The Explorer PG-1 Aqua Glider is an American single seat,
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 ...
glider that was designed by
Bill Skiliar in 1959 and made available as plans for
amateur construction. The prototype was built with help from a troop of Air Explorer Scouts that same year.
[Said, Bob: ''1983 Sailplane Directory, Soaring Magazine'', page 40. ]Soaring Society of America
The Soaring Society of America (SSA) was founded at the instigation of Warren E. Eaton to promote the sport of soaring in the USA and internationally. The first meeting was held in New York City in the McGraw–Hill Building on February 20, 193 ...
November 1983. USPS 499-920[ EAA AirVenture Museum, 2011, ''Skiliar Aqua Glider “Explorer” – N6498D'' http://www.airventuremuseum.org/collection/aircraft/Skliar Aqua Glider.asp, accessed 10 May 2011]
Design and development
Skiliar was a Colonel in the
USAF
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...
and an
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 s ...
and
test pilot
A test pilot is an aircraft pilot with additional training to fly and evaluate experimental, newly produced and modified aircraft with specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques.Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testin ...
. He designed the Aqua Glider to be towed behind a boat, taking off from the water, releasing the tow rope and then gliding to a landing on the water.
The Aqua Glider is made from wood and covered with doped
aircraft fabric
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 ...
. The landing gear is fixed and consists of a pair of
water ski
Water skiing (also waterskiing or water-skiing) is a surface water sport in which an individual is pulled behind a boat or a cable ski installation over a body of water, skimming the surface on one or two skis. The sport requires sufficien ...
s. The aircraft uses
spoilers instead of
aileron
An aileron (French for "little wing" or "fin") is a hinged flight control surface usually forming part of the trailing edge of each wing of a fixed-wing aircraft. Ailerons are used in pairs to control the aircraft in roll (or movement aroun ...
s for roll control and features an
all-flying tail and a trim system. The biplane wing employs a
NACA
The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) was a United States federal agency that was founded on March 3, 1915, to undertake, promote, and institutionalize aeronautical research. On October 1, 1958, the agency was dissolved and its ...
4412
airfoil
An airfoil (American English) or aerofoil (British English) is a streamlined body that is capable of generating significantly more Lift (force), lift than Drag (physics), drag. Wings, sails and propeller blades are examples of airfoils. Foil (fl ...
.
The aircraft is towed behind a ski tow boat, lifting off at and climbing to about , depending on the length of the tow rope used. The aircraft does not
stall, but enters a nose-high mushing condition with a slow rate of descent.
Plans were sold for
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 ...
25 by
Corben Development Corporation of
Venice, Florida
Venice is a city in Sarasota County, Florida, United States. The city includes what locals call "Venice Island", a portion of the mainland that is accessed via bridges over the artificially created Intracoastal Waterway. The city is located in ...
and completed aircraft cost about US$800 in materials in 1983.
Skiliar made several modifications to the design, experimenting with landing gear for land use made from automobile leaf springs. He also created a powered version with two
McCulloch MC-70 go-cart engines mounted in the aft
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 ...
behind the wing
spar, with the propeller above the engines on a streamlined pylon that housed the drive chains. The powered version was not successful and was returned to glider configuration.
Operational history
By 1983 the prototype had flown over a thousand flights and plans had been widely sold in the United States and many other countries.
Aircraft on display
*
EAA AirVenture Museum – the prototype was donated to the museum in 1970
Specifications (variant specified)
See also
References
{{reflist
1950s United States sailplanes
Aircraft first flown in 1959
Biplanes
Flying boats