Since its conception, the Super Rebel has had its gross weight increased from 2,500 lbs. to 3,000 lbs. and now to 3,500 lbs. with the Murphy Moose. This top of the range aircraft is also engineered to accept engines ranging from 250 h.p. to 360 h.p. including the M-14P, nine-cylinder radial engine. When you compare the Moose to other popular aircraft, you'll find we handily beat the competition!
The Moose is offered as a taildragger only and supports a useful load ranging from 1,700 to 1,850 pounds. Designed in response to numerous builder and prospective customer requests to handle the M-14P radial engine, Darryl Murphy wanted to do more than just add an engine option. He saw no purpose in adding 110 h.p. if it could not be practically and safely used. As one customer based in Africa put it, "the Murphy Moose is perhaps the bush plane everyone has long been waiting for".
When you choose to mount the M-14P on your Moose, you will be the proud owner of an aircraft that not only looks like its distant cousin, the de Havilland Beaver, but will sound and perform like one too. There are few things that make pilots stop and look, but a radial engine starting up will always have that magic.
Bushplane Heritage
The two large main doors, removable seats, seat rails that double as cargo tie downs, plus the standard extra large cargo door make the Moose a real utility airplane. The huge cabin interior (two inches wider than a Cessna 180) easily accommodates bulky or long loads such as bikes, skis, furniture, lumber, 55 gal. drums, or camping supplies for four! The Murphy Moose can even accommodate a class of parachute jumpers or be used as a photographic platform.
You can fly almost anywhere carrying just about anything you want. This is a kit aircraft with great performance and airframe strength, the ability to carry a load and room to stow it... one fantastic bushplane!
If a semi-monocoque all-metal 4 to 6 seat kit airplane seems intimidating, fear not! The Moose expands on the Murphy tradition of engineering excellence and simplicity. The Moose is designed for the first time builder with no jigs required, pre-punched match hole technology and a well laid out manual that leads you through the construction sequence step by step with CAD illustrations. As you gain confidence, you move from easy, introductory builds into more complex areas of the kit.
As with all our kits, the principle of pre-punched holes matching substructures to skins ensures all assemblies are self-aligning. The kit builder is spared the task of critical measurements as all the attach points incorporate our unique alignment system. In most cases, ribs, spars and skins have no "lefts" or "rights" until they are assembled (you ultimately assign and assemble a part to its specific duty on the aircraft). For example, with the flaps, ailerons, horizontal stabilizer and elevator, most of the ribs are identical and the stabilizer and elevator spars are symmetrical... you will find it hard to install a spar upside down or use a left rib on a right surface.
Probably the best feature of sheet metal construction, from a builder’s standpoint, is that when you finish a component, i.e. flap, elevator or rudder, the part is ready to go flying... no fabric covering or dope required.
The majority of the Moose's structure employs the Avex rivet for final assembly. This is a blind rivet used by many certified aircraft on flight and control surfaces. Quite often mistaken for a "Pop" rivet, the Avex rivet was developed during World War II by the Allies to facilitate field repairs on fighter planes. It’s extremely "user friendly", due to the rivets ability to draw material together and expand into elongated holes. The builder is assured a finished product built as it was designed, even if every hole is not drilled to perfection.
Since these are pulled rivets, you do not need a second person for bucking and therefore the work progresses more quickly and much more quietly than with solid rivets and without fear of damaging skins. Obviously the major advantage of using a blind rivet is a simplified final assembly. No great planning is required to finish a part. Just close it up.
Designed for safety and serviceability, many design features incorporated in the Murphy Moose make this kit easy to assemble, inspect and service. Every critical nut and bolt in the aircraft is accessible through pre-punched inspection panels. Major load bearing members have been designed with fail safe redundancy. They are all constructed of 2, 3, or 4 separate parts ... should one part fail the other parts continue to maintain structural integrity.
The Moose’s assembly manual outlines standard practices and techniques adopted by the aviation industry to ensure your aircraft will live a long and healthy life. Clear and concise CAD drawings are used throughout to make certain you understand the task at hand. With our recommended corrosion proofing and the use of 6061-T6 aluminum, a highly corrosive resistant alloy, you can build an airframe that is virtually maintenance free for many years to come.
