- Monnett Monerai
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Monerai Role Sailplane National origin United States Manufacturer Monnett Experimental Aircraft Designer John Monnett First flight 1978 Introduction 1978 The Monnett Monerai is a sailplane that was developed in the United States in the late 1970s for homebuilding. It is a conventional pod-and-boom design with a V-tail and a mid-mounted cantilever wing of constant chord.
The kit assembles in more or less 600 hours. It has bonded wing skins and incorporates 90 Deg Flaps for glide path control. The fuselage is of steel tube construction encased in a fiberglass shell
A powered version was designed as the Monerai P with an engine mounted on a pylon above the wings. A Sachs Rotary Engine was chosen for the prototype.[1] A version with extended wing tips is also available (Monerai Max) which increases the span to 12 m (39 ft) and raises the glide ratio from 28:1 to more than 30:1.[2]
Both the powered Monerai P and the unpowered Monerai S versions are identical structurally.
Variants
- Monerai S
- unpowered glider
- Monerai P
- powered glider equipped with the 22 hp (16 kW) Zenoah G-25 or the 25 hp (19 kW) KFM 107 engine.[2]
- Monerai Max
- Monerai P version with extended wing tips[2]
Aircraft on display
- US Southwest Soaring Museum[3]
Specifications (Monerai S)
General characteristics
- Crew: One pilot
- Length: 19 ft 7 in (5.97 m)
- Wingspan: 36 ft 0 in (10.97 m)
- Height: 4 ft 4 in (1.32 m)
- Empty weight: 220 lb (100 kg)
- Gross weight: 450 lb (204 kg)
Performance
- Maximum speed: 120 mph (193 km/h)
- Maximum glide ratio: 28
- Rate of sink: 167 ft/min (0.85 m/s)
References
- ^ John Monnett (Oct 1977). "Try a new flavor... the Monerai". Sport Aviation.
- ^ a b c Said, Bob: 1983 Sailplane Directory, Soaring Magazine, page 123. Soaring Society of America, November 1983. USPS 499-920
- ^ US Southwest Soaring Museum (2010). "Sailplanes, Hang Gliders & Motor Gliders". http://swsoaringmuseum.org/collection.htm. Retrieved 26 May 2011.
- Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1985-86. p. 756.
External links
Aircraft designed by John Monnett Lists relating to aviation General Aircraft (manufacturers) · Aircraft engines (manufacturers) · Airlines (defunct) · Airports · Civil authorities · Museums · Registration prefixes · Rotorcraft (manufacturers) · TimelineMilitary Accidents/incidents Records Categories:- United States sailplanes 1970–1979
- Glider aircraft
- Homebuilt aircraft
- Monnett aircraft
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