The sixth aircraft is nearly ready in the Murphy Aircraft fleet, and it is a design that offers distance and low-cost maintenance to back-country flyers.
The Yukon was the first design put forward by the British Columbia-based manufacturer, but "people kept saying, 'do something bigger, bigger, bigger, so the moose was what we put forward'," says Murphy owner Darryl Murphy.
"This was the aircraft we were designing 11 years ago." Its fuel burn of 37.9 litres/h (10USgal/h) is half of the larger Moose's consumption.
After its first flight in October or November, the Yukon will seat up to four behind a Textron Lycoming 0-360. The slow or fastbuild kits feature unusual versatility, with choices of either tricycle gear or taildragger configuration and optional floats.
Gross weight is 1,160kg (2,550lb). The useful load of 520kg is aimed at the camping family and other heavy movers. The top speed jumps from 115kt (215km/h) to 125kt with the optional IO-390.
"Our market is the new pilot who wants something easy to build," says Murphy. The fuselage is sheet metal, and the kit uses the same aerofoil as the Tebel, Elite and Moose.
Murphy builds 40 Moose models a year, which is unlikely to change, the company says, when Yukon production ramps up.
Source: FlightGlobal.com
