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The Lockwood Aircam (also called the Air Cam and AirCam) is a high-wing, twin engine
/ref>Downey, Julia: ''2008 Kit Aircraft Directory'', Kitplanes, Volume 24, Number 12, December 2007, page 60. Primedia Publications. ISSN 0891-1851Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12'', page 108. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ISSN 1368-485XTacke, Willi; Marino Boric; et al: ''World Directory of Light Aviation 2015-16'', page 114. Flying Pages Europe SARL, 2015.
The AirCam Experience by Paul Dye, AVweb
{{Lockwood Aircraft 1990s United States civil utility aircraft Twin-engined pusher aircraft Parasol-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1995
The Lockwood Aircam (also called the Air Cam and AirCam) is a high-wing, twin engine 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 ...
aircraft with 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 ...
, based on the single engine Lockwood Drifter
The Lockwood Drifter is a family of high wing, single engine, pusher configuration, open cockpit, one and two-seat kit aircraft that was first introduced in the 1980s by Maxair and remains in production today by Lockwood Aircraft of Sebring, Flori ...
and sold in kit form by Lockwood Aircraft
The Lockwood Aircraft Corporation is an ultralight aircraft manufacturer located in Sebring, Florida.
Leza-Lockwood was started by ultralight pioneer Phil Lockwood after the National Geographic Society asked him to design a camera plane to film ...
. The open-cockpit aircraft seats two in tandem
Tandem, or in tandem, is an arrangement in which two or more animals, machines, or people are lined up one behind another, all facing in the same direction. ''Tandem'' can also be used more generally to refer to any group of persons or objects w ...
. As of 2019, 250 Aircams were licensed and flying. In 2019, a complete kit with Rotax 912ULS engines, less instruments, paint, shipping and crating was priced at US$
The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...
128,990.Lockwood Aircraft Corporation's Aircam Site/ref>Downey, Julia: ''2008 Kit Aircraft Directory'', Kitplanes, Volume 24, Number 12, December 2007, page 60. Primedia Publications. ISSN 0891-1851Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12'', page 108. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ISSN 1368-485XTacke, Willi; Marino Boric; et al: ''World Directory of Light Aviation 2015-16'', page 114. Flying Pages Europe SARL, 2015.
Design and development
The firstprototype
A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototype ...
Aircam was built in 1995. Designed by Phil Lockwood, founder of Lockwood Aircraft, it was built for the National Geographic Society
The National Geographic Society, headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, is one of the largest nonprofit scientific and educational organizations in the world.
Founded in 1888, its interests include geography, archaeology, natural sc ...
for research and photography in the Ndoki Rain Forest in the northern Congo Basin
The Congo Basin () is the sedimentary basin of the Congo River. The Congo Basin is located in Central Africa, in a region known as west equatorial Africa. The Congo Basin region is sometimes known simply as the Congo. It contains some of the larg ...
. It was built to fly low and slow and to provide a wide, unobstructed view, with the additional security of a second engine. The design has since been improved while retaining the same layout.Kitplanes Staff: ''1999 Kit Aircraft Directory'', Kitplanes, Volume 15, Number 12, December 1998, page 54. Primedia Publications. IPM 0462012
The initial version, produced by Leza-Lockwood Corporation, was powered by twin Rotax 582
The Rotax 582 is a two-stroke cycle, two-stroke, two-cylinder, rotary intake valve, oil-in-fuel or oil injection pump, liquid-cooled, gear reduction-drive aircraft engine manufactured by Rotax, BRP-Rotax GmbH & Co. KG. It is for use in non-ce ...
powerplants of each. Twin Rotax 912
The Rotax 912 is a horizontally-opposed four-cylinder, naturally-aspirated, four-stroke aircraft engine with a reduction gearbox. It features liquid-cooled cylinder heads and air-cooled cylinders. Originally equipped with carburetors, la ...
and 914
__NOTOC__
Year 914 ( CMXIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Byzantine Empire
* Spring – Empress Zoe Karbonopsina leads a palace coup at Constantinople and, with the support of the '' ma ...
engines were optional. Later, the 582 was eliminated, the 912 engine became standard and Leza-Lockwood's name was changed to Lockwood.Purdy, Don: ''AeroCrafter - Homebuilt Aircraft Sourcebook'', page 196. BAI Communications. In 2015, an optional bubble canopy kit was introduced. The aircraft can also be configured with floats to become amphibious.
The Aircam was designed to be able to take off on one engine if needed, and the positioning of the engines close to the centerline contributes to this capability as well as its benign single engine handling.
The Aircam has a landing roll of 300 feet and a takeoff roll of under 200 feet.
Accidents and incidents
The United StatesNational Transportation Safety Board
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is an independent U.S. government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. In this role, the NTSB investigates and reports on aviation accidents and inci ...
(NTSB) lists eight accidents involving Aircams between 1993 and February 2010. In these eight accidents, there was one fatality, one serious injury, one minor injury and seven people uninjured.
Jack Roush
Jack Roush (born Jackson Earnest Roush on April 19, 1942) is the founder, CEO, and co-owner of Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing, a NASCAR team headquartered in Concord, North Carolina, and is chairman of Roush Enterprises.
Roush Enterprises is the ...
of NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...
team Roush Fenway Racing nearly lost his life after the Aircam he was flying struck a power line and sank in a lake near Troy, Alabama
Troy is a city in and the county seat of Pike County, Alabama, United States. It was formally incorporated on February 4, 1843.
Between 1763 and 1783, the area where Troy sits was part of the colony of British West Florida.The Economy of Bri ...
in April 2002. He was saved in a dramatic rescue by retired U.S. Marine Larry Hicks.
Specifications (Aircam)
See also
References
External links
*The AirCam Experience by Paul Dye, AVweb
{{Lockwood Aircraft 1990s United States civil utility aircraft Twin-engined pusher aircraft Parasol-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1995