Larson D-1

Larson D-1
Role	Agricultural aircraft
National origin	United States
Manufacturer	Larson Aero Development
Designer	Merle Larson
First flight	1955

The Larson D-1 was an agricultural biplane that was purpose-built to replace Boeing Stearman cropdusters.^[1]

Development

In 1955, Merle Larson designed the D-1 with updated features to improve cropdusting compared to the popular Boeing Stearman in use at the time. The aircraft used only 25 percent of the amount of parts as a Stearman.

Design

The biplane featured a steel tube fuselage, and aluminum covered wings. The fuselage was fabric covered only to behind the cockpit, leaving the rest of the tail structure exposed, preventing dust buildup in the tail. The aircraft had twin rudders mounted outboard of the spray trail. Each of these were all-moving with anti-servo tabs. Standard automotive wheels and tires were employed to reduce cost as low-cost World War II surplus was becoming too old, and new aviation tires cost nearly five times as much.^[2]

Specifications (Larson D-1)

Data from experimenter

General characteristics

• Length: 25 ft (7.6 m)
• Upper wingspan: 30 ft (9.1 m)
• Lower wingspan: 33 ft (10 m)
• Wing area: 315 sq ft (29.3 m²)
• Airfoil: Goettingen 365
• Empty weight: 1,700 lb (771 kg)
• Gross weight: 3,600 lb (1,633 kg)
• Fuel capacity: 30
• Powerplant: 1 × LYcoming R-680 , 225 hp (168 kW)

Performance

• Cruise speed: 78 kn; 145 km/h (90 mph)
• Stall speed: 35 kn; 64 km/h (40 mph)
• Wing loading: 11.4 lb/sq ft (56 kg/m²)

Notes

References