Luscombe Model 8 Silvaire

The Luscombe 8 is a series of high-wing, side-by-side-seating monoplanes with conventional landing gear, designed in 1937 and built by Luscombe Aircraft.

Development

The XT8E was developed in 1947 to compete for an U.S. Air Force contract, but lost to the Aeronca L-16. It was then modified and sold as the T8F. It was again entered in a competition in 1950 as the T8F-L, but lost to the Cessna L-19.

Subsequent companies

After building 5,743 Model 8 airplanes, the original Luscombe Aircraft closed in 1949, with its assets purchased by Temco Aircraft.Gunston 2005, p. 294. Temco built about 50 Silvaires in Dallas, Texas, before selling the rights to the Silvaire Aircraft Corporation in 1955.

When Temco discontinued production, Otis Massey headed up a new corporation that purchased the Luscombe tooling, parts, and other assets. Massey had been a Luscombe dealer since the 1930s. His new venture opened in Fort Collins, Colorado as Silvaire Uranium and Aircraft Corp (later renamed Silvaire Aircraft Corp). From 1956 to 1961, this firm produced 80 aircraft. The make and model for all 80 was Silvaire 8F, with "Luscombe" shown in quotation marks in company literature.

The Colorado firm's first airplane was built in 1956. This aircraft was constructed from spares or Material Review Board (MRB) parts that were serviceable but remained from Temco's prior production. The Temco parts supplied Silvaire Aircraft Corp. with enough inventory to complete approximately four aircraft. N9900C (equipped with wheel pants and flaps) first flew on September 10, 1956. According to Swick, one other airplane was built in 1956. Six aircraft were built in 1957, with two of them being shipped to Buenos Aires, Argentina.

After building eighty airplanes, the Silvaire Aircraft Company closed down. The last airplane was completed on May 17, 1960.

Moody Larsen of Belleville, Michigan acquired the tooling, parts, and type certificate on December 6, 1963. In 1965 Larsen developed and acquired a supplemental type certificate to install 150hp Lycoming engines in existing Luscombe 8s. In 1968 Larsen sold his Luscombe intellectual interests to a Georgia group which incorporated as the Luscombe Aircraft Corporation. The tooling remained, exposed to the weather, in Michigan.

The assets, including parts, tools, jigs, and the FAA-type certificate (A-694) of the legacy Luscombe companies, were acquired by Testrake Aviation in 2019. The company intended to restart production of the Luscombe 8.

Variants

;Model 8
:Initial variant with a Continental A-50 engine.

;Model 8A Luscombe Master
:Model 8 with a higher power Continental A-65 engine.
;UC-90A
:One Model 8A adopted by the United States Army Air Forces during World War II (s/n 42-79549).
;Model 8B Luscombe Trainer
:As Model 8A powered by a Lycoming O-145 engine. One impressed by the United States Army Air Forces during World War II as UC-90 (s/n 42-79550).
;Model 8C Silvaire Deluxe
:As Model 8A powered by a Continental A-75 engine.
;Model 8D Silvaire Deluxe Trainer
:As Model 8A with steerable tailwheel and other minor changes.
;Model 8E Silvaire Deluxe
:An improved Model 8C with increased gross weight and powered by an Continental C-85 engine.
;Model 8F
:High-performance variant with a Continental C-90 engine. Some 8Fs were built with manually operated wing flaps.
;Model T8F Luscombe Observer
:A tandem two-seat variant of the 8F for observation duties.
;Model 8G
:Was a proposed variant of the 8F with a tricycle landing gear, not built.
;Luscombe LSA-8
:Model for the US light-sport aircraft category, produced by the Luscombe Silvaire Company of Riverside, California and introduced at Sun 'n Fun 2007. The LSA-8 is powered by a Continental O-200 engine of . The design is a Federal Aviation Administration accepted special light-sport aircraft.Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12'', page 64. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ISSN 1368-485XTacke, Willi; Marino Boric; et al: ''World Directory of Light Aviation 2015-16'', page 67. Flying Pages Europe SARL, 2015.
;Dair 100 testbed
:One Luscombe 8A was equipped with a Dair 100 two-stroke diesel engine as a testbed aircraft.

Specifications (Silvaire 8-F)

Sub-Model T8F has tandem seating but is generally similar in dimension, Sprayer version approved for Restricted category operations can have higher Gross Weight with operational limits.

See also

References

Notes

Bibliography

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External links

Luscombe Foundation

{{USAF transports

08
1930s United States civil utility aircraft
1930s United States sport aircraft
Single-engined tractor aircraft
High-wing aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1937
Aircraft with fixed conventional landing gear
Single-engined piston aircraft