The Wing Derringer: A ‘Sports Car’ of the Aircraft World

In 1960, entrepreneur George Wing teamed up with John Thorpe to create a compact, two-place twin. After experimenting with various engines, the team ultimately certified and produced this aircraft, the Wing Derringer.

Jason McDowell

Tuesday, August 02, 2022 at 06:49 AM ET

Verified

The compact Wing Derringer resembles a sports car both in appearance and in performance. [Photo: Derringer Aircraft Company, LLC]

Key Takeaways:

Multiengine piston aircraft are typically large, complex, and costly, posing an inefficiency for owners who primarily travel alone or with one passenger.
The Wing Derringer was designed in 1960 as a compact, two-place twin to offer the safety redundancy of two engines in a smaller, more economical package.
Despite its innovative design, only 12 Derringers were ever built due to business struggles, making them rare aircraft maintained through collaborative owner efforts.
The FAA's recent intent to designate the Derringer's type certificate as abandoned could facilitate access to engineering data, assisting owners with fabricating replacement parts.

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Multiengine piston aircraft generally share certain characteristics. Compared with their single-engine counterparts, they are heavier, more complex, and they demand significantly more maintenance. Fuel burn and oil consumption is, predictably, twice that of a comparable single.

They also tend to be larger aircraft. With the exception of a few light twins like the Piper Seminole and Beechcraft Duchess that are mostly utilized for multiengine training, the majority are equipped with six-cylinder engines and seat four to six people. Maximum takeoff weights range from around 4,000 pounds to over 5,000 pounds.