ARV Super2

Super2
Role	Light Aircraft
National origin	Great Britain
Manufacturer	ARV
First flight	11 March 1985
Status	Not currently in production
Number built	about 35

ARV prototype

ARV with MidWest AE110, Ecoprop & Trelleborg tyres

ARV with Rotax 912 & tundra tyres

ARV with Jabiru 2200

The ARV Super2 is a British two-seat, strut-braced, shoulder wing, light aircraft, designed by Bruce Giddings^[1] as an affordable trainer.^[2] Around 35^[3] aircraft were produced in the 1980s before the manufacturing companies went into liquidation.^[4]

Opus Aircraft of North Carolina, United States acquired manufacturing rights plus a selection of aircraft parts. They have produced an "Opus Super 2" prototype, but their proposed resumption of production has yet to begin.^[4][5][6]

Although the "Opus" gained the USA's FAA Light Sport Aircraft approval in February 2008^[7], no further news has emerged from the company; and as of mid-December 2011 the Opus Aircraft website was no longer available on the Internet.^[5]

Design and development

After breaking the world land speed record in 1983, the UK entrepreneur Richard Noble, spotted a gap in the market for a low-cost light two-seat trainer, after expensive product-liability lawsuits in the United States had temporarily driven the major American [GA] manufacturers to abandon production of such aircraft. Noble set up a factory at Sandown on the Isle of Wight to build the aircraft, named the ARV Super2, the first prototype flying on 11 March 1985.^[8] The factory used some novel manufacturing techniques, including British ALCAN's "Supral"^[9] (a superplastic aluminium alloy), adhesives (to reduce rivet count and save weight), and a bespoke new British engine, the Hewland AE75. These innovations gave the ARV an empty weight 40% lower than the Cessna 152,^[10] making the Super2 cheap to buy and economical to operate. The manufacturer claimed it would reduce pilot training costs by 25%^[2]

The ARV Super2 is a side-by-side configuration two-seater with a shoulder wing for good visibility.^[9] The wing is swept forward 5° to maintain correct center of gravity balance.^[9] The wing area is a small 92 sq ft (8.5 m²), giving a wing loading of 11.9 lb/ft² (58.1 kg/m²).^[9] The ARV is constructed of mainly aluminium alloy, with fibreglass wingtips and cowlings.^[2][11] The cockpit is a stiff monocoque of "Supral" alloy for lightness and improved crash protection. Aft of the cockpit bulkhead, the ARV is conventionally built, with frames, longerons and stressed skin. Skin sections are both glued and riveted. The aircraft has twin control sticks, and all controls are pushrod, except the rudder, which is cable-linked. Both flaps and trim are mechanically operated. The rudder pedals control a steerable nosewheel, but the disc brakes are hand-operated.^[9]

The AE75 engine, a 49 kg (108 lb)^[11]75 hp (56 kW)^[2] inverted three-cylinder water-cooled two-stroke unit with dual ignition and a 2.7:1 reduction gearbox,^[12] was specially developed for the ARV by Hewland from their existing two-cylinder microlight engine. Many ARVs have had their AE75s replaced with engines such as the Rotax 912,^[13] 914,^[14][15] or the fuel-injected MidWest twin-rotor wankel engine.^{[16][17][18][19]}

Opus Aircraft has changed some specifications for the aircraft, increasing the Vne to 134 kn (248 km/h) and increasing the gross weight to 1,168 lb (530 kg). The company intends to equip the aircraft with the Rotax 912UL or 912A of 80 hp (60 kW).^[20]

The Super2 gained airworthiness certification in July 1986,^[8] and entered full production. In November 1985, Noble had reached an agreement to supply ARV parts to Canada's Instar Aviation, where the aircraft would be assembled for the North American market. Transport Canada had agreed to certify the aircraft based on it "meeting UK criteria", but this in the end the Canadian production plans came to nothing.^[21] Soon after, there were a number of forced landings due to gearbox failures induced by propeller vibration; and in November 1987 the CAA grounded the aircraft.^[22] Although these problems were quickly resolved, the damage was done.^[23] Buyers and investors lost confidence, and this led to the closure of the Isle of Wight factory. The company was forced into Administration, with the company being rescued after a management buyout, being renamed Island Aircraft.^[24] Between 30 and 35 aircraft were completed by ARV and Island aircraft at Sandown, with production first being transferred to Scotland and then to Sweden, where it was renamed the "Opus 280",^[25][26] before the Swedish producers themselves went bankrupt in 1995.^[27] After yet another unsuccessful attempt to restart production in Ohio, a new consortium, Opus Aircraft,^[28] acquired the rights, establishing a factory in North Carolina. In February 2008, the "Opus Super 2" was granted FAA Light Sport Aircraft approval.^[4]

Originally, ARVs were available either as kit-built aircraft (subject to PFA Permit), or factory built (and subject to the CAA Certificate of Airworthiness). In 2004, the CAA reclassified all ARVs as PFA (now LAA) Permit aircraft. The ARV Super2 was originally intended to be aerobatic, but the Isle of Wight factory closed before CAA clearance was obtained, so aerobatics remain prohibited. Also, the factory had planned to develop a four-seater version, wing-tip tanks and floats.^[29]

Super2s have very limited luggage space, with just a small locker behind the headrests, that is inaccessible during flight, plus a pair of elasticated map pockets in the cockpit sides. The second prototype, G-STWO, has an extra luggage locker in the starboard fuselage, just behind the fuel tank,^[30] but to date no other ARVs have this feature.

Operational history

In the early days, at least two flying schools adopted the ARV, but today most Super2s in the UK are in private hands.^[31][32][33]

Specifications (ARV Super 2)

Data from Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1988-89 ^[8]

General characteristics

• Crew: Two
• Length: 5.49 m (18 ft 0 in)
• Wingspan: 8.69 m (28 ft 6 in)
• Height: 2.31 m (7 ft 7 in)
• Wing area: 8.59 m² (92.5 ft²)
• Airfoil: NACA 2415 (modified)
• Empty weight: 306 kg (675 lb)
• Max. takeoff weight: 499 kg (1,100 lb)
• Powerplant: 1 × Hewland AE75 3-cylinder liquid cooled inline engine, 57 kW (77 hp)

Performance

• Never exceed speed: 232 km/h (126 knots, 149 mph)
• Maximum speed: 190 km/h (103 knots, 118 mph) at 610 m (2,000 ft)
• Cruise speed: 153 km/h (83 knots, 95 mph) (econ cruise)
• Stall speed: 88 km/h (48 knots, 55 mph)
• Range: 500 km (270 NM, 311 mi)
• Service ceiling: m (ft)
• Rate of climb: 3.2 m/s (620 ft/min)
• Wing loading: 58.1 kg/m² (11.9 lb/ft²)
• Power/mass: 0.11 kW/kg (0.07 hp/lb)

References

Notes

Bibliography

External links

• Opus Aircraft website
• Opus Aircraft archives on Archive.org