The Barber Snark is an innovative two-seater kit-plane, designed and built in New Zealand by Bill Barber. It first flew in late 1987. At least six aircraft have been built, and some of these have varying specifications, such as different engines and control surfaces. The Snark's tandem layout, its small frontal area, and its low wetted area mean that the aircraft has excellent performance, being able to cruise at over 110 knots despite having an engine output of only 80 bhp.

Design and development

''(Source materials for this section are derived from Tim Cripp's article in ''Today's Pilot'' magazine of September 2006)'' The Snark is a tricycle aircraft of composite construction. Its glider-like cockpit accommodates a pilot and passenger in tandem, the passenger sitting behind and higher than the pilot. The centrally mounted shoulder-wing lies behind the pilot, who has unrestricted visibility. The engine is sited behind the cockpit, driving a pusher propeller. Wing control surfaces on the third Snark are flaperons, while the fourth aircraft has conventional

aileron An aileron (French for "little wing" or "fin") is a hinged flight control surface usually forming part of the trailing edge of each wing of a fixed-wing aircraft. Ailerons are used in pairs to control the aircraft in roll (or movement aroun ...

s and flaps. Above the propeller, and aft of the cockpit is a slender boom to its

T-tail A T-tail is an empennage wikt:configuration, configuration in which the tailplane of an aircraft is mounted to the top of the vertical stabilizer, fin. The arrangement looks like the capital letter T, hence the name. The T-tail differs fr ...

empennage The empennage ( or ), also known as the tail or tail assembly, is a structure at the rear of an aircraft that provides stability during flight, in a way similar to the feathers on an arrow.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third ed ...

. The high-level tailplane is mounted above the propeller slipstream. There is a springy nylon skid beneath the fin to protect the propeller from ground strikes. Former RNZAF Squadron Leader and aviation journalist Tim Cripps wrote an extensive article in ''Today's Pilot'', highly praising the Snark, and describing its history, ingenious design, and flying ability. ''Today's Pilot'' magazine article, September 2006 page 90 The aircraft under test, ZK-JPS, was fitted with

Rotax Rotax is the brand name for a range of internal combustion engines developed and manufactured by the Austrian company BRP-Rotax GmbH & Co KG (until 2016 BRP-Powertrain GmbH & Co. KG), in turn owned by the Canadian Bombardier Recreational Prod ...

912S flat-four engine producing 100hp.

Pivoting main gear

The main undercarriage struts are made from a Grove alloy beam. The struts are pivoted to-and-fro by a hydraulic pump hand-operated within the cockpit. On the ground, the wheels are positioned aft of the empty CG; once aboard, the pilot pivots the wheels forward to allow a correct CG for flight. Back on the ground and parked, the wheels are moved back again before dismounting. This design means that when the cockpit is vacated, there is no inherent tendency for the aircraft to tip backwards, thereby avoiding the risk (common in tandem microlights) of the aircraft left vulnerable to being blown over.

Wings

The removable wings have a "near-laminar Riblett GA 37 a 315 section", chosen as it has a very low pitching moment since the point of maximum thickness is at 37% of the chord, which is further aft than other typical microlights. The wings taper from root to tip, with both chord and thickness reducing symmetrically.

Propeller

On ZK-JPS, its Arplast composite three-blade variable pitcher pusher propeller is not mounted directly onto the engine gearbox, but has an 18" extension tube to allow clean airflow right to the propeller hub. A Barber-designed flexible clutch successfully overcame torsional vibrations at low engine speeds.

Reception

The Snark received positive reviews in the UK and NZ press. David Laing, a former WWII pilot who built the fourth Snark, declared it to be "one of the nicest planes I've ever flown". Tim Cripps added in ''Today's Pilot'', "this is the most enjoyable of the many aircraft I have flown - and that includes the Hunter".

Specifications (Barber Snark)

References

External links

{{Commons category, Barber Snark
Barber Snark
Homebuilt aircraft Shoulder-wing aircraft Aircraft manufactured in New Zealand Single-engined pusher aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1987