The I.S.T. L-17 Masang was a two-seat, single engine, low wing monoplane aircraft designed and built in the Philippine Republic in the mid-1950s. It was intended for both touring and training.

L-17 Masang
Role Touring and training aircraft
National origin Republic of the Philippines
Manufacturer Institute of Science and Technology, Manila
Designer Antonio J. de Leon
First flight May 1956?
Number built 1?

Design and development edit

In the mid-1950s the Philippine Institute of Science and Technology (I.S.T.) designed aircraft to explore the possibilities of local aircraft production from indigenous materials. The single engine, tricycle undercarriage, low wing monoplane L-17 was one of them.[1]

Its wing was a single-piece wooden structure with 5° of dihedral and a straight-tapered plan. It was plywood-covered and had split flaps inboard of the ailerons. The cantilever tail unit was similarly constructed with the straight-tapered horizontal surfaces on top of the extreme aft fuselage; the single-piece elevator carried an offset trim tab. The vertical tail was tall and straight-edged; the bottom of the horn balanced rudder was above the elevator and just aft of its hinge, with a small cut-out to allow for elevator deflection.[1]

The L-17's fuselage was a plywood-skinned wooden semi-monocoque, the cockpit seating two side by side under a single piece canopy. A 108 hp (80 kW) Lycoming O-235 flat-four engine drove a two-blade propeller. The fixed tricycle undercarriage had rearward-sloping oleo legs mounted to the wings, giving a track of 2.40 m (7 ft 10 in).[1]

The first flight of the L-17 was scheduled for May 1956.[1]

Specifications edit

Data from Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1956-57,[1] Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1958-59[2]

General characteristics

  • Crew: 2
  • Length: 7.20 m (23 ft 7 in)
  • Wingspan: 9.60 m (31 ft 6 in)
  • Height: 3.20 m (10 ft 6 in)
  • Wing area: 13.40 m2 (144.2 sq ft)
  • Aspect ratio: 6.85
  • Airfoil: root: US 35B ; tip:NACA 23012
  • Empty weight: 510 kg (1,124 lb)
  • Gross weight: 735 kg (1,620 lb)
  • Fuel capacity: 68 L (18 US gal; 15 imp gal)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Lycoming O-235-C1 4-cylinder air-cooled horizontally opposed piston engine, 81 kW (108 hp)
  • Propellers: 2-bladed fixed pitch wooden propeller

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 210 km/h (130 mph, 110 kn)
  • Cruise speed: 175 km/h (109 mph, 94 kn)
  • Landing speed: 80 km/h (50 mph; 43 kn) (flaps down)
  • Rate of climb: 3.83 m/s (754 ft/min)

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e Bridgman, Leonard (1956). Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1956-57. London: Jane's All the World's Aircraft Publishing Co. Ltd. p. 192.
  2. ^ Bridgman, Leonard, ed. (1958). Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1958-59. London: Jane's All the World's Aircraft Publishing Co. Ltd. p. 207.