Cygnet questions

Hi -
I've been scoping out the cygnet as a good 1st plane to build, and I'm wondering if someone has talked to anyone who's made, is making, or owns one. The plans seems scarce so far. No one at Viking has returned my calls but, they may just be on vacation.

AviationBanter seems to be about the only bulletin board that mentions them, and it only came up when I did a google keyword search. Please feel free to get in touch here or at .

Thanks in advance -
John Dolza

"Detroit Dolza" wrote in
message news |
| Hi -
| I've been scoping out the cygnet as a good 1st plane to build, and I'm
| wondering if someone has talked to anyone who's made, is making, or
| owns one. The plans seems scarce so far. No one at Viking has
| returned my calls but, they may just be on vacation.
|
| AviationBanter seems to be about the only bulletin board that mentions
| them, and it only came up when I did a google keyword search. Please
| feel free to get in touch here or at .
|
| Thanks in advance -
| John Dolza
|
|
|
|
| --
| Detroit Dolza
|

The Cygnet was one plane I was seriously considering building around
1984. I stopped by Rex Taylor's operation in Eloy AZ. and looked it
over. I lost my medical before I actually started to build anything.
(Did invest in a year of welding courses at the local junior college.)

I read everything about it that I could get my hands on at the time. The
main complaint was about the complexity of building the geodesic or
lattice wing. While it made the wing very strong it had a lot of parts.
Here is some information you may not have seen:

Cygnet - An airplane that deserves to be better known. It's a shoulder
winged 2 seater with a touch of forward sweep to keep the center of lift
right where it needs to be while still having the wing spar pass behind
the cockpit. The wood wings use geodetic construction, fabric covered,
attached to a steel tube fuselage. Designed by Bert Sisler, it's a fine
little bush plane, it's one of the three designs that HAPI promoted to
sell engines for (the other being the Dragonfly and the Corby Starlet).
I have seen few completions, it seems pretty labor intensive, the wings
in particular have a lot of little wooden parts. There doesn't seem to
be much a builder community for this airplane. A British builder
confirms the agony of the wing construction (link now dead).

KITPLANES did an article recently, "Sampling a Sisler Cygnet", June
1999, p. 6. Viking Aviation, run by Rex Taylor's son, apparently still
sells plans, as of 1999. I just (May 2002) had an E-mail from the
designer: "Am currently completing restoration of original Cygnet and
have installed a Jabiru 2200. Originally had a 1835 VW and performance
was fine, but wanted electrics. Latest I know about plans is they are
being sold by Pat Taylor @ Viking Aircraft Ltd P.O. Box 646, Elkkhorn,
WI 53121."

Above obtained by scrolling down this page:
http://users.lmi.net/~ryoung/Sonerai/rant.html

Here is something current about the Whistler/Cignet:
http://www.eaa25.org/ The second article down. You may be able to
obtain information from him.

--
Anyolmouse

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Anyolmouse wrote:
"Detroit Dolza" wrote in
message news |
| Hi -
| I've been scoping out the cygnet as a good 1st plane to build, and I'm
| wondering if someone has talked to anyone who's made, is making, or
| owns one. The plans seems scarce so far. No one at Viking has
| returned my calls but, they may just be on vacation.
|
| AviationBanter seems to be about the only bulletin board that mentions
| them, and it only came up when I did a google keyword search. Please
| feel free to get in touch here or at .
|
| Thanks in advance -
| John Dolza
|
|
|
|
| --
| Detroit Dolza
|

The Cygnet was one plane I was seriously considering building around
1984. I stopped by Rex Taylor's operation in Eloy AZ. and looked it
over. I lost my medical before I actually started to build anything.
(Did invest in a year of welding courses at the local junior college.)

I read everything about it that I could get my hands on at the time. The
main complaint was about the complexity of building the geodesic or
lattice wing. While it made the wing very strong it had a lot of parts.
Here is some information you may not have seen:

Cygnet - An airplane that deserves to be better known. It's a shoulder
winged 2 seater with a touch of forward sweep to keep the center of lift
right where it needs to be while still having the wing spar pass behind
the cockpit. The wood wings use geodetic construction, fabric covered,
attached to a steel tube fuselage. Designed by Bert Sisler, it's a fine
little bush plane, it's one of the three designs that HAPI promoted to
sell engines for (the other being the Dragonfly and the Corby Starlet).
I have seen few completions, it seems pretty labor intensive, the wings
in particular have a lot of little wooden parts. There doesn't seem to
be much a builder community for this airplane. A British builder
confirms the agony of the wing construction (link now dead).

KITPLANES did an article recently, "Sampling a Sisler Cygnet", June
1999, p. 6. Viking Aviation, run by Rex Taylor's son, apparently still
sells plans, as of 1999. I just (May 2002) had an E-mail from the
designer: "Am currently completing restoration of original Cygnet and
have installed a Jabiru 2200. Originally had a 1835 VW and performance
was fine, but wanted electrics. Latest I know about plans is they are
being sold by Pat Taylor @ Viking Aircraft Ltd P.O. Box 646, Elkkhorn,
WI 53121."

Above obtained by scrolling down this page:
http://users.lmi.net/~ryoung/Sonerai/rant.html

Here is something current about the Whistler/Cignet:
http://www.eaa25.org/ The second article down. You may be able to
obtain information from him.


I purchased a set of Cygnet plans from the Taylors about 10 months ago.
If you send a cheque to the address above they will ship you a set.
They are the original Sisler drawings made in the 70s and are not too
bad, typical of hand drawn plans of the day, certainly better than old
Tailwind plans. Upon studying the plans the geodetic construction is a
bit of a turn off to me personally; you have to really enjoy
woodworking. A gazillion little pieces and strips, and it all has to be
glued at each intersection and then varnished inside and out... yikes.

I was in the process of sketching out a plan for a metal wing (no
planform/airfoil changes - just metal instead of wood) and was going to
have it analysed at work and start building it, but have stopped to look
into something a little heavier/faster with more engine options, like a
Buttercup.

The Jabiru is ideal for the Cygnet, and being a fair bit lighter than
the VW could probably allow you to reduce the forward sweep by a degree
or so and still have the required empty CG. The CG range is somewhat
narrow, only a few inches, but the seats are right on the CG so I don't
think being one or two up moves it significantly. The baggage
compartment in the plans is behind the seats and is quite small and the
fuel tank is aft also. I think the CG range will be near the forward
limit with empty fuel/baggage, and near the aft limit with full
fuel/baggage, regardless of the weight in the seats. There is a
notation in an attachment to the plans about people adding length to the
fuselage but no details, which kind of hints at pitch/yaw
stability/authority problems with the stock design, but I haven't heard
of anything directly. It may have been done to allow the forward CG
limit to be moved forward.

The airplane has a lot of dihedral, some of which is to compensate for
the destabilizing effect in yaw, and the negative roll couple due to
yaw, that you get with forward swept wings. I haven't flown in one but
have sat in one and the location of the wing does block your view to the
sides unless you crane your neck way forward, because although the root
is at your shoulder, the tip is well above the horizon.

There are maybe 20-30 Cygnets flying. Once or twice a year one comes up
for sale on Barnstormers.

John

I am not sure what year these comments were sent? Are you still able
to purchase the Viking Cygnet plans? What was the price of the plans?
Is there a E-mail address were you can contact Pat Taylor?

Cook11

"pacer" wrote in message
...
I am not sure what year these comments were sent? Are you still able
to purchase the Viking Cygnet plans? What was the price of the plans?
Is there a E-mail address were you can contact Pat Taylor?

The post you are replying to was posted Feb 14, 2008, which is also when the
first post in the thread was written.
--
Jim in NC

I purchased a set of Cygnet plans from the Taylors about 10 months ago.
If you send a cheque to the address above they will ship you a set.
They are the original Sisler drawings made in the 70s and are not too
bad, typical of hand drawn plans of the day, certainly better than old
Tailwind plans. Upon studying the plans the geodetic construction is a
bit of a turn off to me personally; you have to really enjoy
woodworking. A gazillion little pieces and strips, and it all has to be
glued at each intersection and then varnished inside and out... yikes.

I was in the process of sketching out a plan for a metal wing (no
planform/airfoil changes - just metal instead of wood) and was going to
have it analysed at work and start building it, but have stopped to look
into something a little heavier/faster with more engine options, like a
Buttercup.

The Jabiru is ideal for the Cygnet, and being a fair bit lighter than
the VW could probably allow you to reduce the forward sweep by a degree
or so and still have the required empty CG. The CG range is somewhat
narrow, only a few inches, but the seats are right on the CG so I don't
think being one or two up moves it significantly. The baggage
compartment in the plans is behind the seats and is quite small and the
fuel tank is aft also. I think the CG range will be near the forward
limit with empty fuel/baggage, and near the aft limit with full
fuel/baggage, regardless of the weight in the seats. There is a
notation in an attachment to the plans about people adding length to the
fuselage but no details, which kind of hints at pitch/yaw
stability/authority problems with the stock design, but I haven't heard
of anything directly. It may have been done to allow the forward CG
limit to be moved forward.

The airplane has a lot of dihedral, some of which is to compensate for
the destabilizing effect in yaw, and the negative roll couple due to
yaw, that you get with forward swept wings. I haven't flown in one but
have sat in one and the location of the wing does block your view to the
sides unless you crane your neck way forward, because although the root
is at your shoulder, the tip is well above the horizon.

There are maybe 20-30 Cygnets flying. Once or twice a year one comes up
for sale on Barnstormers.

John[/quote]

Hi John, I was wondering if your redesign of the Cygnet wings went anywhere. I am also interested in the Cygnet shape and performance but not the geodetic construction..

Eric N83V