The Prue IIA is an American,

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 ...

, two-seat,

T-tail A T-tail is an empennage configuration in which the tailplane is mounted to the top of the fin. The arrangement looks like the capital letter T, hence the name. The T-tail differs from the standard configuration in which the tailplane ...

glider Glider may refer to: Aircraft and transport Aircraft * Glider (aircraft), heavier-than-air aircraft primarily intended for unpowered flight ** Glider (sailplane), a rigid-winged glider aircraft with an undercarriage, used in the sport of glidin ...

that was designed by Irving Prue and constructed by Ed Minghelle of Palmdale, California.Said, Bob: ''1983 Sailplane Directory,

Soaring Magazine ''SOARING'' is a magazine published monthly as a membership benefit of the Soaring Society of America. It was first published in 1937. The headquarters is in Hobbs, New Mexico. The magazine's article topics include safety issues and accounts of in ...

'', page 55,

Soaring Society of America The Soaring Society of America (SSA) was founded at the instigation of Warren E. Eaton to promote the sport of soaring in the USA and internationally. The first meeting was held in New York City in the McGraw–Hill Building on February 20, 193 ...

November 1983. USPS 499-920

Design and development

Based on the Prue Two, the IIA incorporates many changes to the basic design, including a T-tail in place of a low-tail, fixed instead of retractable landing gear, a shorter two-piece wing instead of a three-piece wing and an empty weight that is lighter. The Prue IIA was built by Minghelle between 1961 and 1964, culminating in a first flight in October 1964. The Prue IIA has a wing that employs a

NACA The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) was a United States federal agency founded on March 3, 1915, to undertake, promote, and institutionalize aeronautical research. On October 1, 1958, the agency was dissolved and its assets ...

63-618 airfoil. The aircraft is of all-metal construction and seats two in

tandem Tandem, or in tandem, is an arrangement in which a team of machines, animals or people are lined up one behind another, all facing in the same direction. The original use of the term in English was in ''tandem harness'', which is used for two ...

under a long single-piece canopy. Only one Prue IIA was ever built.

Operational history

The Prue IIA was used to set several multi-place glider records. It held the world out-and-return record of for a period of six months in 1967. A second world out-and-return record was set in 1972, flying from

Pearblossom, California Pearblossom is an unincorporated community located in the Antelope Valley of the Mojave Desert, in northern Los Angeles County, California. The town has a population of 2,435. The ZIP Code is 93553 and the community is inside area code 661. ...

. In 1967 it was also flown to a world multi-place declared goal record of . The IIA was removed from 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 ...

aircraft registry on 16 March 1989 and now belongs to the

National Soaring Museum The National Soaring Museum (NSM) is an aviation museum whose stated aim is to preserve the history of motorless flight. It is located on top of Harris Hill near Elmira, New York, United States. The NSM is the Soaring Society of America's officia ...

Aircraft on display

- sole example, listed as "in storage".

Specifications (Prue IIA)

References

{{Irving Prue aircraft 1960s United States sailplanes Homebuilt aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1964 High-wing aircraft T-tail aircraft

Design and development

Operational history

Aircraft on display

Specifications (Prue IIA)

See also

References