The World Aircraft Vision, also called the Sentinel, is an American STOL

amateur-built 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 ...

, produced by the World Aircraft Company. The aircraft was publicly introduced at Sun 'n Fun in 2012 and production is expected to commence in 2014. It is supplied as a kit for amateur construction or as a complete ready-to-fly aircraft.Bernard, Mary and Suzanne B. Bopp: ''World Aircraft Company: Vision'', Kitplanes, Volume 29, Number 12, December 2012, page 26. Belvoir Publications.

Design and development

A development of the

World Aircraft Spirit The World Aircraft Spirit is a Colombian/ American amateur-built aircraft, designed by Max Tedesco and produced by World Aircraft Company. The aircraft was publicly introduced at AirVenture in 2011 and production is expected to commence in 2014. ...

, the Vision 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 two-seats-in-

side-by-side configuration 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 ...

enclosed cockpit that is wide, fixed

tricycle landing gear Tricycle gear is a type of aircraft undercarriage, or ''landing gear'', arranged in a tricycle fashion. The tricycle arrangement has a single nose wheel in the front, and two or more main wheels slightly aft of the center of gravity. Tricycle g ...

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 ...

. It also has large clear plastic doors and an enlarged front windshield to enhance visibility. The aircraft is made from

aluminum Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It ha ...

sheet. Its span wing has an area of and mounts flaps. The wing is supported by "V" struts and

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 aircraft's recommended engine is the

Rotax 912ULS The Rotax 912 is a horizontally-opposed four-cylinder, naturally aspirated, four-stroke aircraft engine with a reduction gearbox. It features liquid-cooled cylinder heads and air-cooled cylinders. Originally equipped with carburetors, later ...

four-stroke powerplant. The tricycle landing gear is strengthened for rough field operations and includes an adjustable nose strut shock absorber. Electric rudder trim is standard. The aircraft has a design maximum gross weight of , but is restricted to if flown in the US light-sport aircraft category. Vision kits are fully assembled at the factory and then disassembled for customer delivery and may be shipped painted as well. As of October 2012, the design appears on 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 ...

's list of approved special light-sport aircraft under the name ''Sentinel''.

Operational history

By November 2012 two examples had been registered in the United States with the

under the Sentinel name.

Specifications (Vision)

References

External links

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Vision STOL takeoffVision STOL Landing
{{World Aircraft Company aircraft Homebuilt aircraft Light-sport aircraft STOL aircraft High-wing aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft