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The Christen Eagle, which later became the Aviat Eagle in the mid-1990s, is an
In 1979, the Eagles Aerobatic Team (
Connecticut Air & Space Center
in Stratford, CT. ;Christen Super Eagle I 540: Two built. Lycoming AEIO-540 . Formerly flown by the Iron Eagles aerobatic team, now owned by Professional Pilots based in Texas and Alaska. ;Christen Super Eagle II: Several examples built, two seats, limited fuel tanks.
{{Aviat aircraft 1970s United States sport aircraft Homebuilt aircraft Biplanes Single-engined tractor aircraft Eagle II Aerobatic aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1977 Aircraft with fixed conventional landing gear Single-engined piston aircraft
The Christen Eagle, which later became the Aviat Eagle in the mid-1990s, is an aerobatic
Aerobatics is the practice of flying maneuvers involving aircraft attitudes that are not used in conventional passenger-carrying flights. The term is a portmanteau of "aeroplane" and "acrobatics". Aerobatics are performed in aeroplanes and gl ...
sporting biplane
A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...
aircraft that has been produced in the United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
since the late 1970s.
Design
The aircraft was intended to compete with thePitts Special
The Pitts Special (company designations S-1 and S-2) is a series of light aerobatics, aerobatic biplanes designed by Curtis Pitts. It has accumulated many competition wins since its first flight in 1944. The Pitts biplanes domina ...
. Designed by Frank Christensen
Frank Langton "Chris" Christensen (June 1, 1910 – September 6, 2001) was an American athlete. After receiving all-state honors at Granite High School (Utah), Granite High School in baseball, American football, football, and basketball, Christ ...
, originally of Salt Lake City, the Eagle II is marketed in kit form for homebuilding. The Eagle II is a small aircraft of conventional configuration with single-bay, equal-span staggered biplane wings braced with streamlined flying and landing wires and an I-strut to form a box truss. The pilot and a single passenger sit in tandem underneath a large bubble canopy
A bubble canopy is an aircraft canopy constructed without bracing, for the purpose of providing a wider unobstructed field of view to the pilot, often providing 360° all-round visibility.
The designs of bubble canopies can vary drastically; so ...
. The tailwheel undercarriage
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 ...
is fixed, with the mainwheels mounted on spring aluminum legs. The main wheels are housed in streamlined fairings. The 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 tail
The tail is the elongated section at the rear end of a bilaterian animal's body; in general, the term refers to a distinct, flexible appendage extending backwards from the midline of the torso. In vertebrate animals that evolution, evolved to los ...
are constructed of chromoly steel welded tube, with the forward fuselage skinned in aluminum and the rear fuselage and tail covered in fabric. The wing structure is Sitka spruce
''Picea sitchensis'', the Sitka spruce, is a large, coniferous, evergreen tree growing to just over tall, with a trunk diameter at breast height that can exceed 5 m (16 ft). It is by far the largest species of spruce and the fifth- ...
wood and fabric covered. The engine cowling is fiberglass. By 2011 over 350 aircraft were flying.Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011–12'', page 94. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ISSN 1368-485XTacke, Willi; Marino Boric; et al: ''World Directory of Light Aviation 2015–16'', page 98. Flying Pages Europe SARL, 2015.
Operational history
In 1979, the Eagles Aerobatic Team (Charlie Hillard
Charlie Hillard (March 22, 1938 – April 16, 1996) was an American aerobatics pilot, and the first American to win the world aerobatics title.
Hillard formed the Red Devils aerobatic team in 1971 with fellow pilots Gene Soucy and Tom Poberezn ...
, Tom Poberezny
Thomas Paul Poberezny (October 3, 1946 – July 25, 2022) was an American aerobatic world champion aviator, as well as chairman of the annual Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, Fly-In and Convention (now named AirVe ...
, and Gene Soucy) chose the Christen Eagle as a replacement for their Pitts Special airshow act "The Red Devils". The act continued until 1995. All three Christen Eagles hang from the lobby of the EAA Airventure Museum
The EAA Aviation Museum, formerly the EAA AirVenture Museum (or Air Adventure Museum), is a museum dedicated to the preservation and display of historic and experimental aircraft as well as antiques, classics, and warbirds. The museum is lo ...
in Oshkosh, Wisconsin
Oshkosh () is a city in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the western shore of Lake Winnebago and had a population of 66,816 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List o ...
.
Variants
;Christen Eagle I: Single seat variant. Lycoming AEIO-540 . First design model, built at the San Carlos Airport. Four airframes built, one is now based in Dallas Texas, the other 3 are in the EAA Museum in Oshkosh WI. ;Christen/Aviat Eagle II: Most common variant, two seat dual controls. Lycoming AEIO-360. The first Eagle II produced (Serial #001) is on display at thConnecticut Air & Space Center
in Stratford, CT. ;Christen Super Eagle I 540: Two built. Lycoming AEIO-540 . Formerly flown by the Iron Eagles aerobatic team, now owned by Professional Pilots based in Texas and Alaska. ;Christen Super Eagle II: Several examples built, two seats, limited fuel tanks.
Specifications
See also
References
* * *{{Aviat aircraft 1970s United States sport aircraft Homebuilt aircraft Biplanes Single-engined tractor aircraft Eagle II Aerobatic aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1977 Aircraft with fixed conventional landing gear Single-engined piston aircraft