PIPER PA-15 VAGABOND

(Redirected from Piper Vagabond)
__NOTOC__

The 'Piper PA-15 Vagabond' was the first post-World War II Piper aircraft design. It utilized much of the same production tooling that created the famous Piper Cub, as well as many of the Cub structural components (tail surfaces, landing gear, most of the wing parts). The Vagabond has a wing that is one bay shorter (~30 feet versus 36 feet) than that on the Cub, which lead to the unofficial designation of Short-wing Piper. This allowed the aircraft to be built with minimal material, design and development costs, and is credited with saving Piper Aircraft from bankruptcy after the war. Vagabonds used a new fuselage with side-by-side seating for two instead of the Cubs' tandem (fore and aft) seating.
The PA-17 Vagabond version featured dual controls to enable it to be used for pilot training, had a bungee cord shock-absorbed undercarriage (solid gear on the PA-15), and a 65 hp Continental A-65 engine. The A-65, although rated the same as the 0-145 Lycoming, was a more powerful engine, and helped just a bit with climb rate.
As of May, 2007, the FAA lists 222 PA-15's and 126 PA-17's as still registered. The design may see a minor resurgence, as based on weight and speed qualifications, it qualifies as a Light Sport Aircraft, and can be flown by those acquiring a less-restrictive Sport Pilot license.
The Vagabond was followed by the Clipper (essentially a Vagabond with a 17" longer fuselage, 0-235 Lycoming of 108 hp, extra wing fuel tank, and four seats), Pacer, Tri-Pacer and Colt, which are all variations of the Vagabond design and thus members of the Shortwing Piper clan.
All of the Shortwing Pipers are supported by a very active aircraft type club, The Shortwing Piper Club.

Contents

Specifications (PA-15)

General characteristics

Performance

Related content

External links

Specifications (PA-15)

General characteristics

★ 'Crew:' one, pilot

★ 'Capacity:' 1 passenger

★ 'Length:' 18 ft 8 in (5.69 m)

★ 'Wingspan:' 29 ft 3 in (8.92 m)

★ 'Height:' ft in ( m)

★ 'Wing area:' ft² ( m²)

★ 'Empty:' 620 lb ( kg)

★ 'Loaded:' lb ( kg)

★ 'Maximum takeoff:' 1100 lb ( kg)

★ 'Powerplant:' 1x Lycoming O-145, 65 hp (49 kW)

Performance

★ 'Maximum speed:' 88 kts(163 km/h)

★ 'Range:' 264nm (480 km)

★ 'Service ceiling:' ft ( m)

★ 'Rate of climb:' 490 fpm( m/min)

★ 'Wing loading:' lb/ft² ( kg/m²)

★ 'Power/Mass:' hp/lb ( kW/kg)

Related content

'Related development:'

★ Piper Pacer

★ Wag-Aero Wag-a-Bond
'Comparable aircraft:'

External links

★ The Shortwing Piper Club.