The Murphy Rebel
Introduction • Description • Specs • Performance • FAQ • Order Info
Combining the looks of popular classics from the
1940’s with modern technology for performance, the Rebel offers
pilots and passengers quick transport to the airways, river banks,
lake shores, ski slopes, back country and islands in recreation
country. What a great way to tour the Southwest or Northeast! What
fun for exploring the Florida keys, the San Juan Islands of
Washington, or the vast expanses of Canada. It’s even fun in
Nebraska!
With minimal effort, you can install the standard
floor in the aft fuselage and use the space for sleeping, turning
your Rebel into a camper. If your family expands or you want to
enlarge the circle of friends you take along, you can add a third
seat and take a child along, or an adult weighing up to 175 pounds
You can do it! Building a Rebel is probably a
whole lot easier, quicker, and more economical than you think. You
do not need any special skills, nor any materials beyond what you
can order for a kit.
For more pictures and information of Wayne O'Shea's Rebel, click here! |
Photo Credit - Wayne O'Shea / Jennifer O'Shea |
We’ve even covered all the logical options so
you can get it all at once... from one source. If you have access to
the space of a one car garage, and some common hand tools, you can
start building. If you’re willing to give it your spare time
attention on a steady basis, you’ll be at the flightline in less
than a year.
Once there, you’ll find a wonderful experience
awaits you. Taking off in something you’ve built yourself is a
thrill. When that "something" happens to be a Rebel, the thrill
becomes an absolute joy.
Ground handling of the Rebel is superb due to
excellent forward visibility, differential hydraulic braking, a
kick-out steer-able tail wheel, and the wide-stance gear. Pour the
coals to it and most people are startled to see how quickly the tail
comes up (about two plane lengths) and how soon the aircraft
levitates off the runway. It takes all of 175’ with two people on
board. Rate of climb, starting at sea level is around 1,000 fpm with
the O-235 engine. There are three powerplant options, ranging from
80 to 160 horsepower. That puts cruise, at 75 percent power, in the
90 - 120 mph spectrum. Full span flaperons are responsive in slow
flight, right down to stall. With a couple of notches of flap, you
can cruise around for hours at 50 mph, taking in the sights below.
Fly the final approach at 55 mph and expect to flare around 40.
Flying a tail dragger has never been easier. Most pilots can
transition from tricycle to conventional gear with a few hours of
dual... something you can do in your own Rebel... before the first
40 hours are flown off.
When you’re done with the fun, two people can
remove the wings in about 45 minutes to 1 hour. The stabilizer and
elevator fold up to accommodate the wings for trailering. In that
configuration, the Rebel can be towed on its own gear for home
storage or maintenance, or it can be mounted on a simple trailer for
longer hauls.
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Rebel Airframe
With the exception of the flaperon
covering, which is fabric, the Rebel airframe is aluminum. We chose
aluminum over composites, wood, as well as tube and fabric, because
it has known measurable strength qualities, it stands up to
ultraviolet, is generally faster to build because it’s easy to work
with, and it gives a nice finish to any airplane. Aluminum aircraft
also have better resale value, though we doubt that consideration
will come up for quite some time once you discover the benefits of
owning and flying a Rebel.
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Any welding required for the Rebel is done at the
factory. Steel parts are powder coated to assure longevity. Aluminum
sheets are pre-punched to assure correct alignment and expedite
riveting. No jigs are required...just a straight, level work table.
Fuselage
The Rebel fuselage uses semi-monocoque
construction. Bulkheads are stamped aluminum. The skins are .020"
6061–T6 aluminum, giving the fuselage exceptional strength. An
aluminum sub-floor installed over the lower bulkhead sections
provides a good base for seat mounting and, perhaps more
importantly, a crushable floor for energy absorption and crash
protection. Pre-bent aluminum tubing is used to frame the doors,
which are covered by aluminum skins on the lower half and large
Lexan windows above. Hinges across the midsection of the doors allow
the large side windows to fold outward and down...even in flight.
Great for summer sight seeing, or photography.
Where high strength is required, fittings are cut
from 2024-T3 aluminum. For the engine mount, rudder pedals, and
control column , 4130 chrome-moly steel is used. All hardware used
in the fuselage and wings is AN spec aviation hardware.
There are no "left" & "right" fuselage sides- and
no "top" & "bottom" either! All 4 panels are identical, eliminating
any chance for confusion. Also, all of the corner-wrap sections have
the same radius, and are interchangeable. This commonality of parts
makes for much easier building.
Six inch wheels with high profile tires are
standard for the Rebel, giving it rough field and river bed landing
capability. The standard bungee suspension provides excellent shock
absorption. An optional aluminum spring gear is available, reducing
drag and smoothing out off-airport landings. Murphy 1500 and 1800
Series straight floats, and amphibious floats are also available.
The Rebel also flies and lands beautifully on skis.
The Cabin
Spacious is the word for it. The wide
doors and track mounted seats were designed to allow big, tall
people easy access to the cockpit. Unless you can make Michael
Jordon look short, you’ll be able to run the seats back to the point
that your legs fall short of the rudder pedals. Same thing applies
to headroom. The doors of the Rebel are four inches farther apart
than a Cessna 172. So there’s plenty of shoulder and hip room. The
seats are designed for long cross country endurance and offer
exceptional comfort as well as freedom of movement. As noted
earlier, a third "sideways" seat is available for positioning behind
the two front seats. This optional seat can carry a child or an
adult weighing up to 175 pounds. The seat can be removed to increase
the capacity of the enormous cargo area.
The instrument panel is wide and has a wrap-around
look that makes checking instruments very convenient. There’s enough
room to accommodate a full IFR panel. There’s plenty of room for
personalizing your Rebel panel. Wiring the Rebel for night flying is
easy.
Fuel read outs are accomplished by looking at
clear sight tubes that are mounted in front of the root rib and give
instant, accurate indications, at a glance, of fuel on board.
Visibility, as we’ve said, is extraordinary. In
addition to the sights provided by the standard blown, one-piece
windshield and the two fold-down windows mounted in the doors, it’s
possible to add up to six skylight ports in the ceiling. If that
isn’t enough, fly your Rebel without the doors... the aircraft
doesn’t seem to know the difference... but you sure will.
Optional vacuum formed interior panels will add to
the finished appearance and reduce noise levels in your Rebel.
Wings
There are three spars , 14 nose ribs and
13 main ribs in each wing, which are all covered with three sheets
of pre-punched aluminum sheet. Pre-formed leading edge material
covers the nose ribs creating a D-Cell, which ties into a box
section that is formed by the main ribs and upper and lower skins.
This results in exceptional strength. 12 full-length extruded
stringers help stiffen the skin against torsion and shear loads. The
wing is joined to the fuselage by extra heavy fail-safe 2024-T3
aluminum fittings. A single streamlined, custom extruded strut is
used for high strength and low drag. Wing tips are gel coated
fibreglass.
The Rebel features "wet" wings for fuel storage.
Two 22 (U.S.) gallon tanks are standard, giving the Rebel
considerable range, even with the larger engines.
Controls
The control system on the Rebel uses
push-pull tubes connected to a massive 2-inch torque tube which
operates the full span flaperons. This results in swift and accurate
response to control input. The flaperons are lowered with a mixer
box controlled by a teleflex cable and flap lever which has been
placed within easy reach of the pilot. Flaperons have the advantage
of being lowered in 6 degree increments to a maximum of 18 degrees
and can be put into a 5 degree reflex position to increase cruising
speed and give a smoother ride, thus giving the Rebel a very large
flight envelope.
Tail Group
A simple box design, utilizing pre-bent
channels, covered with aluminum skins forms the vertical and
horizontal surfaces of the tail. The horizontal members fold upward
for storage or transport and are braced in flight position by small
aluminum struts.
The elevator and rudder are controlled with
1/8-inch stainless steel aircraft cable. For elevator control these
cables are attached to dual push-pull tubes. |
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Ease of Assembly
The Rebel design uses pre-punched pilot
holes to locate most parts, reducing and almost eliminating the need
to make difficult measurements which can result in errors and, in
some cases, ruined parts.
For example, the pre-punched wing skins are
located and attached by clecos. The pilot holes are then drilled to
size and deburred so the 1/8-inch AVEX rivets may be installed.
Stringers attached to the wing skins can be located by clecoing the
ends, and aligning with the row of pre-stamped holes in the skin.
These holes are then drilled through the stringers so the rivets may
be installed.
Similar methods are used when attaching the
bulkhead quadrants to each other for the fuselage. Pre-punched guide
holes allow the bulkhead quadrants to be aligned, drilled and
riveted by the builder. This simple type of construction is backed
up by superior-quality exploded assembly drawings and parts lists in
the builder’s manual. A tool list is included at the beginning of
each sub-assembly and the instructions provide easy-to-follow
step-by-step procedures
Easy-to-follow instructions combined with the
simple type of construction mean even a novice builder can build the
kit with relative ease. Assembly times are significantly reduced in
comparison to what might be expected for an all-metal aircraft of
this type. Indeed, we estimate the first-timer’s assembly time of
the kit at an average of 1000 hours, less instruments, interior, and
paint.
