Mustang 2

[Mike Freeman]

I have been looking at the Mustang 2 which is the Midget Mustangs larger brother by Mustang Aero in the US.

I cannot see it listed as an approved LAA design. What would this mean to somebody wishing to build one in the UK? Would it be approved based on the proven record of aircraft flying in other countries around the world or would I be looking at major time and expense getting approval?

Regards

[Brian Hope]

Hi Mike, sorry to see nobody has responded to your query. I am pretty sure the Mustang has not been approved for build in the UK. As you suggest it has been around a while so it could well have a relatively straightforward path to approval on the basis of its service record. You would need to collect evidence of numbers flying/hours flown/accident record to show it to be a satisfactory design.
That said, Engineering will stipulate what is required to get the aircraft approved and if you are serious about building the design your first port of call should be a call to the office to see what they have to say about it.
A few years back an American chap living in the UK wanted to build a Nexus Mustang, a Canadian tandem variant of the Midget Mustang designed by a guy called Dick Eaves and to my mind much prettier than the Aeronautics Mustang 11. I believe Engineering did some preliminary work on the design and the chap started building but he moved out of the UK and nothing more was heard. There is now a side-by-side version of the Nexus as well.
Good luck with whatever you decide.

[Mike Freeman]

Thanks Brian

I will ask Engineering about the Nexus Mustang too. It does look like a nice aircraft.

Regards

[Nick Allen]

Gary and his Nexus...now that brings back memories of heated debates on the old bulletin board!

[Chris Jefferson]

Hi Mike,

Engineering did quite an extensive analysis of the Bushby Mustang 2 about ten years ago. From what I can remember there were a couple of issues with the design, most notably that the undercarriage arrangement didn't meet acceptable standards and as such it was unlikely that the Mustang 2 would be approved for construction in the UK. I'm sure that Francis would be able to tell you more about this. It's a shame really as the Mustang 2 is a really nice aeroplane.

Chris