Aeroneering Miller Lil Rascal - who's heard of it?

I came across a reference to the Aeroneering Miller Lil Rascal in Jane's
Encyclopedia of Aviation; which pretty much just says that it was a
biplane intended for building at home or in schools. I can't find any
other reference to this - does anyone here know anything more about it?

TIA

--

On May 29, 11:58 pm, Ruediger LANDMANN wrote:
I came across a reference to the Aeroneering Miller Lil Rascal in Jane's
Encyclopedia of Aviation; which pretty much just says that it was a
biplane intended for building at home or in schools. I can't find any
other reference to this - does anyone here know anything more about it?

TIA

--

These notes are at Wikipedia:

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The Jane's entry is the only thing that I've been able to find on the
Aeroneering Miller Lil Rascal. Supposedly, a biplane designed for
"home"-building in schools. Did it ever exist??? --Rlandmann 02:23, 26
April 2007 (UTC)

The only reference to it on Google appears to be these articles ! Are
there any more clues in the Janes entry? MilborneOne 19:22, 1 May 2007
(UTC)
Very little! Its appearance in the Jane's volume should mean that it
appeared in All the World's Aircraft one year before 1980 - but which
one? The full entry (p.31) reads:

" Aeroneering Miller Lil' Rascal (USA) Two-seat sporting biplane
designed to be constructed by amateurs and schools. Powered by one
63.5 kW (85 hp) Continental C85-8 flat-four engine or a 67 kW (90 hp)
Franklin engine. "

That's it! What has me baffled is its absence from some of the sites
that do usually have exhaustive coverage of obscure types - aerofiles
(since it was American) and HOAE (since it was to be powered by a
flat-4). This makes me think it was vapourware, or in my more fanciful
moments, even a spurious entry inserted to catch copyright infringers
(the way that street directory publishers purportedly do!) --Rlandmann
19:48, 1 May 2007 (UTC)

I suggest that we move it from this list and park it somewhere in a to
difficult list. This would make topic 1 100% !!. MilborneOne 20:32, 1
May 2007 (UTC)
I was thinking that too - but wonder whether it's better to leave it
here in the hopes that it would attract more attention from anyone who
could help, since it begs the question "Why only 99.6%?" - sand for
the oyster! What do you think? --Rlandmann 21:04, 1 May 2007 (UTC)

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Wikipedia_talk:Aircraft_encyclopedia_topics/1"

~~~~~

You may be one of the writers...unknown to me. However, when I put
the name Miller together with "Lil Rascal," Goodyear Midget Racers
come to mind, not biplanes. Unable to find anything via a quick
Google search, other than Jim Miller's Texas Gem, Pushy Cat and Pushy
Galore (Flown by Bruce Bohannon).

I would suggest contacting the Society of Air Race Historians at
www.airrace.com and the EAA AirVenture Museum via www.eaa.org .

Here are more of Jim Miller's designs, including "Little Gem" or "Lil'
Gem:"

Miller
James W Miller, Springfield MA. c.1949: Milwaukee WI. c.196?: W Miller
Aviation Inc, San Antonio TX. c.198?: Miller Air Sports Inc, Boerne
TX.
GEM-260 1984 = 2pCmwM; 100hp Continental O-200 pusher; span: 14'1"
load: (normal) 212# (max) 315# v: 250/180/70 (270/235/75). Pusher
prop in the tail; engine buried in the rear fuselage. [N177M], crashed
fatally on 11/1/84 at Martindale TX in testing a three-blade prop at
higher rpms.

Jet Profile Twin Comanche 200 1970 = 4pClwM rg, two 200hp Lycoming
IO-360-C1C; v: 230/220/111. Conversion of Piper Twin Comanche. [N7297X
(or Y)].

JM-1 1959 = 1pCmwM; 85hp Continental C-85; span: 14'1" load: (normal)
212# (max) 315# v: 250/180/70. Midget racer Ole Tiger, rebuilt from
Special. [N74J], mismarked for a while as [N14J].

Miller JM-2 [N74M]

JM-2 c.1973 = 1pCmwM; 100hp Continental O-200-B pusher; span: 15'0"
length: 19'0" load: 470# v: 235/200/74 range: 400. Very radical design
with a shrouded prop in the tail, with parts of the circular shroud
functioning as elevator and rudder. [N74M].

Special 1949 = 1pCmwM; 85hp Continental C-85; span: 15'0" length:
17'0". Midget racer Little Gem (p: Jim Miller) [N5623N], with
shortened Luscombe wings. Damaged in a crash and rebuilt as JM-1.


~~~~~

The company was probably separate from Miller's ops. The only Lil
Rascal in Air Racing was a design by Jerry Quarton, Formula One, which
raced in 1964 and '65 at Reno. EAA your best bet for info...they may
even have the airplane in the AirVenture Museum. A lot of racers
there going way back...

On May 30, 12:58 am, Ruediger LANDMANN wrote:
I came across a reference to the Aeroneering Miller Lil Rascal in Jane's
Encyclopedia of Aviation; which pretty much just says that it was a
biplane intended for building at home or in schools. I can't find any
other reference to this - does anyone here know anything more about it?

It may have been nothing more than a proposed design. It might have
been even less than that: I'm listed as a vendor in the program for
the French space program vendors' show in about 1990, because I wrote
to them asking about the show.

The idea that it might be a copyright trick is a good one, and lacking
other data on the design, is what I'd assume to be the answer.

Has anyone contacted Jane's?

On 30 May 2007 05:47:05 -0700, "
wrote:

On May 30, 12:58 am, Ruediger LANDMANN wrote:
I came across a reference to the Aeroneering Miller Lil Rascal in Jane's
Encyclopedia of Aviation; which pretty much just says that it was a
biplane intended for building at home or in schools. I can't find any
other reference to this - does anyone here know anything more about it?

It may have been nothing more than a proposed design. It might have
been even less than that: I'm listed as a vendor in the program for
the French space program vendors' show in about 1990, because I wrote
to them asking about the show.

The idea that it might be a copyright trick is a good one, and lacking
other data on the design, is what I'd assume to be the answer.

I've got the EAA Sport Aviation on CD-ROM, and I get zero hits for "Rascal" in
the title of any articles. "Aeroneering" also doesn't get any hits, either in
the titles or in the text of the articles.

"Miller" in the title gets ten hits. Three dealing with the Miller Brewing
Company, two dealing with a "Miller Sport", described as a "Poor Man's U-2"
(doesn't sound like a biplane...). There's a reference to Miller lightplanes
built in the 1920s, a Miller SX-300, the Miller JM-2 (the blurb refers to
fallout from high-speed technology), a replica Bleriot built by a guy named
Miller, and a Cessna U-3A owned by Dave Miller.

"Rascal" occurs in the text of 16 articles. The three-line blurbs that
accompany each item don't seem to point to specific airplanes, it appears that
the word is probably used as an adjective.

The "Rascal" search does show a hit in an article about a small biplane, but
there's no mention of Miller, Aeroneering, etc., and the reference to "Rascal"
is in just one sentence: "...we are in the act of flying away the time
restrictions on the bipe and getting to know the little rascal more intimately."

I glanced through some of my other old-homebuilt references, didn't find any
mention of it.

What's bothering me, though, is the feeling that the name is familiar. Perhaps
it was the sort of vaporware plane Popular Mechanics was featuring on covers in
the '60s.

Of course, I might just be getting distracted by the Sig radio controlled model
of the same name....

Ron Wanttaja

("Ruediger LANDMANN" wrote)
I came across a reference to the Aeroneering Miller Lil Rascal in Jane's
Encyclopedia of Aviation; which pretty much just says that it was a
biplane intended for building at home or in schools. I can't find any
other reference to this - does anyone here know anything more about it?


http://www.vintagercsociety.org/planes_list.htm
Here's a link. There's a bunch of Li'l planes listed

A guy at our airport is building a single seat Lockheed(?) Little Dipper
(with a Franklin engine). He's building it in the loft/office above Ion
Aircraft World Headquarters. We off-loaded the canopy mold from his pickup
truck, yesterday.

http://aeroweb.brooklyn.cuny.edu/spe...eed/lck-33.htm
Lockheed 33 Little Dipper

Pic of a Little Dipper
http://www.aerofiles.com/lock-lildipper.jpg
"Little Dipper aka Air Trooper (Model 33) 1944 = 1pOlwM; modified 50hp
ACM/Franklin 2AL, later 40hp Continental A-40; span: 25'0" length: 17'7"
load: 300# v: 100/90/30 range: 210 ceiling: 16,000'; ff (as Air Trooper):
8/x/44 (p: Bud Martin). John Thorp. POP: 1 [NX18935] and 1 unfinished
prototype. Originally intended as a "flying motorcycle" for Army D-Day
ground troops, as the war drew to an end the focus shifted to a civil market
and its name became Little Dipper. However, the market never developed, and
the planes were scrapped."

http://www.airfields-freeman.com/CA/...Dipper_40s.JPG
Pic of a Little Dipper

http://www.airfields-freeman.com/CA/..._SanFernan.htm
....from this website


Montblack

Wow! Thanks everyone for the quick responses. I was indeed the same person
discussing it on Wikipedia. I'll try some of the EAA leads and see what
that shows up.

On Wed, 30 May 2007 07:34:08 -0700, Ron Wanttaja
wrote:


What's bothering me, though, is the feeling that the name is familiar. Perhaps
it was the sort of vaporware plane Popular Mechanics was featuring on covers in
the '60s.

that's it. lil rascal wasnt someone's pitts special?????

On May 29, 11:58 pm, Ruediger LANDMANN wrote:
I came across a reference to the Aeroneering Miller Lil Rascal in Jane's
Encyclopedia of Aviation; which pretty much just says that it was a
biplane intended for building at home or in schools. I can't find any
other reference to this - does anyone here know anything more about it?

TIA

--

I am Merle Miller the designer and major builder of the Miller
Lil Rascal. It is a side by side biplane built in the seventies (with
center stick control and dual foot pedals) and flown by me and a
select few others for many years. It was easy to build, flew well, was
cheap to fly, and a joy in the summer. It was a short coupled
taildragger that loved grass runways. I flew it from south-east
Georgia to Oshkosh and many points in between. Then our local airport
changed operators and paved over our last grass runway, and seemed
only interested in Corporate aviation.
A few years ago I was working most of the good days, getting
older, becoming stiff in my joints, and climbing into (and out of)
the open cockpit biplane was a problem. Also, the weather in north-
eastern Indiana restricted my flying it, so I shed a tear and sold it.
Now, I wish I hadn't! I have finally retired and have more nice days
available, but it is too late.
What else do you want to know?
Merle.

On Sat, 02 Jun 2007 21:34:42 -0700, wrote:

On May 29, 11:58 pm, Ruediger LANDMANN wrote:
I came across a reference to the Aeroneering Miller Lil Rascal in Jane's
Encyclopedia of Aviation; which pretty much just says that it was a
biplane intended for building at home or in schools. I can't find any
other reference to this - does anyone here know anything more about it?

TIA

--

I am Merle Miller the designer and major builder of the Miller
Lil Rascal. It is a side by side biplane built in the seventies (with
center stick control and dual foot pedals) and flown by me and a
select few others for many years. It was easy to build, flew well, was
cheap to fly, and a joy in the summer. It was a short coupled
taildragger that loved grass runways. I flew it from south-east
Georgia to Oshkosh and many points in between. Then our local airport
changed operators and paved over our last grass runway, and seemed
only interested in Corporate aviation.
A few years ago I was working most of the good days, getting
older, becoming stiff in my joints, and climbing into (and out of)
the open cockpit biplane was a problem. Also, the weather in north-
eastern Indiana restricted my flying it, so I shed a tear and sold it.
Now, I wish I hadn't! I have finally retired and have more nice days
available, but it is too late.
What else do you want to know?
Merle.

retired :-)
what are you going to build next? :-) :-)

live long and prosper
Stealth Pilot

On Jun 3, 5:42 am, Stealth Pilot
wrote:
On Sat, 02 Jun 2007 21:34:42 -0700, wrote:
On May 29, 11:58 pm, Ruediger LANDMANN wrote:
I came across a reference to the Aeroneering Miller Lil Rascal in Jane's
Encyclopedia of Aviation; which pretty much just says that it was a
biplane intended for building at home or in schools. I can't find any
other reference to this - does anyone here know anything more about it?

TIA

--

I am Merle Miller the designer and major builder of the Miller
Lil Rascal. It is a side by side biplane built in the seventies (with
center stick control and dual foot pedals) and flown by me and a
select few others for many years. It was easy to build, flew well, was
cheap to fly, and a joy in the summer. It was a short coupled
taildragger that loved grass runways. I flew it from south-east
Georgia to Oshkosh and many points in between. Then our local airport
changed operators and paved over our last grass runway, and seemed
only interested in Corporate aviation.
A few years ago I was working most of the good days, getting
older, becoming stiff in my joints, and climbing into (and out of)
the open cockpit biplane was a problem. Also, the weather in north-
eastern Indiana restricted my flying it, so I shed a tear and sold it.
Now, I wish I hadn't! I have finally retired and have more nice days
available, but it is too late.
What else do you want to know?
Merle.

retired :-)
what are you going to build next? :-) :-)

live long and prosper
Stealth Pilot- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I am into rebuilding antique amusement park trains and operating
them. My days and years of building and rebuilding airplanes is
probably over. I don't have to fool with small town airport
authorities, or pay to have the equipment stored, and the gas is even
cheaper, ... at least for a while!
Merle.