| R-2 | |
|---|---|
| |
| The prototype Victa R-2 on display at the HARS Museum | |
| Role | Light aircraft |
| National origin | Australia |
| Manufacturer | Victa Ltd. |
| Designer | Luigi Pellarini |
| First flight | 15 February 1961 |
| Status | Prototype only |
| Number built | 1 |
The Victa R-2 was a prototype Australian single-engine four-seat light aircraft built by Victa Ltd in the early 1960s. A single example was built, first flying in February 1961, but no production followed.
In September 1959, the Australian engineering company Victa Consolidated Industries, a major manufacturer of motor lawnmowers, established an aviation department. The first intended product was the Victa R-2, a four-seat single-engine light aircraft designed by Luigi Pellarini.[1][2][3] Pellarini's design was a low-winged, all metal tractor configuration monoplane with a T-tail, powered by a 180 hp (130 kW) Lycoming O-360 flat-four piston engine driving a constant-speed propeller. The prototype's wings were braced by struts, although production aircraft may have had fully cantilever wings. The wingtips and tail were raked to reduce drag. A retractable tricycle landing gear was fitted, although the production of versions with fixed landing gear was considered for operations in the bush.[2][4]
A prototype first flew on 15 February 1961,[4] by which time Victa had received several orders for the R-2.[5] Despite these orders, no production followed. Victa had committed to production of the two-seat Airtourer (which had been ordered in much larger numbers than the R-2[5]), and chose to develop a four-seater derivative of the Airtrainer, the Aircruiser, which was expected to be cheaper to build than the R-2, instead of continuing to develop the R-2.[6] Pellarini left Victa,[6] and later went on to design the Transavia PL-12 Airtruk agricultural biplane, although attempts by Pellarini to build a development of the R-2 as the Transavia PL-13 were unsuccessful.[7][8]
Data from Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1961–62[4]
General characteristics
Performance