Blue Yonder EZ King Cobra

The Blue Yonder EZ King Cobra is a Canadian designed and built, single-engined, single-seat aircraft provided as a completed aircraft or in kit form by Blue Yonder Aviation. The aircraft is approximately a 60% scale replica of the Second World War Bell P-63 Kingcobra fighter.[1]

EZ King Cobra
Role Kit plane
National origin Canada
Manufacturer Blue Yonder Aviation
Designer Wayne Winters
First flight 1998
Introduction 1998
Primary user Private owners
Number built 1
Developed from Merlin
Variants EZ Harvard

The aircraft can be constructed in Canada as a basic ultra-light, or amateur-built aircraft, but is not currently available as an advanced ultra-light.[2][3]

Development

The EZ King Cobra was designed by Wayne Winters of Indus, Alberta and based on the earlier EZ Merlin. The project was started as a customer request for an ultralight category scale replica of a fighter and was later offered as a commercially available kit aircraft.

Winters created the EZ King Cobra by designing a new cantilever wing based on the Merlin wing, itself based on the Lazair wing design. The fuselage is constructed of welded 4130 steel tube and has a canopy and fin that resembles the original fighter design. The aircraft retained the Junker's ailerons of the original Merlin wing along with the Clark "Y" airfoil and construction featuring a leading edge "D" cell and foam ribs. The prototype is powered by a Rotax 582 two stroke engine of 64 hp (48 kW).[1][4]

The prototype of the new design flew in 1998. In the basic ultralight version gross weight is limited to the category maximum of 1,200 lb (544 kg).[1]

The EZ King Cobra can accommodate a variety of powerplants:[5]

Operational history

Despite being widely demonstrated no further orders have been received for the type and the prototype remains the sole flying example.[2]

Specifications (Rotax 582)

Data from Blue Yonder website[1]

General characteristics

  • Crew: one
  • Capacity: 657 lb (298 kg) useful load
  • Length: 21 ft 0 in (6.4 m)
  • Wingspan: 27 ft 0 in (8.2 m)
  • Height: 6 ft 0 in (1.8 m)
  • Wing area: 158 sq ft (14.7 m2)
  • Airfoil: Clark Y[4]
  • Empty weight: 543 lb (246 kg)
  • Gross weight: 1,200 lb (544 kg)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Rotax 582 fixed pitch, 64 hp (48 kW)

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 120 mph (194 km/h, 100 kn)
  • Cruise speed: 90 mph (146 km/h, 78 kn)
  • Stall speed: 30 mph (49 km/h, 26 kn)
  • Range: 460 mi (740 km, 400 nmi)
  • Service ceiling: 14,000 ft (4,270 m)
  • Power/mass: 18.75 lb/hp (0.09 kW/kg)

See also

References
  1. Winters, Wayne (n.d.). "EZ King Cobra". Archived from the original on 2009-02-26. Retrieved 2009-03-02.
  2. Transport Canada (7 November 2016). "Canadian Civil Aircraft Register". Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  3. Transport Canada (November 2008). "Listing of Models Eligible to be Registered as Advanced Ultra-Light Aeroplanes (AULA)". Retrieved 2009-03-02.
  4. Lednicer, David (October 2007). "The Incomplete Guide to Airfoil Usage". Archived from the original on 2008-05-15. Retrieved 2009-02-28.
  5. Winters, Wayne (n.d.). "EZ King Cobra Price Lists". Archived from the original on 2009-03-17. Retrieved 2009-03-02.
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