Pictures of the Mitchell U2
Page last revised on September, 27, 2003
Visits counted since august 1, 2003.
Pictures of Wolfgang's U2 made when Richard Avalon and myself visited Wolfgang in july
2002.
Please note: from far, this U2 looks as if it were entirely made of plastic, but from near you see
that it is "just" wood and fabric, and that any commited home-builder can build it.
Remember that Wolfgang spent some 7 years on it. Fortunately he had his B-10 to fly with while
the U2 slowly neared completion.
Earlier photos show this U2 with the word "Turbine" on the engine cowl.
At that time it still had a single rotor Wankel engine that caused quite some problems and stopped twice in flight,
which caused two outlandings and could have meant a total loss of the ship.
Fortunately, Wolfgang managed to land safely each time and trailered the ship home.
Tired with the rotary engine's problems, he turned to the proven Rotax 503.
Please note that the thrust line is horizontal to the ground, as opposed to the plans where
it should be down about 7 degrees, while the wing chord goes up 7 degrees.
Dick Rowley's U2 clearly shows this approximately 14 degree angle between wing chord and
prop shaft.
As a result, the engine should push right into the system's CG that lies inside the wing for a U2.
I don't have any info about the stiffening structure of the pod, it seemed to be built
around the metal tank seat and the spar and center ribs, all remaining stiffeners seemed to
be fiber "u-profile" laminations on the pod's inside.
Bottom line for me: You don't need a stiff fiber structure, you can also build the pod structure
that the plans recommend, and then "dress it" with a light, non-structural pod shell.
Wolfgang's U2 seen in 3/4 rear view - 626K U2 3_4 ar.jpg
3/4 rear view 2 - 505K U2 3_4 ar2.jpg
3/4 rear view 3 - 565K U2 3_4 ar3.jpg
3/4 rear view 4 - 565K U2 3_4 ar3.jpg
3/4 front view - 433K U2 3_4 av.jpg
A look into the cockpit - 493K U2 cockpit.jpg
The ship in flight - 746K U2_vol1.jpg
Second view of the ship in flight - 521K U2_Vol2.jpg
Rear view - 596K U2_ar.jpg
A detail shot of a wingtip rudder - 615K U2_derive.jpg
Side view - 563K U2_lateral.jpg
Side view 2 - 444K U2_lateral2.jpg
Side view 3 - 432K U2_lateral3.jpg
Side view 4 - 471K U2_lateral4.jpg
View of the nose section - 430K U2_nez.jpg
Detail of the front wheel - Note this is a free running wheel with no steering pushrod.
The ship is controlled on the ground via differential brakes on the main gear and rudders.- 675K U2_roue_av.jpg
Second view of the front wheel - 430K U2_roue_av2.jpg
The ship hanging from the hangar ceiling - this is it's normal storage place - 430K U2_suspendu.jpg
A detail shot of the trim tabs. Wolfgang used to have them at the center on the counterweights,
but said they seemed to create turbulence (or made the elevons vibrate?) He then relocated
them to the pushrod end and then trimmed them back to have just the necessary trim. - 485K U2_tabs.jpg
View 2 of a trim tab - 427K U2_tabs2.jpg
View 3 of a trim tab - 486K U2_tabs3.jpg
View 4 of a trim tab - 432K U2_tabs4.jpg
A shot of a main gear leg - 399K U2_train.jpg
A second shot of the main gear leg - 457K U2_train2.jpg
That's all I have - I ran out of film that day. Richard Avalon has more, mainly about the
gearleg locking mechanism, which is, to say it simply, a modofication of the plans using a "unbroken"
tube member that slides on the gearleg frame, and lies on top of the tire when the gear is retracted.
A additional "finger" grabs that member in "gear down" position to hold it on the wheel frame.
Microswitches and control lights show the pilot if all the parts have gone into locked position.
This way, you don't need the little hoods on the wing's top surface that hide the "broken member"
tube hinge in "gear up" position, as seen on some Mitchell prototype photos.