16 September 1989: Regular TDiA reader John Washington, then a 1st Lieutenant, United States Air Force, set a United States national record for speed over a 3 kilometer course while flying the Stojnik S-4, Laminar Magic (N85AS). Class C-1a/O

Washington’s average speed over the course was 126.72 miles per hour (203.94 kilometers per hour).

Laminar Magic was designed by Aleš Strojnik, a physics professor at Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona. Its basic structure was plywood, covered with molded fiberglass aerodynamic panels. It was a mid-wing monoplane consisting of a “pod” containing the cockpit, engine, and tandem landing gear, with an extended “boom” to which the vertical and horizontal stabilizers were attached. The engine was installed in a pusher configuration. The S-4 was 16.5 feet (5.03 meters) long, with a wingspan of 18 feet (5.49 meters). It weighed 498 pounds (225.9 kilograms) with the pilot and full fuel.

The S-4 was powered  by an normally-aspirated, air cooled, 436 cubic centimeter (26.6 cubic inches) Kawasaki Heavy Industries 440 inline two-cylinder, two-stroke, direct-drive engine made for snowmobiles. The engine was capable of producing 38 horsepower at 5,000 r.p.m., and weighed 49 pounds (22 kilograms). A two-bladed fixed-pitch propeller was designed by Bernie Warnke. As installed aboard the S-4, the engine produced an estimated 30 horsepower.

The Federal Aviation Administration registration was cancelled 29 December 1992. The reason given is “Destroyed.”

© 2024, Bryan R. Swopes