Holcomb Perigee: Difference between revisions

Prototype airplane built in 1987

The Holcomb Perigee was a prototype sportsplane built in the United States in 1987 by Jerry Holcomb.^{[citation needed]} Originally known as the Ultra-IMP, it was a refinement of the Aerocar Micro-IMP and attempted to overcome the major shortcoming of that design – a lack of power – by replacing the adapted automobile engine that had been used in its predecessor with an engine designed to power ultralights.^{[citation needed]}

In 1972, Moulton Taylor, designer of the Aerocar flying car and the Coot home-built flying boat, began work on a new two-seat Pusher configuration light aircraft intended for easy homebuilding, the Aerocar IMP, but delays in obtaining the intended engine resulted in priority being switched to a smaller, single-seat derivative, the Aerocar Mini-IMP, which was sucessfully flying by early 1976, with plans available for sale later that year. In 1978, Taylor began work on the Micro-IMP, a derivative of the Mini-IMP built using Taylor Paper Glass (TPG), a fibreglass-reinforced paper, consisting of a paper core with metal inlays covered with glassfibre in a matrix of polyester resin and covered with Dacron fabric]]. The Micro-IMP first flew in 1981, but while the novel construction material proved to be a success, the aircraft was underpowered.

Data from Jane’s All the World’s Aircraft 1987–88

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Length: 15 ft 0 in (4.57 m)
• Wingspan: 28 ft 0 in (8.53 m)
• Height: 4 ft 10 in (1.47 m)
• Wing area: 81.0 sq ft (7.53 m²)
• Aspect ratio: 9.3:1
• Airfoil: GA(PC)-1 modified
• Empty weight: 350 lb (159 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 650 lb (295 kg)
• Fuel capacity: 7 US gal (5.8 imp gal; 26 L)
• Powerplant: 1 × Cuyuna 430 two-cylinder, two-stoke engine, 35 hp (26 kW)
• Propellers: 2-bladed

Performance

• Maximum speed: 120 mph (190 km/h, 100 kn)
• Cruise speed: 100 mph (160 km/h, 87 kn)
• Stall speed: 40 mph (64 km/h, 35 kn)
• Never exceed speed: 160 mph (260 km/h, 140 kn)
• Range: 250 mi (400 km, 220 nmi)
• Service ceiling: 12,500 ft (3,800 m)
• g limits: +6, -4
• Rate of climb: 850 ft/min (4.3 m/s)

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