The Prue Two was 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

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 and built by Irving Prue, first flying in 1959.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

Prue designed the Prue Two as a high-performance two-seater, completing it and flying it in 1959. The aircraft was of all-metal construction, except for its

fiberglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass ( Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass clo ...

nose cone. The wing was of a span, employed 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 ...

63-618A airfoil and featured large dive brakes. The wing was a three-piece design, with a centre section and two

wing tip A wing tip (or wingtip) is the part of the wing that is most distant from the fuselage of a fixed-wing aircraft. Because the wing tip shape influences the size and drag of the wingtip vortices, tip design has produced a diversity of sha ...

s. Due to its large wing area it was nicknamed "Aluminum Overcast". The tail was a conventional low tail, in contrast to Prue's favoured

V-tail The V-tail or ''Vee-tail'' (sometimes called a butterfly tail or Rudlicki's V-tailGudmundsson S. (2013). "General Aviation Aircraft Design: Applied Methods and Procedures" (Reprint). Butterworth-Heinemann. p. 489. , 9780123973290) of an aircraft ...

on earlier designs. The landing gear was a retractable monowheel. The Prue Two was the basis for the Prue IIA, which first flew in October 1964 and was used to set several world multi-place records.

Operational history

reported in 1983 that Prue still owned the machine and was still flying it at that time. 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 ...

reports that it was destroyed and removed it from their aircraft register 10 February 1992.

Specifications (Prue Two)

References

{{Irving Prue aircraft 1950s United States sailplanes Homebuilt aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1959

Design and development

Operational history

Specifications (Prue Two)

See also

References