Two seat Mono

Hi. Some 45 years ago I built a Taylor Mono Plane. The aircraft was almost completed when I was forced to sell. Some years later the new owner crashed into a fence and the insurance company took the wreck and sold it on to some one else. I discovered the news by accident, and I followed up on where to find it. I bought the aircraft and took it back home to rebuilt the broken bits. Once again I had to sell it and the new owner is still flying it some 20 years later. That is a little of the history. After all that work, I never got the chance to fly it.
To my surprise I discovered photos of my little Mono on the web site. It is the white one near the end of all photos, with the bear head painted on the rudder. Can any body tell me who put the photos of my Taylor Mono on the web? These photos were never published by me for any magazine or web site.

My big news is, I am in the process of designing a two seat (side by side) Tailor Mono. My wife wants to come fly with me and I have no option but to go 2 seat. The only timbers in the whole plane are the wing spars. Everything else is aluminium tube. The drawings are almost complete and I am working on the final part which is the aluminium wing ribs. These are not the conventional ribs made from sheet aluminium, I am using flat bar aluminium. The flat bar is shaped over a mold and the rib is then riveted to a leading edge tube. There are angle brackets against the main and auxiliary spars to which the flat bar rib is attached, and a tube again for the wing trailing edge.

The aircraft looks like the Mono with the same wing tips, rudder & fin and the horizontal tail. Sorry I do not know how to post Auto CAD drawings to the web. I broke away from the cantilever spar because I try to save weight so I have the wing strut braced. I am also using the NACA 4415 airfoil to replace the RAF 48. It has a straight bottom which makes it easy to form the ribs from flat bar. Sorry no curved sides. But then I did not have them on my first Mono. I noticed on the web site that there are more Mono's with flat sides.

The new wing span is 26 ft and a chord of 52 inch (4.333 ft). With a 6 ft center section to which the wheels are attached. Aircraft length is 19.8 ft (6061 mm) Gross weight is 900 lb or 409 kg. Aspect ratio is 6. The Taylor Mono aspect ratio is 5.25 which is a little to low for my liking. I wanted a little more efficiency of span to chord ratio.

Once I start, which will be in the next few weeks, the fuselage is first, followed by the Rudder, Fin and horizontal tail. Next summer, yes folks, it is winter down under, I will make the timber spars. The whole aluminium air frame will be fabric covered, from engine to rudder.
Although I had flaps on my first Mono, I have as yet not decided to put flaps on this two seat.

Once I start construction I will post photos on the web site. If any one person has any questions I will be pleased to answer them.

DOWN UNDER wrote:Hi. Some 45 years ago I built a Taylor Mono Plane. The aircraft was almost completed when I was forced to sell. Some years later the new owner crashed into a fence and the insurance company took the wreck and sold it on to some one else. I discovered the news by accident, and I followed up on where to find it. I bought the aircraft and took it back home to rebuilt the broken bits. Once again I had to sell it and the new owner is still flying it some 20 years later. That is a little of the history. After all that work, I never got the chance to fly it.
To my surprise I discovered photos of my little Mono on the web site. It is the white one near the end of all photos, with the bear head painted on the rudder. Can any body tell me who put the photos of my Taylor Mono on the web? These photos were never published by me for any magazine or web site.

My big news is, I am in the process of designing a two seat (side by side) Tailor Mono. My wife wants to come fly with me and I have no option but to go 2 seat. The only timbers in the whole plane are the wing spars. Everything else is aluminium tube. The drawings are almost complete and I am working on the final part which is the aluminium wing ribs. These are not the conventional ribs made from sheet aluminium, I am using flat bar aluminium. The flat bar is shaped over a mold and the rib is then riveted to a leading edge tube. There are angle brackets against the main and auxiliary spars to which the flat bar rib is attached, and a tube again for the wing trailing edge.

The aircraft looks like the Mono with the same wing tips, rudder & fin and the horizontal tail. Sorry I do not know how to post Auto CAD drawings to the web. I broke away from the cantilever spar because I try to save weight so I have the wing strut braced. I am also using the NACA 4415 airfoil to replace the RAF 48. It has a straight bottom which makes it easy to form the ribs from flat bar. Sorry no curved sides. But then I did not have them on my first Mono. I noticed on the web site that there are more Mono's with flat sides.

The new wing span is 26 ft and a chord of 52 inch (4.333 ft). With a 6 ft center section to which the wheels are attached. Aircraft length is 19.8 ft (6061 mm) Gross weight is 900 lb or 409 kg. Aspect ratio is 6. The Taylor Mono aspect ratio is 5.25 which is a little to low for my liking. I wanted a little more efficiency of span to chord ratio.

Once I start, which will be in the next few weeks, the fuselage is first, followed by the Rudder, Fin and horizontal tail. Next summer, yes folks, it is winter down under, I will make the timber spars. The whole aluminium air frame will be fabric covered, from engine to rudder.
Although I had flaps on my first Mono, I have as yet not decided to put flaps on this two seat.

Once I start construction I will post photos on the web site. If any one person has any questions I will be pleased to answer them.

good for you, Flat bottom wing and a bit more wing area, you should have a nice forgiving aircraft. What power plant you thinking of??

Hi Don. Read a lot of your posts. To answer your question, I have a brand new Jabiru 2200 that I was going to use in another aircraft, also a low wing but I ran short of timber and cannot find any locally. For many years I thought to build an other Taylor Mono, but life got in the way and it just never happened because my wife wants to fly with me. Some twenty years ago I designed a two seat and sold a lot of plans. There are some flying but the builders have not kept me informed of their progress. Mostly my own fault because my health has not been co operative. All together I designed four aircraft some of which are flying. But I do not know which or where.
As you may guess my wife loves flying and any aircraft that I build will have to accomodate her as well. After all she bought the Jabiru engine for me. I think that was compensation for having been married to her for over 50 years. Just kidding. She is very supportive of my enthusiasm for aviation. How ever I have again run into trouble. I told my wife I was going to design a two seat mono and she reminded me I am now too old to try and climb into and especially, out of a shoe box. She is right of coarse. What as I thinking, but all is not lost. As I said the drawing are all but finished and I thought I could compromise a little more and put the wing on top. Spent most of yesterday working out the details and I am happy with the result.
What I like about the mono above all else is the simplicity of the design. It is difficult to find any areas where the design needs to be improved. All I can see is some simplification but nothing to worry about. The basics of a briliant design are all there.
I have some left over bits that I can use in this aircraft. A complete set of 52 inch chord wing ribs. To give me a functional wing I have to go to a span of 26 feet giving me a wing area of a fraction under 112 square feet. The fuselage length on the quarter chord is 2.5 times the chord = 10.75 feet which should eliminate the potential pitch moment and make the aircraft less twitchy on the stick. So far it looks good. I got away from making aluminium rib caps simply because I remembered I had a complete set of ribs already made. I am sticking with aluminium tube airframe. Very easy to make in a short time. The covering will be fabric from fire wall to tail. On the drawing it looks like a big brother to the mono. I am very pleased with the whole design. Because I am going with a high wing I do not need the 2 inch wide spar of the mono, I have enough timber to do a 1 inch wide spar, coupled with the spare ribs ( not the type you eat) and all I have to do is make the spars and assemble the wing. Half way there already seeing I also have spare aileron bell cranks, left and right, a complete set of spar plates, the rudder pedals, control column. Ailerons and a host of other parts I can use including a three blade warp drive propeller ( adjustable) and a pocket full of nuts and bolts.

I had to jump in here today just for the hopes that the TM forum hasn't died. My planes are coming along fine and I'm getting a little flying time this summer between build's. Hope to hear from you all soon. Don

Hi Don Just had my Mono inspected so will soon have a new permit. Brilliant plane but mines neglected
due to having a Menestrel. So mine may be up for sale or share. Pity having flown it for the last
28 years. But good luck with yours worth all the hassle.
Mike

Thank's Mike. The plane is near being in the air, sorry your's may be going by-by. To stick with web discussion I wish the fella's would get on here and tell some stories! It's rather weird I have all kind's of places to go for my KR but the T-mono feel's all alone no one to share with.

Dang almost look's like I'm the only member?? Thumb's up to the Taylor-Mono plane.