The I.S.T. L-17 Masang was a two-seat, single engine, low wing monoplane aircraft designed and built in the Philippine Republic in the mid-1950s. It was intended for both touring and training.
Contents
Design and development
In the mid-1950s the Philippine Institute of Science and Technology (I.S.T.) designed aircraft to explore the possibilities of local aircraft production from indigenous materials. The single engine, tricycle undercarriage, low wing monoplane L-17 was one of them.
Its wing was a single piece wooden structure with 5° of dihedral and a straight tapered plan. It was plywood covered and had split flaps inboard of the ailerons. The cantilever tail unit was similarly constructed with the straight tapered horizontal surfaces on top of the extreme aft fuselage; the single piece elevator carried an offset trim tab. The vertical tail was tall and straight edged; the bottom of the horn balanced rudder was above the elevator and just aft of its hinge, with a small cut-out to allow for elevator deflection.
The L-17's fuselage was a plywood skinned wooden semi-monocoque, the cockpit seating two side-by-side under a single piece canopy. A 108 hp (80 kW) Lycoming O-235 flat four engine drove a two blade propeller. The fixed tricycle undercarriage had rearward sloping oleo legs mounted to the wings, giving a track of 2.40 m (7 ft 10 in).
The first flight of the L-17 was scheduled for May 1956.
Specifications
Data from Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1956/7 - all performance figures estimated
General characteristics
Performance