Lockheed LASA-60 XB-GUZ c61 (mfr via RJF) (18350167242)

The Aermacchi AL-60 is a light civil utility aircraft of the late 1950s and early 1960s, originally designed by

Al Mooney Albert W. Mooney (12 April 1906 – 7 May 1986) was a self-taught American aircraft designer and early aviation entrepreneur. He and brother Arthur Mooney founded the Mooney Aircraft Company in 1929. His first production design (first flight ...

of Lockheed in the United States. After the company decided not to build the aircraft in the US, it was manufactured in small quantities in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, and a few were assembled in

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

(Santa Isabel, Córdoba) by Aviones Lockheed-Kaiser Argentina. It was also built in quantity under licence by

Aermacchi Aermacchi was an Italian aircraft manufacturer. Formerly known as Aeronautica Macchi, the company was founded in 1912 by Giulio Macchi at Varese in north-western Lombardy as Nieuport-Macchi, to build Nieuport monoplanes under licence for the Ita ...

in Italy and Atlas Aircraft Corporation in South Africa.

Design and development

Lockheed flew only two prototypes of the AL-60 (in

1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...

) before deciding that it would be unprofitable in the US marketplace. Instead, the company chose to manufacture it under a

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and economic risk, risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four rea ...

as Lockheed-Azcarate (LASA). 18 were produced in 1960 for the

Mexican Air Force The Mexican Air Force (FAM; es, Fuerza Aérea Mexicana) is the primary aerial warfare service branch of the Mexican Armed Forces. It is a component of the Mexican Army and depends on the National Defense Secretariat ( SEDENA). The objective of ...

, as the LASA-60. In Italy,

purchased a licence to produce the type, first in its original configuration as the AL-60B, then in a modified version for various African customers as the AL-60C. This latter version changed from the original

tricycle undercarriage Tricycle gear is a type of aircraft undercarriage, or ''landing gear'', arranged in a tricycle fashion. The tricycle arrangement has a single nose wheel in the front, and two or more main wheels slightly aft of the center of gravity. Tricycle g ...

to a taildragger arrangement. The AL-60C version was built under license by Atlas Aircraft Corporation in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

. This aircraft was known as Atlas C4M Kudu. Over 40 aircraft were built and served the

South African Air Force "Through hardships to the stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , equipment ...

between 1974 and 1991. A number of C4M Kudu aircraft are still flying privately and have proven well in the role of skydive release aircraft. They have been re-engined with turbine engines. This design is known as the Atlas Angel or Turbine Kudu. In 1968 Macchi sold the rights to the aircraft to Northwest Industries of

Edmonton, Alberta Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city anch ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and the design was developed into the Northwest Ranger, with development continuing until 1972.Plane and Pilot: ''1978 Aircraft Directory'', page 58. Werner & Werner Corp, Santa Monica CA, 1977.

Variants

Lockheed CL402 Kaizer LQ-GOM Don Torcuato BA 23

;L-402 :Lockheed prototypes and a few assembled by Kaizer ;LASA-60 :Mexican production model (44 built) ;AL-60B-1 Santa Maria :Original Aermacchi-built version (4 built) ;AL-60B-2 Santa Mari :Production Aermacchi version (81 built) ;AL-60C-5 Conestoga :Aermacchi-built version for the

Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the southeast, the DR Congo to the south, the Republic of th ...

;AL-60F-5 Trojan :Aermacchi-built version for Rhodesia (~10 units) ;Atlas C4M Kudu :Atlas-built version for

Operators

; * Central African Republic Air Force ; *

Italian Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = (Ordinance March of the Air Force) by Alberto Di Miniello , mascot = , anniversaries = 28 March ...

operated one Aermacchi AL-60 from 1962 until 1963 ; *

; *

Military of Mauritania The Armed Forces of Mauritania ( ar, الجيش الوطني الموريتاني, french: Armée Nationale Mauritanienne) is the defence force of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, having an army, navy, air force, gendarmerie, and presidential g ...

; *

Rhodesian Air Force The Rhodesian Air Force (RhAF) was an air force based in Salisbury (now Harare) which represented several entities under various names between 1935 and 1980: originally serving the British self-governing colony of Southern Rhodesia, it was the ...

; *

South African Air Force "Through hardships to the stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , equipment ...

; ; * Air Force of Zimbabwe

Specifications (AL-60B2)

References

Notes

Bibliography

* * Taylor, John W. R. ''Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1961–62''. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Company, 1961. * Taylor, John W. R. ''Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1966–67''. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Company, 1966.

External links

photograph and details (in Spanish) of the sole Chilean example, c/n 1002

AL60 photographs and info in Rhodesia

Atlas Kudu Survivors List with Pictures

Aircraft.co.za - Aermacchi AL-60 / Atlas Kudu
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aermacchi Al-60

Kudu The kudus are two species of antelope of the genus '' Tragelaphus'': * Lesser kudu, ''Tragelaphus imberbis'', of eastern Africa * Greater kudu, ''Tragelaphus strepsiceros'', of eastern and southern Africa The two species look similar, th ...

1960s Italian civil utility aircraft L-0402 AL-60 1950s United States civil utility aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft High-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1959