Aermacchi AL-60

Aermacchi AL-60

Type                      Utility aircraft
Manufacturer         Aermacchi
Designed by          Al Mooney
Maiden flight         1959

The AL-60 was a light civil utility aircraft originally designed by Lockheed in the United States but which never went into production in that country. A small number were built in Mexico and Argentina and under licence in Italy.

Designed by Al Mooney, Lockheed flew only two prototypes of the AL-60 (in 1959) before deciding that the aircraft would be unprofitable in the US marketplace. Instead, the company chose to manufacture it under a joint venture in Mexico as Lockheed-Azcarate (LASA). In 1960, 18 were produced for the Mexican Air Force as the LASA-60.

In Italy, Aermacchi purchased a licence to produce the type, first in its original configuration as the AL-60B, then in a modified version for various African customers as the AL-60C. This latter version changed from the original tricycle undercarriage to a taildragger arrangement.

Variants

L-402 – Lockheed prototypes
LASA-60 – Mexican production model (44 built)
AL-60B-1 Santa Maria – original Aermacchi-built version (4 built)
AL-60B-2 Santa Maria – production Aermacchi version (81 built)
AL-60C-5 Conestoga – Aermacchi-built version for the Central African Republic
AL-60F-5 Trojan – Aermacchi-built version for Rhodesia
Atlas C4M Kudu – Atlas-built unlicensed version for South Africa

General characteristics (AL-60F-5 Trojan)

Crew: One
Capacity: Seven passengers
Length: 8.80 m (28 ft 10 in)
Wingspan: 11.9 m (39 ft 4 in)
Height: 3.30 m (10 ft 10 in)
Wing area: 19.6 m² (210 ft²)
Empty weight: 1,068 kg (2,394 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 2,051 kg (4,500 lb)
Powerplant: 1× Lycoming IO-720-A1A piston engine, 298 kW (400 hp)

Performance (AL-60F-5 Trojan)

Maximum speed: 251 km/h (156 mph)
Range: 1,037 km (560 miles)
Service ceiling 4,150 m (13,615 ft)
Rate of climb: 5.5 m/s (1,085 ft/min)