The IAC Mamba is an Australian two-seat light aircraft. It was designed and built by the Melbourne Aircraft Corporation (MAC) and first flew in 1989 as the MAC Mamba.[2] In 1990, MAC changed its name to the International Aircraft Corporation (IAC).[3]

Mamba
Role Two-seat light cabin monoplane
National origin Australia
Manufacturer Melbourne Aircraft Corporation
Australian Aircraft Industries
Designer Jess Smith[1]
First flight 25 January 1989
Status development continuing

The Mamba was intended for general aviation purposes, including leisure, training, and agricultural use.[1] Development was supported by the Australian government's Grants for Industrial Research and Development (GIRD) scheme.[1]

Design and development

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The Mamba is a strut-braced, high-wing monoplane designed over two years and first flown on 25 January 1989. It has fixed tricycle landing gear and is powered by a 116 hp (87 kW) Lycoming O-235 flat-four piston engine. It has an enclosed glazed cabin with side-by-side configuration seating for two. The fuselage is constructed of welded steel tubing with stressed aluminium skin.[1] The Mamba was designed to be rugged and easily maintained, even in remote areas where use of more advanced materials might prove a liability.[4]

MAC sought certification of the design under Australian standard ANO 101.22 and US FAR 23, and hoped to start manufacturing a two-seat version based on the prototype in 1989.[4] A four-seat version was expected to enter production the following year,[4] with a military version after that.[2] Differences from the civil version were to include armour for the cabin and provision for underwing stores, including two 20-mm cannon.[4] Intended applications included border patrol and counter-insurgency (COIN) operations.[4]

Initial production was to be in Australia,[4] at Echuca or Essendon,[3] with MAC considering offshore production for the future.[4] However, by 1992, production was still not underway, and Aviation Industries of Australia (AIA) was formed in Shepparton, to manufacture the design.[5] A mockup of the four-seat version was built the same year.[3]

A prototype of the military version was built under contract by Australian Aircraft Industries as the AA-2S Mamba powered by an IO-360.[citation needed] It was displayed as a static display at the 1999 Australian International Air Show at Avalon, Victoria.[3]

As of 2022, Mamba Aircraft Company aimed to restart development, possibly in collaboration with Chinese aviation manufacturers.[6]

Variants

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MA-2
also known as MA-2A and AA-2, Lycoming O-235-powered prototype built by Melbourne Aircraft Corporation, registration VH-JSA[3]
MA-2C
Proposed civil production version[3]
MA-2M
also known as AA-2M Lycoming IO-360-powered military variant built by Australian Aircraft Industries, registration VH-FCX[3]
AA-2S
Lycoming IO-360-powered civilian under test by Mamba Aircraft Company
AA-4S
Lycoming O-320 four-place under development by Mamba Aircraft Company

Specifications (Prototype)

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Data from Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1989-90[2]

General characteristics

  • Crew: one
  • Capacity: one passenger
  • Length: 7.00 m (22 ft 11.5 in)
  • Wingspan: 8.68 m (28 ft 5.75 in)
  • Height: 2.38 m (7 ft 9.75 in)
  • Wing area: 10.13 m2 (109.04 sq ft)
  • Empty weight: 390 kg (860 lb)
  • Gross weight: 680 kg (1,499 lb)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Lycoming O-235-N2C flat-four piston engine , 86 kW (116 hp)

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 250 km/h (155 mph, 135 kn)
  • Endurance: 5 hours 42 minutes
  • Rate of climb: 7.6 m/s (1,500 ft/min)

See also

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Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

References

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Notes

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  1. ^ a b c d New Australian Light Aircraft, p.26
  2. ^ a b c Taylor 1989, p. 6
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Eyre
  4. ^ a b c d e f g New Australian Light Aircraft, p.28
  5. ^ Gunston 1993, p.17
  6. ^ Mamba Aircraft Company 2022

Bibliography

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  • Eyre, David C. (8 May 2019). "IAC MA-2 Mamba". Aeropedia. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
  • Gunston, Bill (1993). World Encyclopedia of Aircraft Manufacturers. Anapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press.
  • "Mamba Aircraft Company". 2022. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
  • "New Australian Light Aircraft". Air Progress. Vol. 51, no. 8. Canoga Park, California: Challenge Publications. August 1989. pp. 26–28.
  • Taylor, John W.R., ed. (1989). Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1989-90. London, United Kingdom: Jane's Yearbooks. ISBN 0-7106-0896-9.