The Meyers 200 is a single-engined light aircraft produced in the United States in the 1950s and 1960s.

Design

It was the brainchild of Al Meyers and was a development of his

Meyers MAC-145 __NOTOC__ The Meyers MAC-125 is a light sport aircraft developed in the United States in 1947, produced in a small series as the MAC-145.Taylor 1989, 654Simpson 1995, 244-45 Design and development The basic design, common to both models, was tha ...

design. The holder of a number of speed records in its class, the Meyers 200 is widely admired for its clean lines, and is also known for its exceptionally sturdy airframe. This strength is derived from a tubular 4130 chrome-moly steel truss structure with

aluminum Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...

skin that protects occupants.

Acquisition by Aero Commander

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, the

Aero Commander Aero Commander was an aircraft manufacturer formed in 1944. In subsequent years, it became a subsidiary of Rockwell International and Gulfstream Aerospace. The company ceased aircraft production in 1986. History Aero was formed in Culver City, ...

division of

North American Rockwell North American Aviation (NAA) was a major American aerospace manufacturer that designed and built several notable aircraft and spacecraft. Its products included the T-6 Texan trainer, the P-51 Mustang fighter, the B-25 Mitchell bomber, the F- ...

purchased the rights to the Meyers 145 and 200, as part of a strategy to capture a share of the light aircraft market in the United States. During this time it was in the James Bond film '' You Only Live Twice''. Known briefly as the Aero Commander 200, it soon emerged that the firm could not produce the design economically. Meyers' firm had been virtually hand-building each aircraft and no

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or tooling for the kind of

mass production Mass production, also known as mass production, series production, series manufacture, or continuous production, is the production of substantial amounts of standardized products in a constant flow, including and especially on assembly lines ...

envisaged by Aero Commander even existed at the time the rights were bought. Having spent US$4 million to produce just US$3 million worth of product, Aero Commander ceased production in

1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...

and sold the rights to the Interceptor Corporation, which developed a

turboprop A turboprop is a Gas turbine, gas turbine engine that drives an aircraft Propeller (aeronautics), propeller. A turboprop consists of an intake, reduction drive, reduction gearbox, gas compressor, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propellin ...

-powered version as the Interceptor 400. Ownership of the rights eventually passed to Prop-Jets, Inc., later known as Interceptor Aircraft Corporation. In 2014 the Global Parts Group, via a separately formed affiliate company called Interceptor Aviation Inc, purchased the rights along with all associated assets and intellectual property related to the Meyers 200 and Interceptor 400 model aircraft.

Operational service

The Meyers 200D has never had an in-flight structural failure and has never had a

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is a Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government agency within the United States Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Transportation that regulates civil aviation in t ...

mandated Airworthiness Directive (AD) issued against the airframe. The 4130 chrome-moly steel tubular

roll cage A roll cage is a specially engineered and constructed frame built in (or sometimes around, in which case it is known as an exo cage) the passenger compartment of a vehicle to protect its occupants from being injured or killed in an accident, pa ...

and understructure act like a race car protective cage during a crash. Several Meyers aircraft have been forced down in the trees and off airport runways with documented instances of the occupants walking away with only minor injuries or a broken bone.

Variants

Meyers

* 200 — single prototype powered by

Continental O-470 The Continental O-470 engine is a family of carburetor, carbureted and fuel-injected flat six engine, six-cylinder, horizontally opposed, air-cooled aircraft engines that were developed especially for use in light aircraft by Teledyne Continen ...

* 200A — production version powered by

Continental IO-470 The Continental O-470 engine is a family of carbureted and fuel-injected six-cylinder, horizontally opposed, air-cooled aircraft engines that were developed especially for use in light aircraft by Continental Motors. Engines designated "IO" ...

(11 built) * 200B — (17 built) * 200C — raised roof-line and larger windshield (9 built) * 200D — engine replaced with Continental IO-520-A and flush riveted wings (8 built)

Aero Commander Aero Commander was an aircraft manufacturer formed in 1944. In subsequent years, it became a subsidiary of Rockwell International and Gulfstream Aerospace. The company ceased aircraft production in 1986. History Aero was formed in Culver City, ...

* 200 — Aero Commander version of the 200D (77 built) * 200 — Aero Commander version of the 200E (1 prototype built) * T200E — experimental twin-engine conversion - never built

Interceptor

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— Turboprop based on the 200

Specifications (Meyers 200D)

References

External links

Meyers Aircraft Home Page

AVweb used aircraft review
{{Aero Commander aircraft 1950s United States civil utility aircraft

200 Year 200 ( CC) was a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Severus and Victorinus (or, less frequently, year 953 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 200 for this y ...

Single-engined tractor aircraft Low-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1955 Aircraft with retractable tricycle landing gear Single-engined piston aircraft

Design

Acquisition by Aero Commander

Operational service

Variants

Meyers

Aero Commander Aero Commander was an aircraft manufacturer formed in 1944. In subsequent years, it became a subsidiary of Rockwell International and Gulfstream Aerospace. The company ceased aircraft production in 1986. History Aero was formed in Culver City, ...

Interceptor

Specifications (Meyers 200D)

See also

References

External links