The Aerocar Mini-IMP (Independently Made Plane) is a light aircraft designed by

Moulton Taylor Moulton B. "Molt" Taylor (September 29, 1912 – November 16, 1995) was an American aeronautical engineer famed for his work designing, developing, and manufacturing on a small scale one of the first practical flying cars, the 1949 Aerocar. ...

and marketed for homebuilding by Aerocar International. It is a scaled-down derivative of his original

Aerocar IMP __NOTOC__ The Aerocar IMP (for Independently Made Plane) was an unconventional light aircraft designed by Moulton Taylor and marketed for homebuilt aircraft, homebuilding. The IMP and its various derivatives were developed by Taylor's Aerocar Int ...

design. A two-seat version called the Bullet was also built. The Mini-IMP follows the same unconventional layout as its larger predecessor, with a center mounted engine, long driveshaft to a tail propeller, and inverted-V rudder/elevators. The aircraft is available in the form of plans for amateur construction. Following Taylor's death, the plans and licensing for the Mini-IMP have been marketed by the Mini-IMP Aircraft Company of

Weatherford, Texas Weatherford () is a city in and the county seat of Parker County, Texas, United States. In 2020, its population was 30,854. Weatherford is named after Thomas J. Weatherford, a State senator and advocate for Texas's secession to the Confederate ...

.Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011–12'', page 111. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ISSN 1368-485XTacke, Willi; Marino Boric; et al: ''World Directory of Light Aviation 2015–16'', page 117. Flying Pages Europe SARL, 2015. Vandermeullen, Richard: ''2011 Kit Aircraft Buyer's Guide'', Kitplanes, Volume 28, Number 12, December 2011, page 61. Belvoir Publications. ISSN 0891-1851

Design and development

The aircraft features a cantilever

high-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 config ...

, a single-seat enclosed cockpit, fixed or retractable

tricycle landing gear Tricycle gear is a type of aircraft undercarriage, or ''landing gear'', that is arranged in a tricycle fashion. The tricycle arrangement has one or more nose wheels in a single front undercarriage and two or more main wheels slightly aft of th ...

conventional landing gear Conventional landing gear, or tailwheel-type landing gear, is an aircraft Landing gear, undercarriage consisting of two main wheels forward of the Center of gravity of an aircraft, center of gravity and a small wheel or skid to support the tail ...

and a single engine in

pusher configuration In aeronautical and naval engineering, pusher configuration is the term used to describe a drivetrain of air- or watercraft with propulsion device(s) after the engine(s). This is in contrast to the more conventional tractor configuration, wh ...

. The aircraft is made from riveted

aluminum Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...

sheet. Its span wing is mounted well behind the pilot and employs a

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

GA(PC)-1

airfoil An airfoil (American English) or aerofoil (British English) is a streamlined body that is capable of generating significantly more Lift (force), lift than Drag (physics), drag. Wings, sails and propeller blades are examples of airfoils. Foil (fl ...

. The engine is mounted behind the pilot's seat driving the propeller through an extension shaft. Engines used include the

Volkswagen air-cooled engine The Volkswagen air-cooled engine is an Air-cooled engine, air-cooled, gasoline-fuelled, boxer engine with four horizontally opposed cast-iron cylinder (engine), cylinders, cast aluminum alloy cylinder heads and pistons, magnesium-alloy crankca ...

four-stroke A four-stroke (also four-cycle) engine is an internal combustion (IC) engine in which the piston completes four separate strokes while turning the crankshaft. A stroke refers to the full travel of the piston along the cylinder, in either directio ...

. Taylor claimed the Mini-IMP was not an original design, but an updated version of the 1912

Edson Fessenden Gallaudet Edson Fessenden Gallaudet (April 21, 1871 – July 1, 1945) was a pioneer in the field of aviation. He was best known for his development of practical airfoils and aircraft propulsion systems for use in early seaplanes. Early life and early ca ...

Bullet, a design that was capable of 110 mph in the earliest days of flight. In the late 1970s inquiries were made concerning a military version of the Mini-IMP, skinned with

Kevlar Kevlar (para-aramid) is a strong, heat-resistant synthetic fiber, related to other aramids such as Nomex and Technora. Developed by Stephanie Kwolek at DuPont in 1965, the high-strength material was first used commercially in the early 1970s as ...

, armed with two 7.62-millimeter machine guns, and with room in the baggage compartment for a considerable quantity of ammunition. Nothing came of the proposal.Jane's Information Group. Jane's All The World's Aircraft, 1981–1982 edition.

Specifications (typical Mini-IMP)

References

External links

* {{Aerocar aircraft Homebuilt aircraft Single-engined pusher aircraft 1970s United States civil utility aircraft Mini-IMP High-wing aircraft

Design and development

Specifications (typical Mini-IMP)

See also

References

External links