The Cassutt Special is a single-seat sport and

racing aircraft Air racing is a type of motorsport that involves airplanes or other types of aircraft that compete over a fixed course, with the winner either returning the shortest time, the one to complete it with the most points, or to come closest to a pre ...

designed in the United States in 1951 for Formula One air races. Designed by ex-

TWA The Twa, often referred to as Batwa or Mutwa (singular), are indigenous hunter-gatherer peoples of the Great Lakes Region in Central Africa, recognized as some of the earliest inhabitants of the area. Historically and academically, the term � ...

captain Tom Cassutt, it is a mid-wing cantilever monoplane with fixed tailwheel undercarriage. The fuselage and tail are of fabric-covered steel tube construction, and the wings are built from plywood over wooden ribs.Tacke, Willi; Marino Boric; et al: ''World Directory of Light Aviation 2015-16'', page 119. Flying Pages Europe SARL, 2015. An updated taper-wing design was first flown in 1971 on Jim Wilson's "Plum Crazy".

Design and development

The aircraft is built with a 4130 tubular steel spaceframe

fuselage The fuselage (; from the French language, French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds Aircrew, crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an Aircraft engine, engine as wel ...

and a plywood-skinned wing with solid spruce spar and built-up ribs. The design lends itself well to modification, there being several different wing options of wood or composite construction. Several different tails have been built, including

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 ...

s. The standard engine used for competition is the

Continental O-200 The Continental C90 and O-200 are a family of air-cooled, horizontally opposed, four-cylinder, direct-drive aircraft engines of 201 in3 (3.29 L) displacement, producing between 90 and 100 horsepower (67 and 75 kW).''Federal Aviation Admini ...

, while other, lower-powered engines can be used for recreational flying, including the other small

Continental A65 The Continental O-170 engine is the collective military designation for a family of small aircraft engines, known under the company designation of A50, A65, A75 and A80. The line was designed and built by Teledyne Continental Motors, Continental ...

and

Continental C90 The Continental C90 and O-200 are a family of air-cooled, horizontally opposed, four-cylinder, direct-drive aircraft engines of 201 in3 (3.29 L) displacement, producing between 90 and 100 horsepower (67 and 75 kW).''Federal Aviation Admini ...

. Cassutt Aircraft discourages the use of auto conversions or larger Lycoming engines. Lycomings have been successful in several builds but the increased weight rarely gives the desired performance boost. Plans and parts were last available from Creighton King in

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

, for amateur construction. King also offered plans for the Stockbarger tapered wood wing.Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12'', page 113. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ISSN 1368-485X King has since withdrawn the plans from the market.

Operational history

*1958 - Tom Cassutt flies his Cassutt to win the National Championship Midget Air Races at Ft. Wayne, Indiana.

Variants

;Cassutt I :Developed in 1951, First race at Dansville, New York in 1954. ;Cassutt II ;Casutt IIM : wingspan ;Cassutt IIIM : wingspan ;Cassutt IIIM Sport : wingspanPurdy, Don: ''AeroCrafter - Homebuilt Aircraft Sourcebook, Fifth Edition'', page 213. BAI Communications, 15 July 1998.

Specifications (Cassutt III racer)

References

* {{cite book , last= Taylor , first= Michael J. H. , title=Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation , year=1989 , publisher=Studio Editions , location=London , pages=239
Manufacturer's website

Owners's Forum
1950s United States sport aircraft

Special Special or specials may refer to: Policing * Specials, Ulster Special Constabulary, the Northern Ireland police force * Specials, Special Constable, an auxiliary, volunteer, or temporary; police worker or police officer * Special police forces ...

Single-engined tractor aircraft Homebuilt aircraft Racing aircraft Mid-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1954

Design and development

Operational history

Variants

Specifications (Cassutt III racer)

See also

References