The PAR Special was a high-speed experimental monoplane built by a consortium of aviation engineers, and competed in air races in the early 1950s.
Design and development
The Special was a project of four
St. Louis
St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...
-based
McDonnell Aircraft
The McDonnell Aircraft Corporation was an American aerospace manufacturer based in St. Louis, Missouri. The company was founded on July 6, 1939, by James Smith McDonnell, and was best known for its military fighters, including the F-4 Phantom II ...
employees; Arthur Beckington, George Owl, Errol Painter, and Robert Short. They formed a partnership called Parks Alumni Racebuilders, or PAR, named as a tribute to the
Parks Air College
Parks College of Engineering, Aviation and Technology was a college within Saint Louis University. It formed from the pre-existing Parks Air College, founded by Oliver Parks in 1927. Its successor is the Oliver L. Parks Department of Aviation Sci ...
that all four had graduated from.
The Special was a
shoulder-wing
A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple wings.
A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing config ...
single-engine
pusher monoplane, of wood and metal construction.
[ It incorporated a ]variable-incidence wing
A variable-incidence wing has an adjustable angle of incidence relative to its fuselage. This allows the wing to operate at a high angle of attack for take-off and landing while allowing the fuselage to remain close to horizontal.
The pivot mec ...
, with a jackscrew
A jackscrew, or screw jack, is a type of jack that is operated by turning a leadscrew. It is commonly used to lift moderate and heavy weights, such as vehicles; to raise and lower the horizontal stabilizers of aircraft; and as adjustable suppor ...
mechanism allowing the wing to be adjusted in flight, with the angle of incidence covering the range from 0.5 through to 13.5 degrees. The wings were cantilevered and had a tapered planform, with neither sweep nor dihedral.[
The pilot was positioned just ahead of the wing, and sat under a bubble canopy. A centrally located Continental C85 engine powered, via an extension-shaft, a two-bladed fixed-pitch propeller positioned aft of the empennage. The aircraft had a Y tail configuration, with an inverted tailfin that ensured that the propeller had sufficient ground clearance. Its undercarriage consisted of tandem main wheels, partially recessed into the underside of the fuselage. Skateboard wheels were attached to the trailing edge of each wingtip.][
The aircraft was given the race number 87 and the registration N90522.][
]
Operational history
The Special was first flown by Art Beckington in February 1950. From that year through to 1952, it competed in several air races, achieving lap speeds of .[ It was not as competitive as had been expected and in 1952 the Special was retired and later dismantled.
Its wings, rear fuselage, and tail were passed onto Thomas Trefethen and Harvey Mace, who incorporated them into a single-engine tractor seaplane they had constructed in the mid-1960s, the Mace-Trefethen Seamaster.][
]
Specifications (Special)
See also
References
{{reflist, refs=
[{{cite web , last=Eckland , first=E.O , title=American airplanes: PAR (Parks Alumni Racer) , url=http://www.aerofiles.com/_pa.html , website=www.aerofiles.com , publisher=Aerofiles , access-date=May 25, 2025]
[{{cite magazine , last= , first= , date=February 1951 , title=Have You Seen? , magazine=Flying , location=Chicago, IL , publisher=Ziff-Davis Publishing Company , volume=48 , number=2 , page=35 , url=https://archive.org/details/sim_flying_1951-02_48_2/page/35/mode/1up? , access-date=May 25, 2025]
[{{cite web , last=Fortier , first=Rénald , title=Do you remember Joan Trefethen? I do, I do!, Part 1 , url=https://ingeniumcanada.org/channel/articles/do-you-remember-joan-trefethen-i-do-i-do-part-1 , website=ingeniumcanada.org , publisher=Ingenium Channel , date=November 27, 2017 , access-date=May 25, 2025]
[{{cite magazine , last= , first= , date=April 1950 , title=Midget Mixmaster , magazine=Southern Flight , location=Dallas, TX , publisher=Air Review Publishing Corporation , volume=33 , number=4 , pages=16–17, url=https://archive.org/details/sim_flight-operations_1950-04_33_4/page/16/mode/2up? , access-date=May 25, 2025]
[{{cite magazine , last=Pauley , first=Robert F. , date=March 1968 , title=Extension-shaft Pusher Type Aircraft , magazine=Sport Aviation , location=, publisher=EAA , volume=17 , number=3 , pages=4–5 , url=]
1950s United States experimental aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1950
Aircraft with fixed bicycle landing gear
Mid-engined aircraft
Shoulder-wing aircraft
Single-engined pusher aircraft