cabin width is . The acceptable power range is and the standard engine used is the

Continental O-470 The Continental O-470 engine is a family of carbureted and fuel-injected six-cylinder, horizontally opposed, air-cooled aircraft engines that was developed especially for use in light aircraft by Continental Motors. Engines designated "IO" ...

powerplant, with a

constant speed propeller In aeronautics, a variable-pitch propeller is a type of propeller (airscrew) with blades that can be rotated around their long axis to change the blade pitch. A controllable-pitch propeller is one where the pitch is controlled manually by the p ...

. With that engine installed the take-off distance is and the landing distance is . The aircraft has an empty weight of and a gross weight of , giving a useful load of . With full fuel of the payload is . Factory supplied options included floats and skis. The manufacturer estimates the construction time from the supplied kit as 2000 hours.

Operational history

By 1998 the company reported that 7 kits had been sold, with one aircraft flying. In October 2016 no examples were 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 ...

, although one had been previously registered and exported to Canada. In October 2016 one was registered with

Transport Canada Transport Canada (french: Transports Canada) is the department within the Government of Canada responsible for developing regulations, policies and services of road, rail, marine and air transportation in Canada. It is part of the Transporta ...

, having been built in the US in 1996 and imported in 2008.

Specifications (Liberty 181)

References

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External links

Photo of a Liberty 181
Liberty 181 1990s United States civil utility aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft High-wing aircraft Homebuilt aircraft