The Wren 460 is the original version of a series of aircraft that are STOL conversions of the Cessna 182 Skylane. The conversions have been offered by several companies since the US Federal Aviation Administration granted a Supplemental Type Certificate to the Wren Aircraft Company in 1964.

Design and development

The Wren 460 traces its history to the Skyshark, a modification of the earlier Robertson Skylark SRX-1, built by James Robertson, son of Robertson Aircraft Corporation founder William B. Robertson, in the late 1950s. The Skyshark incorporated a number of modifications, most notably a canard fitted with elevators in the slipstream behind the propeller. It was a technological success but too expensive to produce.

Robertson incorporated many features of the Skyshark into the Wren Aircraft Company's Wren 460. A conversion of the Cessna 182 Skylane airframe, the Wren 460 featured full-span double-slotted flaps, movable spoilers to assist the ailerons with roll control, and an optional reversible pitch propeller for shorter landing runs. Like the Skyshark, the Wren 460 also featured a set of canards immediately behind the propeller, taking advantage of the propeller's airstream and allowing the nose to pitch up even when the aircraft is motionless. The stall angle of the airfoil was also changed from 16 to 20 degrees by the addition of a drooped leading edge cuff, a modification that would later be incorporated in the standard 182.

Operational history

The Wren 460, modified from a Cessna 182A, made its first flight in January 1963, and Wren Aircraft Company, based at Meacham Airport in Fort Worth, Texas, received a Supplemental Type Certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration on June 30, 1964.

;Wren 460 Beta

:Wren 460 with optional reversible propeller.

;Wren 460C

:Planned Wren conversion of the Cessna 180. Engineering had been completed by January 1968, though the company had yet to produce or flight test any aircraft. Unlike previous models, the Wren 460C would have been able to operate with skis or floats.

;Wren 460H

:Designation of aircraft converted from new 182H airframes. Certified June 1965.

;Peterson 260SE

:Simplified conversion with stock wings and a Continental IO-470-F engine in place of the O-470 of an original 182. Over 500 converted.

;Peterson 230SE

:Further simplified conversion with only the canard modification.

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General characteristics

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|fuel capacity=80 US Gallon (303 L)

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Powerplant

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Performance

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|more performance=*Take-off to and landing from 50 ft (15 m): 560 ft (171 m)

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Notes

References

Bibliography

  • Taylor, John W. R. Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1988-89. Coulsdon, UK:Jane's Defence Data, 1988. .
  • Brown, K.; "Takeoff at 30: Cockpit test of new toothwing plane", Popular mechanics, September 1963, Pages 94–97,203-206.[https://books.google.com/books?id=Q-MDAAAAMBAJ&dq=%22Robertson+Skyshark%22&pg=PA94] (retrieved 6 October 2014).
  • Manufacturer's website
  • Photo galleries Peterson 230/260SEs and Wren 460s
  • Wren 460 picture Spoilers, full-wing double-slotted flaps and canard clearly visible.
  • Wren 460
  • FlightGlobal.com