BAKENG DUCE

This Duce is all metal except for the tail surfaces which are fabric over steel tube. Wings are Cessna 150 with electric flaps. The strange looking cowl houses a Mazda rotary. The cowl (which is a work of art) could easily be rotated 90’ to cover a Lycoming. Sheet metal is riveted to stringers. Overall workmanship is well above average with good attention to detail. Interior surfaces are primed and painted. Cockpit is lined with vinyl covered board. Nice instrument panels front and rear.. Excellent metal work.

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 The trim tab is operated from a 180 degree lever in the cockpit. The eight tail brace wires are streamline type. Tail wheel is Scot. It is rotated backwards here because I just towed it out of the hanger.

  Panel is basic with electric turn and bank, rate of climb. Fuel gauge is in the center. The front cockpit has basic flight gauges as well. The brakes are heel operated, rear seat only. It is wired for intercom and push tt on stick. 

This shows the rear cockpit door; front is the same.

Most seams have been zinc chromated during construction. You can see that on the left behind the door.

For winter flying, I have covered the front cockpit with a sheet of aluminum to reduce drafts. There is a reasonable amount of cabin heat (with this engine installation) that flows back and out the rear cockpit when the cover is on but truthfully winter flying is not fun.

There is also a vinyl cover for front cockpit.

The fuselage has several flush access panels held on with rivet nuts and machine screws to provide access to fuel system and controls.

The gear is Cessna 180 and brakes are Clevelands (heel operated).

There is plumbing for a front fuselage tank which is not installed. Both wing tanks feed together.

There are nav lights and a belly strobe. No radios installed but I have an escort 110 for it. All of the wiring is aircraft quality; is neatly bundled, laced and well supported.

Since taking these pictures I have changed the windsreens to a more square, three sided style with a flat top.

The next one isn’t a great picture but shows that I flew in the winter on a set of homemade skiis.

The plane handles quite well on the ground and in the air. I would describe it as a pretty gentle tail dragger (but I learned on tail draggers. Ailerons seem much more responsive than a 150 for some reason and roll rate is quite snappy.

I purchased the plane near Montreal at a short grass strip where the owner was concerned about taking off with two on board. I watched the pilot do a couple of circuits then spent some time taxiing it around to get the feel of it. For the most part it was a self check out. I found it a straightforward plane to fly.

The engine Is a Mazda 13B with a 2.25:1 transmission reduction drive which was nicely modified from a Mazda truck transmissions but with large bearings. It is a well made unit but I have heard of gear tooth failures in similar units. I also have a more proven Ross 2.85 planetary drive for it that would bolt right up to it (price is negotiable). Based on how it performs, I’d say that the engine is developing a good 150hp. These engines are very smooth running and one of the most reliable auto conversions around.

The engine has a Delortto carburetor and original coil/distributor ignition. Going to fuel injection and electronic ignition results in higher horsepower.

Empty weight is 1285, gross is 1685.

There are two electric fuel pumps and all the plumbing uses aircraft AN fittings.

One negative is that the muffler on this installation is not adequate and it is very loud. This is something that can be fixed.

The project was started by a Bob Moore, a builder near Ottawa then taken over by Danielle Trois near Montreal. He did most of the remaining engine work and took on Frank Vit as a partner. Frank then bought out Danielle and licensed the project in 1997. Frank was a low time nose wheel pilot and located other guys to do the initial flying. He first flew it himself in 2001 but was not comfortable with it. I bought it in July of 2001 and by Oct of 03 had 53 hours on it. This was the last I flew it.

If you don’t want an auto conversion a local mechanic has a Lycoming GPU with all the parts for conversion to aircraft and a Lycoming 150, either for $5000.

I paid $19,000 Cndn for it and felt it was a fair price. I need the space and have shifted my interests to Rotax powered lightweights so I’m open to a reasonable offer. I would consider getting it delivered almost anywhere for the right price. Yes, I am negotiable!

Since taking these pictures I have removed the wings and it is stored in my hanger. Even that process revealed some nice features. All of the wiring to the wings has Molex plugs to allow easy disconnection. The center section looks very well engineered and well built.

Dec 7, 2008 Had it pulled out so thought I might as well start it up. The carb float may be stuck because the fuel pumps initially badly flooded it so had to guess at how much fuel was needed and turn on the pump accordingly. You will see in the videos that it runs reasonably well but when not enough fuel present it tended to run on one rotor. If you look closely you will see that there is zero vibration. Nothing shakes on start up, shutdown or any throttle setting in between. That horizontal piece of metal right at the front is unsupported when the cowl is off and it isn’t moving a particle. This is a smooth engine.

Video 1

Video 2

email me Peter Cowan pcowan41 sympatico ca

Phone: 705 877-8404 (Eastern time)

Located NE of Toronto Ontario (or Buffalo NY)

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