Knight Twister
Specifications / 3-Views

The first Knight Twister flew in 1929 with a used 45 horsepower Salmson radial engine purchased for $350 — they wanted to put a NACA streamlined cowl on it but didn’t have the $10 to buy a used one! The plane flew just fine, however, operating out of a small, slightly-uphill sod field runway. Landing speed was 45 mph, with the total weight at 550 lbs. Wing loading was 9.17 lbs./sq. ft. and the power loading was 12.2 lbs./hp. All in all, they were quite pleased with the little plane. Originally, the design used a “knee action shock system” but as this provided poor ground handling, it was changed immediately.

The wings are fully-cantilever and are stressed to 9G without wires. Wires were added before WW2 simply because the public wanted to see wires on their biplanes. After WW2 they were removed again.

NOTE: As these are experimental, amateur-built aircraft, every example will be built somewhat differently. Therefore, you will see significant variations in performance between aircraft. The figures below are our published examples generally based upon the performance of the prototype aircraft as listed by the designer. Some figures may be adjusted based on our “real world” experience. We make every attempt to provide accurate, honest, and conservative performance numbers. However, due to variations between aircraft and other factors beyond our control, we cannot guarantee that a particular aircraft will be able to match these figures. They are intended mainly as a guide for comparison purposes.

KT Imperial