Grumman Kitten

Kitten

G-72 Kitten
Role	Cabin monoplane
National origin	United States
Manufacturer	Grumman
Designer	Dayton T. Brown
First flight	1944
Number built	2

The Grumman Kitten was a 1940s American cabin monoplane designed and built by Grumman. Two versions were built; the G-63 Kitten I with a retractable tailwheel landing gear, and G-72 Kitten II with a retractable nosewheel landing gear.

Development

In 1943, as part of the postwar plan for the company, Grumman started looking at entering the light aircraft market. The first design was the G-63 Kitten I which was an all-metal two/three-seat cabin monoplane with a retractable tailwheel landing gear and powered by a Lycoming O-290 piston engine. The aircraft first flew on 18 March 1944. Although testing continued, the aircraft did not enter production due to the continuing war effort. The original wing was replaced by a ducted mainplane to improve the lift/drag ration. On 4 February 1946, a version with a retractable nosewheel landing gear and dual controls, the G-72 Kitten II was flown. The Kitten II also has improvements to the wing and the single vertical tail was changed to twin fins, although it reverted to a single fin before it was flown.

In 1947, the G-72 was modified for ducted-wing testing as the G-81, it was fitted with slotted flaps to induce slow flight. It was first flown on 11 February 1947, but the project was abandoned.

Variants

G-63 Kitten I: Prototype with retractable tailwheel landing gear, one built.
G-72 Kitten II: Prototype with retractable nosewheel landing gear and dual controls, one built.
G-81: G-72 modified for ducted-wing tests.

Specifications (G-63 Kitten I)

Data from ^[1]

General characteristics

Crew: one
Capacity: two or three passengers
Length: 19 ft 10¾ in (6.06 m)
Wingspan: 32 ft 0 in (9.75 m)
Height: 5 ft 9¼ in (1.76 m)
Wing area: 130 ft² (12.08 m²)
Empty weight: 1,145 lb (519 kg)
Gross weight: 1,900 lb (862 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × Lycoming O-290-A flat-four piston engine, 125 hp (93 kW)

Performance

Maximum speed: 149 mph (238^[2] km/h)

References

Notes

↑ Oribis 1985, page 2037
↑ aerofiles.com

Bibliography

Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions.
The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985). Orbis Publishing. 1985.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Grumman Kitten.

Aerofiles - Grumman

Grumman and Northrop Grumman aircraft

Manufacturer
designations

G-1 (floats only)
G-2 (floats only)
G-3
G-4
G-5
G-6
G-7
G-8
G-9
G-10
G-11
G-12
G-13
G-14
G-15
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G-32
G-33
G-34
G-35
G-36
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G-38
G-39
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G-51
G-52
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G-54
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G-58
G-59
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G-62
G-63
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G-69
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G-71
G-72
G-73
G-74
G-75
G-76
G-77
G-78
G-79
G-80
G-81
G-82
G-83
G-84
G-85
G-86
G-87
G-88
G-89
G-90
G-91
G-92
G-93
G-94
G-96
G-97
G-98
G-98J
G-99
G-100
G-101
G-102
G-103
G-104
G-105
G-106
G-107
G-108
G-109
G-110
G-111
G-112
G-113
G-114
G-115
G-116
G-117
G-118
G-119
G-120
G-121
G-122
G-123
G-124
G-125
G-126
G-127
G-128
G-134
G-159
G-164
G-191
G-231
G-234
G-251
G-262
G-303
G-426
G-712
G-1128
G-1159
Model 400

By role

Piston fighters	FF F2F F3F F4F XF5F XP-50 F6F XP-65 F7F F8F

Jet fighters	F9F-1 to -5 F9F-6 to -8 F-9 XF10F F11F/F-11/F11F-1F G-118 F-111B F-14

Bombers	B-2 B-21

Attack/Patrol	TBF XTSF TB2F AF S-2 A-6

Recon/Scouts	SF XSBF E-1 OV-1 EA-6 E-2

Utility/Transports	UC-103 JF J2F OA-12 JRF J3F OA-9 OA-13 OA-14/J4F U-16/JR2F/UF C-1 C-2

Civil aircraft	Mallard Ag Cat Kitten Tadpole Gulfstream I Gulfstream II

Others	Apollo Lunar Module EF-111 X-29 Q-8/C X-47A X-47B

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