Coates Swalesong
The Coates Swalesong is a 1970s British two-seat homebuilt monoplane.
| Swalesong | |
|---|---|
 | |
| The Swalesong S.A.II at Bourn Airfield Cambridgeshire in 1982 | |
| Role | Homebuilt monoplane |
| Designer | James Ralph Coates |
| First flight | 1973[1] |
| Retired | 2007 |
| Status | Preserved |
| Primary user | Private pilot owner |
Development and operational history
The Swalesong S.A.II was designed and built by J. R. Coates. It is a low-wing wooden construction (spruce with plywood skin) cantilever monoplane with a fixed tricycle undercarriage, with pilot and passenger sitting side-by-side in an enclosed cockpit with a sliding canopy.[2] It first flew on 2 September 1973,[2][1] powered by a 90 hp (67 kW) Continental PC60 Ground Power Unit converted to Continental C90 standard.[3] A simplified version, the Swalesong S.A.III, was designed for homebuilding, which could be powered by engines of 85–108 hp (63–81 kW).[4]
Only one S.A.II G-AYDV and one simplified S.A.III were built. The Swalesong S.A.II survives at Breighton Airfield, East Yorkshire. The CAA G-INFO website shows that its registration is current in February 2021.
Variants
- Swalesong S.A.I
- Designation of Luton Minor registration G-AMAW built by Jim Coates in the 1950s, not connected with S.A.II or S.A.III
- Swalesong S.A.II
- Prototype, one built.[4]
- Swalesong S.A.III
- Simplified design for amateur construction, one built.[4]
Specifications (SAII)
Data from Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1975–76[2]
General characteristics
- Length: 19 ft 0 in (5.79 m)
- Wingspan: 26 ft 5 in (8.05 m)
- Height: 7 ft 3 in (2.21 m) (overall)
- Wing area: 120 sq ft (11 m2)
- Airfoil: NACA 23013.5
- Empty weight: 730 lb (331 kg)
- Max takeoff weight: 1,207 lb (547 kg)
- Fuel capacity: 24 imp gal (29 US gal; 110 L)
- Powerplant: 1 × Continental C90 air-cooled four-cylinder horizontally opposed engine, 90 hp (67 kW)
- Propellers: wooden fixed-pitch-bladed, 5 ft 2 in (1.57 m) diameter
Performance
- Maximum speed: 130 mph (210 km/h, 110 kn) at 1,000 ft (300 m)
- Cruise speed: 95 mph (153 km/h, 83 kn) at 1,000 ft (300 m) (econ. cruise)
- Stall speed: 49 mph (79 km/h, 43 kn) (flaps down)
- Never exceed speed: 170 mph (270 km/h, 150 kn)
- Range: 450 mi (720 km, 390 nmi)
References
- Ord-Hume 2013, p. 110
- Taylor 1975, p. 202
- Jackson 1974, p. 382
- Taylor 1982, pp. 518–519
- Jackson, A.J. (1974). British Civil Aircraft since 1919 Volume 2. London: Putnam. ISBN 0-370-10010-7.
- Ord-Hume, A. W. J. G. (2013). British Private Aircraft 1946–1970: Volume 2. Petersfield: MMP Books. ISBN 978-83-61421-92-4.
- Taylor, John W. R., ed. (1975). Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1975–75. London: Jane's Yearbooks. ISBN 0-354-00521-9.
- Taylor, John W. R., ed. (1982). Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1982–83. London: Jane's Yearbooks. ISBN 0-7106-0748-2.