y I • T I

The Heath Parasol Under the Heath umbrella-airplanes and hi-fi kits
BY PETER M. BOWERS

Many readers are familiar with the Heath- all-out racer. Both were powered with con- "Tommy." The thin airfoil of this wing did
kits assembled at home by electronics and verted Henderson motorcycle engines. not produce much lift, and with the engine
hi-fi buffs. Few, however, are aware that These were four-cylinder, in-line, air-cooled delivering a bare 23 hp through an ineffi-
this firm is a direct descendant of the Heath models that were then in wide use by the cierit, high-speed propeller, the first Parasol
Airplane Company, Incorporated, which be- police and were becoming popular with the was a marginal performer. Subsequent mod-
tween 1926 and 1933 produced kits for builders of ultra-light airplanes. There were els used the original wing design with the
lightplanes. The Heath firm, then based in no small-displacement airplane engines new Clark- Y airfoil but retained the 25-
Chicago, built several different models, but readily available at the time. The 1925 racer foot wingspan of the Tommy.
the best known is the one simply identified was not a big winner but did well enough to The improved Parasol was a success and
as the Heath "ParasoL" attract attention to Heath designs. encouraged Heath to expand the business to
The company did not start out to manu- Heath's Parasol was a conventional, sin- include the manufacture of complete Para-
facture airplanes. Owner Edward Bayard gle-seat design with the pilot seated under sols, the production of Parasol kits and the
Heath had designed and built his first air- the wing and directly on the center of gravi- modification of Henderson engines for air-
plane in 1908 and subsequently managed to ty. (The parasol design is a monoplane with craft use. He also built propellers. In 1926,
stay in aviation. After World War I, he had the wing held above the fuselage by struts, the factory-built Parasol. complete, sold for
a successful aircraft surplus and supply rather than being attached directly to it.) $575, and a complete kit-less engine-was
business and a flying school. plus he modi- The fuselage was welded steel tubing with available for $188. The sale of uncertificat-
fied an occasional airplane, notably the wire bracing, and the tail was a combination ed designs and do-it-yourself kits was legal
Heath "Favorite," a 1922 modernization of of wood and metal. Both were fabric cov- then-dvil air regulations, aircraft type cer-
the war-surplus Curtiss IN-4 "Jenny." ered. For the benefit of unskilled, amateur tification and pilot licenses were not adopt-
Several events for lightplanes with en- builders, the fuselage tubes could be joined ed in the United States until 1927.
gines smaller than 80 cubic inches at the by easily bent-to-fit, sheet-metal fittings se- The Heath conversion of the Henderson
1924 National Air Races encouraged Heath cured by twopenny nails used as rivets, in- engine, later to become the Heath B-4, is
to return to original designs. In 1925, assist- stead of by welding. worthy of separate mention here because of
ed by Clare Lindstedt, he developed two As a production shortcut, the first Parasol its importance to Heath's own Parasol line
models. The first was the design that was to used the complete upper wings of a war- and because it is one of the few non-aircraft
become the Parasol and the other was an surplus Thomas-Morse S-4C Scout, the engines in its day to be adapted successfully
A pair o{ early Heath Parasols is shown above. The ] 925 prototype. back. has the thin-see/ion Thomas-Morse wing. Subsequent models used the Clark- Yair-
{oil. The Parasol below is equipped with flat-bollom wooden floats. Until modern ultralights. the Parasol was probably the /ightest floatplane ever built.
 (TESTE ••• TS ••••• S)

The improved 1930 Super Parasol also was known as fhe V-Parasol because of ifs V-sfrufs. Plans for fhis improved version were serialized in Popular
Aviation magazine in 1930. The aircraff shown above was builf in England and has modified landing gear and a Srifish-buill 36-hp Aeronca E-11 3 engine.
continued
and significantly for use in an aircraft. from behind when the pilot was starting it the original engines was commonplace, of
Heath made gradual modifications until alone. When standing on the left side, the course, and many builders altered the
there was not much Henderson left other pilot's left hand was on the prop while his shapes of the wing tips and tail surfaces to
than the crankshaft, cylinders and some right worked the switch (remember, only give a personal stamp to the basic design.
moving parts. He enlarged the valves, added one magneto) and the throttle and held the With the Heaths, some builders went so far
finned valve covers for cooling and replaced airplane back. Plans for the Super Parasol as to stretch the design into a two-seater;
the rear crankcase cover with a new casting were published in serial form in Modern Me- some also beefed up the Parasol to handle
containing a thrust bearing, making that the chanics magazine in 1929 and were reprinted bigger engines and increased the wingspan
front end of the engine. He also added a in the same publisher's Rying and Glider to improve takeoff and climb performance
larger and deeper sump. A single Bosch Manual in 1930. By late 1929 the price of a and to reduce sinking speed. The original
magneto was installed on the right side of factory-built Parasol had risen to $925. dimensions of the Parasol had been tailored
the upper crankcase. The bore was 2.75 Although licensing requirements were to Ed Heath's measurements, and he only
inches and the stroke was 3.5 inches for a now in effect, the ultra-light and homebuilt weighed 110 pounds.
displacement of 83 cubic inches. The com- industries managed to carryon. It prospered In late 1929, Heath abandoned the nail-
pression ratio of the next-to-rear cylinder mainly in those states that had not adopted rivet option and the old-fashioned wire
was decreased from the standard 4.6:1 to the new federal regulations yet; but it did bracing and went to an all-welded fuselage
offset a tendency to preignition caused by a reasonably well in others by keeping a very with the tubes in a Warren-truss arrange-
compression-ratio increase that resulted low profile. A major problem that the histo- ment that took care of the torsional loads.
from carbon build-up in this poorest-cool- rians have with this period is in finding real- The nose lines were cleaned up, the landing
ing-cylinder. The B-4 delivered 27 hp at ly "pure" examples of the various designs. gear was changed from a cross-axle to a di-
2,700 rpm. Though the B-4 never qualified Without regulations to hinder them, many vided-axle, and the wing struts were
for an engine Approved Type Certificate builders modified their airplanes before changed from two parallel supports on each
(ATC), it did win a lesser approval that al- completion or made changes afterward as side to V supports on each side. The revised
lowed it to be used in licensed airplanes. experience dictated. The use of other than design was still called the Super Parasol but
Production continued into 1936.
In 1927, an improved model called the
1928 SUPER PARASOL 1931 LNB-4 1932 LNA-40
"Spokane Parasol" gave a good account of
(Uncertificated) (ATC 456) (ATC 487)
itself in the National Air Races in Spokane,
Specifications
Washington. A production model that in- Powerplant Heath 6-4 Heath B-4 Continental A-40
corporated the Spokane improvements was 27 hp @ 2,700 rpm 25 hp @ 2,800 rpm 37 hp @ 2,550 rpm
marketed as the "Super Parasol," which was Wingspan 25 ft 31 ft 3 in 31 ft 3 in
still available as a kit with the option of a Length 16 ft 9 in 17 ft 3 in 17ft3in
welded or the nail-riveted fuselage. Wing area 110 sq ft 135.5 sq ft 135.5 sq ft
A notable improvement was a bottom- Wing loading 5.09 Ib/sq ft 5.16 lb/sq ft 5.16 Ib/sq ft
hinged door on the left side of the fuselage Power loading 20.74 Ib/hp 28 lb/hp 18.9 Ib/hp
Empty weight 260lb 450 Ib 465 Ib
to simplify the acrobatic feat of getting in 560lb 700lb 700 Ib
Gross weight
and out of the tiny craft. Why the left side Performance
when most airplanes with doors had them High speed 70 mph 73 mph 80 mph
on the right? The engine was responsible for Cruising speed N/A 62 mph 68 mph
that. The Henderson was a left-hand en- Landing speed 28 mph 32 mph 32 mph
gine-it rotated counterclockwise when Initial climb N/A 350 fpm 500 fpm
viewed from the cockpit. (Most American Ceiling N/A 9,000 ft 14,000 ft
Range 200 sm 215 sm 200 sm
aircraft engines rotate clockwise.) With
N/ A----<latanot available.
small airplanes like the Heath, it was then
common practice to hand prop the engine

70 • JANUARY 1982 PHOTOGRAPHY FROM THE COLLECTION OF THE AUTHOR

A major design change was necessary in order to qualify the basic Heath Parasol for an Approved Type Certificate. The most obvious new features, shown above
left, on the LNB-4 are the increased wingspan, larger tail and revised strut arrangement. The LNB-4 had the Heath B-4 engine. The LNA-40 above right
was buill from plans available through the Experimental Aircraft Association, 66 years after the first one flew. The Heath LNA-40, bollom, had noticeably
different nose contours: because of the clockwise A -40 engine, the hinge-down door was relocated to the right on this aircraft.
also was known as the "V". The National the kit business and was able to receive ap- complaint of discontented stockholders, the
Air Races still had small-displacement proval for kit sales of the ATCed design. firm was seized by the Treasury Department
events, and the "V -Parasol" still managed to The homebuilt could be issued a standard in 1935 and sold to a new owner, Howard
bring home trophies. license, provided it was inspected by the E. Anthony. He renamed it Heath Aviation
Ed Heath was killed in February 1931 government frequently during construction Company and moved it to Benton Harbor,
when the wing of an experimental model he to ensure that the workmanship was up to Michigan. The LNs and the Center Wing
was testing broke in flight. His company, standard and that it did not deviate from the were still on the market as late as 1936, but
however, was not a one-man show. It was approved plans. The 1932 price for the it was subcontract work for other manufac-
reorganized as the Heath Aircraft Corpora- LNB-4, F.O.B. factory, was $1,074, which turers that kept the firm going. After World
tion and moved to Niles, Michigan. was lowered to $925 because the Depression War II, Anthony bought large quantities of
By this time, air regulations were being hampered sales even at that low price. The surplus electronic equipment and started the
enforced to the point that unlicensed, facto- kit, still less engine, was $499 but dropped Heathkit business that proved to be more
ry-built airplanes no longer could be sold. If to $399; the engine alone cost $300. profitable than the airplane line ever was.
the firm was to stay in the airframe busi- The 27-hp B-4 engine was barely ade- The electronic era did not spell the end
ness, it had to get an ATC for the Parasol quate for the enlarged airplane, so a more for the Heath Parasol, however. The Experi-
and for a modification of it, which was be- suitable powerplant was found-the 37-hp mental Aircraft Association (EAA) acquired
ing marketed as the Heath "Center Wing" Continental A-40, a bona fide airplane en- the rights to the design of the LNA-40 and
because of the new wing location below the gine. The airframe on the new Model LNA- redrew the plans for amateur builders. The
upper longerons. 40 (for an LN with the A-40 engine) was ATC has long since expired, but the home-
The existing 25-foot wing simply did not identical to the LNB-4, but the nose was built, powered with a 65-hp Continental A-
allow the Parasol to meet the takeoff and altered notably. Some airframes that had 65 or similar engine, is eligible for licensing
landing performance requirements, even been started for B-4 engines retained the under the current Amateur-built category.
with the engine upped to 27 hp. Chief engi- left-side door, but the remainder switched Heath Parasols have been flying some-
neer Charles W. Morris took the route that the door to the right side. where in the country continually since
some home builders already had taken and The LNA-40 received ATC 487 on June 1925, when the first one flew. Several LNs
increased the wingspan to 31 feet 3 inches, 3, 1932, and sold for $1,224, which soon built from the EAA plans are flying today,
changed the strut arrangement, revised the dropped to $1,085 because of the Depression. along with a few restorations of factory-
landing gear and fitted larger tail surfaces As did many other aircraft builders, the built models and of those built from the
for a new shape. An aerodynamic oddity for Heath firm fell on hard times during the De- magazine plans, continuing the 56-year
the time was the use of full-span ailerons. pression. It was reorganized in 1933 as the saga of this pioneer home built. 0
The new Parasol, with the designation International Aircraft Corporation. The air-
LNB-4 for Model LN with Heath B-4 en- planes still were marketed as Heaths, but Peler Bowers, AOPA 54408, works for Boeing. But
gine, received ATC 456 on December 16, the new management did not seem to know when he flies, he prefers antiques or his
1931. The company still was interested in much about the aircraft business. On the homebuill, winner of the 1962 EAA design contest.

AOPA PILOT· 71