Palomino N40J/N45J

[walter]

During the 1960s San Antonio Aviation Company built a light single-seater under the name Palomino. The aircraft was registered N40J. It seems this aircraft was later modified as a tandem two-seater by Palomino Aircraft Associates, retaining the N40J registration. Again later (1994) it re-emerged as the Omega of Integrated Systems, still as N40J.
Has anyone info/photo of N45J which possibly was a second aircraft built by San Antonio Aviation in 1963. NTSB reports mention N45J was called Streak 90 and involved in an accident (hard landing) on 16 October 1964.
Designer of the Palomino/Streak 90 was Mr. Bert Wilcut
Thanks

 

[Stargazer]

Quite a different account of the Palomino story appears in this document:
http://www.mustangaero.com/images/Midget%20Mustang/Midget%20History.pdf

In 1954, San Antonio Aviation under license from Dr. Torrey built a modified Midget Mustang as a prototype for the Palomino, a certificated airplane that they planned on producing. The design was further modified by stretching it into a tandem two seater and used a 155hp Franklin engine, but it never entered production. More recently another company tried to bring a modified Palomino back as the Omega II.

The Midget Mustang lineage is confirmed in this article from Flying dated January 1967 (see attachment):
http://books.google.fr/books?id=CFLFuZzLe_4C&pg=PA15#v=onepage&q&f=false




An earlier mention of the Palomino is found in Sport Aviation in 1965:

The one and only San Antonio "Palomino", N-40J, built by San Antonio Aviation Co., in San Antonio, Texas as a small-scale prototype for a larger two-place tandem sport airplane. It is essentially a development of the "Midget Mustang" which was built commercially for a while by the company. The "Palomino" is powered with a 100 hp fuel-injection engine, and has a 21 ft. span laminar-flow wing. It also features a hand-retractable landing gear and hand-adjustable Flottorp propeller.

There were plans in 1964 for the Palomino to use the 130 h.p. Franklin 4A-235-B but I do not know if this ever happened:

Franklin Engine Co., Inc., Old Liverpool Road, Syracuse, N. Y., has received type certification for its new 130 h.p. engine, designated model number 4A-235-B. The engine will power the new Palomino, a two-place aircraft manufactured by San Antonio Aviation, Inc., at San Antonio, Tex.

Source: The AOPA Pilot: Voice of General Aviation - Volume 7, Part 2



The two-seater variant was once registered as the Palomino 100-C:
http://www.aircraftone.com/aircraft/models/san-antonio-aviation-palomino-100-c-7950202.asp



Also, I find it hard to make any sense of what Aerofiles writes about the Palomino:

Marketing of this handsome, all-metal tandem-seater was moderately successful.

This would imply there were more of the type than the prototypes, which obviously doesn't seem to be the case!




As an interesting addition to the story is given Under the Palomino entry of the 1985 edition of Jane's All The World's Aircraft: a cross-lineage with the Mooney M-19!!!

This inherits features of the Midget Mustang and Mooney M-19 aircraft, rights in which were acquired by the San Antonio Aviation School, Palomino Aircraft's parent company, prior to detail design of the Palomino. It was planned eventually to produce and market completed aircraft, following FAA certification, but there has been no recent news of the company's activities.

 

[walter]

Hi Stéphane
Thank you for the wealth of info. Great stuff. I have to let it sink in, but like to add some additional info. Somewhere in my old notes I found that during the 1980s Burt Wilcut apparently was involved in building a
"second" Palomino with a small Rover gas turbine. I started to wonder whether that had anything to do with N45J which made a hard landing (see my original question). A Mr. Ira Everage (from Texas!) is connected with N64TT which is described as the Texas-Turbo and this aircraft is reportedly powered by a Rover turbine (see photo). There seems a lot of similarities. I think. The original N40J later became the Omega II by ISAE, but a final aircraft, N31AE and named Omega III was built by Mr. Brent Brown (I understand he was/is President of ISAE). It had a 280hp Continental engine!
Your thoughts?
Best, Walter


Attached photos of N40J as Omega II, the Omega III N31AE and the Texas-Turbo N64TT

 

[Stargazer]

The plot thickens!!!

Obviously a much more complex family line than initially believed, since the Omega III is quite different now from the Midget Mustang!

Thanks a lot for these new contributions.

 

[msbrown99]

to all interested, there has been a lot of great info on the palomino on this site, it happens that I bought 64tt 3 mths ago in Conroe tx and am in the process of getting it ready to fly. the engine has been changed to a chevy ecotech blown 4 cyl 260 hp with a gear drive unit that controls a hartsel prop. the gear is now electric hydrolic. also I found n40j which is flying in south Dakota. it very hard to get any info on the history of 64tt as I cant find any logs, or other paper work. if anyone has any technical info it would be a great help. msb

 

[walter]

Dear msb
Very good news you took control of N64TT. Hope you will be able to get her in the air soon!
Sorry I cannot be of help on the technical side. Maybe of interest is that N45J (often thought to be the second Palomino and named Streak 90) is still on the register (status valid) and in the name of a gentlemen in Marion Tx. Maybe he can provide some technical details and/or history of N45J. Have no idea about the distance between Montgomery County airport and Marion, Tx, but I hope you will fill us all in with all news the new you may receive. Good Luck!
Regards, Walter

 

[kggilbert]

If any one know Mr. msbrown99 and get in contact with him. I have the original turbine that came off Palomino N64TT and Propeller if he is interested in putting back together.

 

[J.D.]

Dear msb
Very good news you took control of N64TT. Hope you will be able to get her in the air soon!
Sorry I cannot be of help on the technical side. Maybe of interest is that N45J (often thought to be the second Palomino and named Streak 90) is still on the register (status valid) and in the name of a gentlemen in Marion Tx. Maybe he can provide some technical details and/or history of N45J. Have no idea about the distance between Montgomery County airport and Marion, Tx, but I hope you will fill us all in with all news the new you may receive. Good Luck!
Regards, Walter

Hmmm...interesting. I caught this off of a Google search for a totally different airplane, when I spotted a photo of N40J and noticed the similarity to Mooney's M-18 Mite, and indeed it does look like a cross between the Midget Mustang and the one and only M-19 built (actually an existing M-18 modified for military trials).

Marion, TX would likely be Zuehl Field, or Zuehl Airpark, I think now called Zuehl Airport Community, a former USAAF auxiliary field turned private airpark, just off I-10 between San Antonio and Seguin (exit 595), near Marion itself. (Verified; the address in the Landings database, 668 PLANE LN, is a Zuehl address.) I've been there numerous times, by air and land. By land, it's a hair under 200 miles from Conroe's Montgomery County Airport.

On that note, I've got an original color photo of the turbine Palomino somewhere around here, sent me by the then-owner of it when I got "plans" for a gas turbine engine from him some 20 or 25 years ago, along with a note offering the Palomino and the rights to it for sale. I'm about to move, but I'll try to scan the pic and note before I pack 'em up and post them here; it may be a bit, tho. At the time the pic was taken, the airplane was reportedly at Boerne Stage Airfield, northwest of San Antonio off I-10, between Leon Springs and Boerne (pronounced "Bur'_nee", btw). The picture, and name and date on the note, should at least give another reference point in the history of the airplane.

J.D.

 

[walter]

Hi J.D.
Very interesting news. I hope you will be able to post (in due course) the pict you are referrring to.
I am glad I am not in your shoes. (Moving, I hate it).
Best, Walter

 

[J.D.]

Hi J.D.
Very interesting news. I hope you will be able to post (in due course) the pict you are referrring to.
I am glad I am not in your shoes. (Moving, I hate it).
Best, Walter

Hi Walter;
Heh; I know where it is, I just can't get to it right now... I hate moving, too; once the model airplanes, kits, books, motorcycles and parts, and airplane parts get packed up, maybe it won't be so bad...hah!

Jim

 

[WesleyBrown]

I have just purchased N45j and it was all in tact barn find. I want to get it to a person that will restore it as it should be. I’m located in Texas and the plane has all logs and airworthiness certificate etc. 137 hours af and engine. Prop is rotten

 

[rosco3344]

Seek and you shall find lol, I was looking at the strange activity in and out of Andrews (and the the departure fields) when I cam across N40J. It was up for a brief period as SAM910 arrived (for an immediate turn around)

 

[fly_girl1]

I flew the airplane and photographed it for a homebuilt aviation magazine out of Southern California in the early-mid 90s. It flew great! I can't find my pics, unfortunately, slides, and the hard copy of the magazine is long gone, but I remember it being one of the best handling airplanes I've ever flown. Fast, and great visibility and pretty as all get out. I had high hopes for it, but alas, getting a Part 23 small plane (even back then) to market was really expensive, so I wasn't surprised not to hear news about as time went by.

 

[riggerrob]

During early 1993, I packed parachutes (Butler Parachute Systems) for the Palamino test-pilot. Since he specified a D-carbiner on the main lift web, I suspect that he was an ex-navy pilot.
There was plenty of talk about the Palamino project at Oshkosh 1993, but nothing afterwards.
I am guessing that the project proved too expensive.

 

[Texas Air Museum]

I don't know if anyone is still following this post, but I have attached our museum's Palomino. No data information has been found but a deeper inspection is needed. The only written info is on the levers mount.