Falconar Avia was a Canadian aircraft manufacturer based in
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 ...
. The company specialized in the design and manufacture of kits and plans for
amateur construction.
[Purdy, Don: ''AeroCrafter - Homebuilt Aircraft Sourcebook'', page 153-157, 307. BAI Communications, 15 July 1998. ][Vandermeullen, Richard: ''2012 Kit Aircraft Buyer's Guide'', Kitplanes, Volume 28, Number 12, December 2011, page 52. Belvoir Publications. ISSN 0891-1851]
Founded in the 1960s by
aeronautical engineer
Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is si ...
Chris Falconar, the company created a new
aircraft fabric covering
Aircraft fabric covering is a term used for both the material used and the process of covering aircraft open structures. It is also used for reinforcing closed plywood structures. The de Havilland Mosquito is an example of this technique, as are ...
process called ''Hipec''. The company also acquired a large list of aircraft designs that were either orphaned, like the
Fauvel AV.36 glider, or long out of production and added their own designs to the line. The company provided plans and kits for all their designs, as well as parts and modification kits for other aircraft, including the
Ercoupe.
[Hunt, Adam & Ruth Merkis-Hunt: ''Finishing With Hipec'', Kitplanes June 2001 pages 70-74. Belvoir Publications. ISSN 0891-1851]
In 1963 Falconar partnered with designer
Marcel Jurca
Marcel Jurca, (1921 – 19 October 2001) was a prolific designer of homebuilt aircraft in France. He is most well known for his Tempête and Sirocco designs.
Early life
Born in Romania, Jurca was impressed by the PZL fighters which often flew ...
to produce the
Jurca Gnatsum. By 1967, Falconar recommended a large number of changes to the design, which resulted in Jurca leaving the project. The modified aircraft was developed as the
Falconar SAL Mustang, first flown in 1971 after significant cost overruns. Falconar Aircraft Ltd was sold to George F. Chivers and other investors and operated as Sturgeon Air Ltd with Falconar as an employee until 1973.
In 1985 Falconar established a new Falconar Aviation Ltd. with the assets of A & B Sales and the rights to many Jurca plans. Falconar also carried on operations as president of
Hirth
Hirth Engines GmbH is an engine manufacturer based in Benningen, Germany. It is currently a part of the UMS Aero Group. Hirth began manufacturing aero engines in the 1920s, was taken over by Heinkel in WWII to develop the Heinkel-Hirth jet engi ...
engines during this time. In 1994 the company was dissolved following legal disputes and was reestablished in its current form as Falconar Avia Inc. in 1995.
Falconar died on 9 September 2018. The company operations were wound up on 30 June 2019 and the design rights sold. Phil Hale of
Manna Aviation bought the rights to the F-series aircraft, plus the Minihawk, 2/3 Mustang and the S14 Miranda. Leon McAtee of Excogitare LLC bought the rights to the Fauvel plans, while Todd Kammerdiener bought the rights to the Cubmajor and Cub Majorette.
Aircraft
References
External links
*
Official website archiveson
Archive.org
The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music ...
{{Falconar Avia aircraft
Aircraft manufacturers of Canada