Long Midget Mustang

At the 1948 National Air Races in Cleveland OH designer Dave Long debuted his new racer for the Goodyear class. Originally called the "Long Midget Mustang", North American objected to the use of "Mustang". Dave Long was the chief design engineer for Piper Aircraft in Lock Haven PA and he designed the Long Midget as a high performance sportplane. The plan was to certify the craft and have it manufactured by Schweizer Aircraft, the builder of primary and high performance gliders.

The collapse of the light plane market in the late 1940's cut that plan short, but the plane was found to exactly meet the standards for the then new Goodyear (now Formula I) air racers specifications announced just after World War II. So Dave Long and others raced the prototypes of the little all metal craft with its Continental C-85 four cylinder engine, fixed pitch prop, and Cessna-style aluminum landing gear for several years.

Unfortunately, Dave was killed when his aircraft had a problem during a test flight and was forced to bail out too low for his parachute to deploy. The Long Midget had a rebirth when it was offered as a plan set as a homebuilt, and nearly 400 have been built over the years. Four of them have been Grand Champions at Oshkosh. The current owner of the design, Mustang Aeronautics, is observing the 50th anniversary of this high performance sport design.

Three views are available through Scale Plans and Photo Service, (910) 292-5239. Photo paks are also available.

With a span of 18'5" and a length of 16', the Mustang weighed in at 535 pounds. Top speed was about 225 MPH. The engine, normally rated at 85 HP was modified to produce approximately 125 HP.

A 1/4 scale model would span 55 1/4" with about 575 Sq. In. of area. Flaps (scale) could help lower landing speeds. With a computer radio the flaps and ailerons could be linked for maximum roll performance. The straight tapered wings would be a natural for foam construction.

So, who's first in the club with a Long Midget Mustang?