TYPE: Technology demonstrator.
PROGRAMME: Original and unique two-seat OM-1 Melmoth, built of aluminium, first flew on 6 September 1973. Four-seat fuselage was designed for retrofit, but the aircraft was destroyed in a ground accident (by a runaway Cessna) in 1982 before modifications could be effected.
New fuselage then became the basis for a revised and improved aircraft, with high aspect ratio wing, which progressed slowly and eventually made its first flight on 1 November 2002, retaining the previous registration N2MU. Displayed at AirVenture, Oshkosh, July 2003.
DESIGN FEATURES: Optimised for long range. Normal operating configuration is two persons 45 kg (100 lb) of baggage and 152 litres (40.0 US gallons; 33.3 Imp gallons) of fuel, for a 989 kg (2,180 lb) T-O weight.
Low-wing, T tail configuration; tapered wing and tailplane. High-mounted cockpit. Will be retrofitted with upturned wingtips. Updraft cooling in engine compartment, comprising intake below the spinner and outlets in upper surface.
Roncz laminar wing section; thickness: chord ratio 18 per cent at root, 13 per cent at tip. Incidence 1° 30' at root; -50' at tip. Sweepback nil at 0.31 chord. Wetted area 44.35 m² (477.4 sq ft).
FLYING CONTROLS: Conventional and manual. No aerodynamic balances. Hydraulically actuated Fowler flaps covering 62 per cent of wing trailing edge; max deflection 30°. Airbrake. Elevator deflection =25/-15°; set -3° 30' for cruising; elevator trim tabs also function as servos.
STRUCTURE: Generally of composites. Wing skins of foam-cored sandwich with load-bearing graphite inner skin and external skin of glass fibre. Graphite spars. Wings bolted to central box, integral with cabin structure.
LANDING GEAR: Tricycle type; retractable. Electric actuation; mainwheels retract inwards and covered by doors; nosewheel rearwards, with no doors. Nosewheel steerable. Oleo-pneumatic shock-absorbers. Mainwheels 6.00-6; nosewheel 5.00-5. Hydraulic brakes.
POWER PLANT: One 149.1 kW (200 hp) Teledyne Continental TSIO-360-F flat-six driving a Hartzell two-blade, constant-speed propeller. Fuel capacity 538 litres (142 US gallons; 118 Imp gallons) in integral wing tanks.
ACCOMMODATION: Four persons in two side-by-side pairs. Centreline-hinged door/canopy each side, with fixed windscreen and fixed rear glazing. Sidestick controllers.
SYSTEMS: Electrical system 28 V. Hydraulic system for landing gear, flaps and airbrake; operating pressure 83 bar (1,200 lb/sq in).