The Renegade was the first aircraft designed by Daryl Murphy although it is the last to appear in New Zealand (after our Murphy Maverick and many Murphy Rebels). Our first example was registered in February 2006.
The Renegade I first appeared in the mid 1980's as a single seat biplane taildragger and Daryl Murphy received so many requests for the aircraft that he set up Murphy Aviation with his brother Bryan (later re-named Murphy Aircraft Manufacturing Ltd and relocated to Chilliwack, British Colombia, in Canada). The aircraft was redesigned as the 2 seater Renegade II by moving the fuel tank up to the wing centre section and installing a second cockpit below, the the top wing was given a sweep back to allow access to the second cockpit, and the bottom wing has dihedral, much like a Tiger Moth. The later Renegade Spirit model appeared with the round cowling with blisters to mimick the look of the classic 1930's biplanes. The Renegade is constructed from aluminium tubing and fittings, rivetted together and fabric covered. Maybe it is the big round cowling but the nose looks to be too long for the position of the main wheels to me
The Renegade II's specifications are: length 18 feet 5 inches (5.61 metres), top wing span 21 feet (6.40 metres) and the bottom wingspan is 19 feet 8 inches (5.99 metres). The wing area is 153 square feet. Empty weight is around 375 pounds (170 KG) and MAUW is 900 pounds (408 Kg). A variety of Rotax engines can be used from the 50 HP 532 up to the 80 HP 912. With all that drag the performance is biplane-ish with a cruise of around 75 mph but the stall speed is quite low at 36 mph.
We have had two Murphy Renegades registered in New Zealand to date, as follows:
ZK-PIG2 (c/n 673), a Renegade II, was built by W A (Tony) Scarlett of Christchurch and was first registered to him on 16/2/06. It was powered by a Rotax 912 and was named "Lilly" (for Lilly The Pink I guess), and carried "Don't mess with the pig" and Miss Piggy on the fin. Unfortunately a fence post messed with it on take off at Lincoln on 18/1/12 and it was written off following the resulting damage, and cancelled from the register on 27/8/13. It is photo'd above at Ashburton on 5/2/11.
ZK-JZC (c/n 0099), a Renegade Spirit, was constructed in Canada by Lionel Green of Victoria, BC and was registered as C-GCGG on 19/12/89. It is powered by a Rotax 912. After several owners in Canada it was cancelled from the Canadian register on 12/2/14. It was then registered in New Zealand on 27/2/14 to Nigel B Forrester of Dunedin and now of Alexandra. It is photo'd above at Omarama on 4/3/17.
The Renegade I first appeared in the mid 1980's as a single seat biplane taildragger and Daryl Murphy received so many requests for the aircraft that he set up Murphy Aviation with his brother Bryan (later re-named Murphy Aircraft Manufacturing Ltd and relocated to Chilliwack, British Colombia, in Canada). The aircraft was redesigned as the 2 seater Renegade II by moving the fuel tank up to the wing centre section and installing a second cockpit below, the the top wing was given a sweep back to allow access to the second cockpit, and the bottom wing has dihedral, much like a Tiger Moth. The later Renegade Spirit model appeared with the round cowling with blisters to mimick the look of the classic 1930's biplanes. The Renegade is constructed from aluminium tubing and fittings, rivetted together and fabric covered. Maybe it is the big round cowling but the nose looks to be too long for the position of the main wheels to me
The Renegade II's specifications are: length 18 feet 5 inches (5.61 metres), top wing span 21 feet (6.40 metres) and the bottom wingspan is 19 feet 8 inches (5.99 metres). The wing area is 153 square feet. Empty weight is around 375 pounds (170 KG) and MAUW is 900 pounds (408 Kg). A variety of Rotax engines can be used from the 50 HP 532 up to the 80 HP 912. With all that drag the performance is biplane-ish with a cruise of around 75 mph but the stall speed is quite low at 36 mph.
We have had two Murphy Renegades registered in New Zealand to date, as follows:
The Murphy Renegade is a lovely biplane it's my favorite. So much fun
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