First flight May 1, 1953 | ||
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The Mong MS1 Sport is an early original homebuilt biplane design from the 1950s. Over 400 sets of plans for the aircraft have been sold.
Contents
Design and development
The first Mong Sport was built as a personal aircraft by the designer Ralph Mong, Jr, and plans for homebuilding were provided afterward, due to demand.
The original biplane was built around a Continental A65 65 hp (48 kW) engine. The biplane has the unique feature of a single lift strut placed directly forward of the pilot at a sacrifice of forward visibility. The biplane did not require expensive, drag producing support wires, using steel tubing instead. The fuselage is steel tube with aircraft fabric covering.
Operational history
In the mid 1960s, a biplane class was added to the Reno Air Races. The Mong Sport met the basic qualifications, and has been extensively modified over the years by builders to be used as a biplane racer. In 1965, Bill Boland won with his "Boland Mong" at 148 mph and again in 1967 and 1970 with speeds of 151 mph and 177 mph respectively. The Mongster won the 1968 Biplane class of the Reno National Championship. Long Gone Mong won in 1987 and 1989. A highly modified Mong Phantom with carbon fiber wings won in 2006 with a speed of 251.958 mph, and has recently raised the record to 284.454mph.[1]
Variants
Aircraft on display
A Mong Sport is on display at the Octave Chanute Aerospace Museum and the EAA AirVenture Museum.
Specifications (Mong MS1 Sport)
Data from EAA
General characteristics
Performance