Murphy Rebels of New Zealand (2) - Smaller and Bigger Models

The Murphy Rebel has been developed over the years, both smaller and much bigger.  They various models have all come from Murphy Aircraft Manufacturing Ltd of Chilliwack (note the spelling), British Columbia in Canada.

The first new version to come along was the Murphy Maverick which was designed as a smaller Rebel and this was introduced in 1993.  It had fabric covered tailplane and rear wing covering behind the spar.

The Maverick's length is 20 feet 8 inches (6.3 metres), wingspan is 28 feet 6 inches (9.0 metres) and the wing area is 147 square feet,  Empty weight is around 470 pounds (212 Kg) and MAUW is 800 pounds (385 Kg).  With an 80 HP engine criuse is around 85 mph.

We have had only one Murphy Maverick: ZK-SPC (c/n 114M) was built by a group of retired aviation enthusiasts and 12 students from St Paul's Collegiate School in Hamilton.  It was first registered to the St Paul's Aviation Trust of Hamilton on 8/4/99, and its firast flight was on 24/4/99.  It is photo'd above at the 2000 SAANZ flyin at Matamata where you can see the school crest on the tail and it was named "Spirit of St Paul's"..

It was damaged when it was blown over by a wind gust while taxying at Te Kowhai on 24/9/02.  But it must have been repaired as I took the above photo at the 100 years of flight celebration at Te Kowhai in December 2003.  I am not sure of its history after 2003 but it was sold to NZ Airservices of Cambridge on 15/6/07.  I think it was damaged in a heavy landing at Raglan on 23/9/08 and then stored before being revoked on 7/4/11.

The Murphy Rebel Elite was originally designed as a tri-gear Rebel with a redesigned fuselage a one piece elevator and a bigger tail.  It was introduced in 1996 and the name was later changed to the Murphy Elite.  The Elite's length is 22 feet 4 inches (6.81 metres), wingspan is 30 feet 4 inches (9.25 metres) and the wing area is 152 square feet,  Empty weight is around 1,100 pounds (499 Kg) and MAUW is 1,800 pounds (816 Kg).  Engines can be from 115 HP to 180 HP and with a mid range engine  engine criuse is around 130 mph.

We have also had only one Murphy Elite to date:  ZK-WRM (c/n 578E) was originally started in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA in 2010.  The projectwas imported by Rob Maxwell and Will Morris and completed here, being registered on 30/11/12 to the Rob Maxwell and Will Morris Syndicate of Amberly.  It has a Lycoming O-360 engine and incorporates Robinson STOL modifications and Dynon avionics.  Its first flight was at Rangiora on 19/12/12 in the hands of Evan Belworthy.  The above photo was taken at the 2013 SAANZ flyin at Ashburton.

And above it is photo'd at the 2015 SAANZ flyin at Ashburton, now with trim.

The Murphy Super Rebel is a four seater Rebel designed for engines of between 250 HP and 360 HP.  It was introduced in 1995  The Super Rebel's length is 24 feet (7.32 metres), wingspan is 36 feet (10.97 metres) and the wing area is 182 square feet,  Empty weight is around 1,700 pounds (771 Kg) and MAUW is 3,000 pounds (1,361 Kg).  With a 250 HP engine criuse is around 145 mph.

We have also had only one Murphy Super Rebel to date:  ZK-MSR (c/n 012SR3).  This aircraft was built in the US as N833Z in 2000.  It was sold to the Cardinal Partnership of Tauranga (Ike and Trish Stephens) on 14/9/13 and was flown to Seattle where it was packed in a container and shipped to New Zealand, being registered here on 29/10/13 to the Cardinal Partnership/  It has a Lycoming O-540 engine of 250 HP.  It is photo'd above at the 2014 SAANZ flyin at Hastings.

And above it is photo'd at the 2014 Black Sands flyin at Raglan.