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Osprey Osprey 2

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Osprey 2
Role Sport amphibian
National origin United States
Manufacturer Homebuilt
Designer George Pereira
First flight April 1973
Status Plans available (2015)
Number built 500+ (2009)[1]
Osprey II

The Osprey Osprey 2, also known as the Pereira Osprey 2 after its designer, is an amphibious sport aircraft designed for homebuilding.[2] Plans have been sold since the mid-1970s. George Pereira designed the Osprey 2 to address the two most frequent criticisms of his Osprey I aircraft: its lack of a passenger seat and its inability to operate from dry land.[3] An exercise that began as a series of modifications to the original design in January 1972 eventually turned into a complete redesign of the aircraft,[3][4] with the resulting Osprey 2 flying in April 1973.

Design and development

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Like the original Osprey, the Osprey 2 is a mid-wing cantilever monoplane with a flying boat hull and a single engine mounted pusher-fashion in a nacelle mounted above the fuselage on struts.[4] A passenger seat is provided side-by-side with the pilot and the cabin is fully enclosed.[4] Retractable tricycle undercarriage is provided for land operations, the main units of which fold into the undersides of the wings.[3][4] Construction throughout is of wood and skinned in plywood.[3] Some of the hull contours are formed with polyurethane foam covered in fiberglass.[4][5][6]

The aircraft is designed so that it may be constructed by amateur builders with restricted space available – Pereira's prototype was built in a workspace 16 ft × 26 ft (4.8 m × 7.9 m) and took 1,300 hours to complete.[3] To simplify construction, no molds are required, and even the canopy is formed by a simple bend in an acrylic sheet without any compound curves.[7]

Osprey markets the aircraft as sets of plans rather than kits, and had sold over 1,000 copies by 1985.[1][4] Over 500 examples have been completed and flown.[8]

Aircraft on display

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Specifications

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Data from jane's All the World's Aircraft 1985–86, p.606

General characteristics

  • Crew: One pilot
  • Capacity: 1 passenger
  • Length: 20 ft 6 in (6.25 m)
  • Wingspan: 26 ft 0 in (7.92 m)
  • Height: 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
  • Wing area: 130 sq ft (12.0 m2)
  • Empty weight: 970 lb (440 kg)
  • Gross weight: 1,560 lb (707 kg)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Lycoming O-320 , 150 hp (112 kW)

Performance

  • Cruise speed: 130 mph (209 km/h, 110 kn)
  • Range: 500 mi (800 km, 430 nmi)
  • Rate of climb: 1,000 ft/min (5.1 m/s)

See also

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Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

Related lists

Notes

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  1. ^ a b Osprey Aircraft Website
  2. ^ Taylor 1989, p.714
  3. ^ a b c d e Markowski 1979, p.220
  4. ^ a b c d e f Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1985–86, p.606
  5. ^ Markowski 1979, p.223
  6. ^ Tacke, Willi; Marino Boric; et al: World Directory of Light Aviation 2015–16, page 120. Flying Pages Europe SARL, 2015. ISSN 1368-485X
  7. ^ Markowski 1979, p.224
  8. ^ Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011–12, page 114. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ISSN 1368-485X
  9. ^ AirVenture Museum website
  10. ^ "Pereira Osprey 2". Pima Air & Space Museum. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  11. ^ "Airframe Dossier - Pereira GP3 Osprey 2, c/n GP3, c/r N3GP". Aerial Visuals. Retrieved 3 November 2020.

References

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