Grumman Kitten

__NOTOC__

The Grumman Kitten was a 1940s American cabin monoplane designed and built by Grumman. Two versions were built; the G-63 Kitten I with a retractable tailwheel landing gear, and G-72 Kitten II with a retractable nosewheel landing gear.

Development

As part of the post-war plan for the company, in 1943 Grumman started looking at entering the light aircraft market. The first design was the G-63 Kitten I which was an all-metal two/three-seat cabin monoplane with a retractable tailwheel landing gear and powered by a Lycoming O-290 piston engine. The aircraft first flew on 18 March 1944. although testing continued the aircraft did not enter production due to the continuing war effort. The original wing was replaced by a ducted mainplane to improve the lift/drag ration. On 4 February 1946 a version with a retractable nosewheel landing gear and dual controls, the G-72 Kitten II was flown. The Kitten II also has improvements to the wing and the single vertical tail was changed to a twin fins, although it reverted to a single fin before it was flown.

In 1947 the G-72 was modified for ducted-wing testing as the G-81, it was fitted with slotted flaps to induce slow flight. It was first flown on 11 February 1947 but the project was abandoned.

Variants

;G-63 Kitten I:Prototype with retractable tailwheel landing gear, one built.;G-72 Kitten II:Prototype with retractable nosewheel landing gear and dual controls, one built.;G-81:G-72 modified for ducted-wing tests.

pecifications (G-63 Kitten I)

aerospecs
ref= [Oribis 1985, page 2037]
met or eng?= eng

crew=1
capacity=2 or 3 passengers
length m=6.06
length ft=19
length in=10¾
span m=9.75
span ft=32
span in=0
swept m=
swept ft=
swept in=
rot number=
rot dia m=
rot dia ft=
rot dia in=
dia m=
dia ft=
dia in=
width m=
width ft=
width in=
height m=1.76
height ft=5
height in=9¼
wing area sqm=12.08
wing area sqft=130
swept area sqm=
swept area sqft=
rot area sqm=
rot area sqft=
volume m3=
volume ft3=
aspect ratio=
empty weight kg=519
empty weight lb=1145
gross weight kg=862
gross weight lb=1900
lift kg=
lift lb=

eng1 number=1
eng1 type=Lycoming O-290-A flat-four piston engine
eng1 kw= 93
eng1 hp= 125
eng1 kn=
eng1 lbf=
eng1 kn-ab=
eng1 lbf-ab=
eng2 number=
eng2 type=
eng2 kw=
eng2 hp=
eng2 kn=
eng2 lbf=
eng2 kn-ab=
eng2 lbf-ab=

max speed kmh=238 [aerofiles.com]
max speed mph=149
max speed mach=
cruise speed kmh=
cruise speed mph=
range km=
range miles=
endurance h=
endurance min=
ceiling m=
ceiling ft=
glide ratio=
climb rate ms=
climb rate ftmin=
sink rate ms=
sink rate ftmin=

armament1=
armament2=
armament3=
armament4=
armament5=
armament6= aircontent
see also=
related=
similar aircraft=
sequence=
lists=

References

*
*cite book |last= |first= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title= The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985)|year=1985 |publisher= Orbis Publishing|location= |issn=|pages=

External links

* [http://aerofiles.com/_grum.html Aerofiles - Grumman]