The Smith Special also known as "Smitty's Termite" or simply the Smith Termite is a single place
homebuilt 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 ...
built primarily out of wood.
Design and development
Wilbur L. Smith, was an experienced wooden construction aircraft homebuilder, having built a
Pietenpol Sky Scout
The Pietenpol Sky Scout is a parasol wing homebuilt aircraft designed by Bernard Pietenpol.
Development
The Sky Scout was a lower-cost follow-on to the Pietenpol's first homebuilt design, the Pietenpol Air Camper, using a lower-cost Ford Model T ...
in 1930. He designed the Termite using chalk on a basement floor. Don Cookman later drew up the plans.
The aircraft is a braced
parasol 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 wings.
A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing confi ...
monoplane with all-wood construction. The exception being the motor mount, struts and landing gear are made out of steel. It was designed to use an engine from an
Aeronca
Aeronca, contracted from Aeronautical Corporation of America, located in Middletown, Ohio, is a US manufacturer of engine components and airframe structures for commercial aviation and the defense industry, and a former aircraft manufacturer. ...
aircraft.
Spruce
A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' ( ), a genus of about 40 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal ecosystem, boreal (taiga) regions of the Northern hemisphere. ''Picea'' ...
was used as the structural material with
birch
A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 3 ...
plywood
Plywood is a composite material manufactured from thin layers, or "plies", of wood veneer that have been stacked and glued together. It is an engineered wood from the family of manufactured boards, which include plywood, medium-density fibreboa ...
covering. The spars are from an
Aeronca K
The Aeronca Model K Scout is an American light airplane first marketed in 1937, and was the true successor to the popular Aeronca C-2, C-2/Aeronca C-3, C-3 line.
Design
In January 1937, Aeronca unveiled the Model K, a replacement for the company ...
. The controls are modified from a
Piper Cub
The Piper J-3 Cub is an American light aircraft that was built between 1938 and 1947 by Piper Aircraft. The aircraft has a simple, lightweight design which gives it good low-speed handling properties and short-field performance. The Cub is P ...
. The aircraft does not have brakes or a tailwheel.
Operational history
A
Continental A-40
The Continental A40 engine is a carbureted four-cylinder, horizontally opposed, air-cooled aircraft engine that was developed especially for use in light aircraft by Continental Motors. It was produced between 1931 and 1941.
Design and develop ...
was installed after an engine failure resulted in a forced landing, flipping the aircraft on its back during testing.
Aircraft on display
The Smith Special "Termite" is displayed at the
Oregon Air & Space Museum in
Eugene, Oregon
Eugene ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lane County, Oregon, United States. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie River (Oregon), McKenzie and Willamette River, Willamette rivers, ...
. The fabric covering has been removed to show the all wood construction.
Specifications (Smith Special "Termite")
See also
References
{{reflist
Homebuilt aircraft
Tourist attractions in Eugene, Oregon
1950s United States civil utility aircraft
Parasol-wing aircraft
Single-engined tractor aircraft
Termite aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1957
Aircraft with fixed conventional landing gear