Griffon Lionheart
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Lionheart | |
|---|---|
 A Lionheart in the Beechcraft Heritage Museum in Tennessee | |
| General information | |
| Type | Six-seat homebuilt kit biplane |
| National origin | United States |
| Manufacturer | Griffon Aerospace |
| History | |
| First flight | 27 July 1997 |
The Griffon Lionheart is an American single-engined, six-seat biplane designed and produced in kit form for home building by Griffon Aerospace of Harvest, Alabama.
The Lionheart is based on the Beechcraft Staggerwing biplane of the 1930s;[1] but unlike the steel tube, wood and fabric construction of the Staggerwing it has a composite structure.[2] The Staggerwing has strut-braced wings but the Lionheart has cantilever wings with a total area about 20% less than the wings of the Staggerwing.[1] It is powered by a 450 hp (336 kW) Pratt & Whitney R-985 Wasp Junior radial engine with a three-bladed propeller. It has a retractable conventional landing gear with a tailwheel.[2] The enclosed cabin is slightly longer than the Staggerwing's cabin to allow room for the pilot and five passengers, and it has a split airstair access door on the port side.[2][3]
The Lionheart first flew on 27 July 1997 and was first displayed in public at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh a few days later.[1][4] Five kits were sold by April 1998, and two of the kits were completed by 2001, with another almost complete.[1][2][3] As of August 2011, three Lionhearts are registered in the United States, with another example on display in an aviation museum at Tullahoma Regional Airport in Tullahoma, Tennessee.[5][6] Kits are no longer being produced.[1]
