Griffon Lionheart. Homebuilt Staggerwing with an R-985!

jasc15

jasc15

Pre-takeoff checklist
Joined
Apr 21, 2009
Messages
443
Location
New Jersey
Display Name
Display name:
Joe
A friend showed me this article. Apparently there are 3 registered in the US. Has anyone seen one?

http://www.airbum.com/pireps/PirepLionheart.html

LionheartN985CC.jpg
 
I've seen one in the Beechcraft Museum in Tenn.

Is that where the picture is from?
 
There was pretty spectacular video of one burning up on its maiden flight.
 
When they first came out a bright yellow demo plane was traveling the airshow circuit. I saw it fly at Arlington, WA. It was very cool and made a unique whistling sound which could easily be heard over the radial engine. The announcer noted the whistle and the company rep stated that they were trying to track down the noise because what ever was causing the whistle is also causing drag.
 
There is one based at 3M5 Moontown. It is the first one I think, bright yellow. Its a nice airplane. Sounds good.
 
Yes, it made the rounds in the '90s. Lots of interest, few sales. Needed good taildragger skills to fly. Ron mention the one that burned on its first landing, can access the NTSB factual here (SEA01LA104):

http://dms.ntsb.gov/aviation/AccidentReports/0v2cqafj1y2fioffijibt3551/E08122013120000.pdf

Looked that airplane over, a couple of weeks prior to the accident, with a friend who'd written the Kitplanes pilot report on the design. He'd liked the airplane, but it had one or two quirks that may have been due to flying the company prototype. One was an issue in yaw; when he pressed the rudder pedal all the way to the floor and released it, the plane continued in a fully-yawed condition....

Ron Wanttaja
 
Sure is pretty.
 
Saw one at Airventure once... really nice; a good tribute to the "real thing".
 
I want one. Now, I need a spare +100k, plus 2-3 years to put it together.
 
Mark Langford of KR fame(n56ml.com) is a friend of the designer, Larry French, and did the CAD work for the design. They're both in the Huntsville area, which explains the one based at Moontown.
 
Last edited:
wanttaja said:
Yes, it made the rounds in the '90s. Lots of interest, few sales. Needed good taildragger skills to fly. Ron mention the one that burned on its first landing, can access the NTSB factual here (SEA01LA104):

http://dms.ntsb.gov/aviation/AccidentReports/0v2cqafj1y2fioffijibt3551/E08122013120000.pdf

Looked that airplane over, a couple of weeks prior to the accident, with a friend who'd written the Kitplanes pilot report on the design. He'd liked the airplane, but it had one or two quirks that may have been due to flying the company prototype. One was an issue in yaw; when he pressed the rudder pedal all the way to the floor and released it, the plane continued in a fully-yawed condition....

Ron Wanttaja
Click to expand...

Air drag rudder lock, some gliders will do that to if slipped, and it takes a strong boot on the opposite side to center the rudder.

In a yawed full rudder slipped configuration, a low air pressure forms in the vertical fin "shadow" that holds the rudder in the hard over position.
 
I watched one burn to the ground at Bremerton on it's maiden flight. To me, it appeared to have weak landing gear. It was a beautiful airplane with over $300,000 in it.

There was some swerving caused by the pilot and the gear collapsed, opening the wing and fuel tanks. Fire erupted and destroyed the airplane.

I am quite sure any old Cessna 180 would have EASILY withstood the swerve.
 
Looks like really BIG S Turns would be required to get any forward viz.

Doesnt look right without the wing struts. ;)

Cheers
 
Couple of comments:

- The one that burned up was due to pilot error on landing...he let it get way out of keeping it straight...at some points in excess of 70 degrees from the direction of travel. The gear collapsed after skidding nearly 300 feet on a side load. A Cessna 180 gear may have survived that sort of load, but then again it is a fixed gear and weighs half as much. The pilot had 0 landings in a Lionheart prior to this one and less than 5 TW landings in the previous year coupled with a 5 kt tailwind and being too slow on approach. It should be noted however, that the pilot walked away without a scratch.

- The rudder on the prototype would indeed stay where you put it...it was not a design flaw, but rather something that was different and pilots who were used to a self centering rudder as you find on a Cessna would find themselves out of coordinated flight if they let their feet get lazy. Centering springs were later added to compensate and included in subsequent kits.

- The whistling noise was never mystery, but was not planned in the design...just a cool result. It comes from airflow over the hollow gear legs in the same way as blowing over a beer bottle. With gear doors added, the whistle and subsequent drag go away, but we like the sound of the whistle so there are no plans to add gear doors although some builders did add them.

- You cant S-turn big enough to see out of the opposite side and are blind as to what is in front of you when turning toward your seat, but have outstanding forward vis when turning away from your seat...you just plan your taxi accordingly.

http://youtu.be/8uhd5c4diyI

1379520_10151962587021449_443552534_n.jpg
 
Oh.
My.

That is beautiful! Thank you for sharing.

---

And, Welcome to Pilots of America!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top