The basic design, common to both models, was that of a low-wing cantilever monoplane of all-metal construction with side-by-side seating for two in a fully enclosed cabin.[3] The main gear wheels of the undercarriage were retractable, and the tailwheel was steerable.[4] The aircraft structure incorporated a framework built up of welded steel tube which extended lengthwise from the engine firewall to the rear of the cabin, and spanwise from one undercarriage well to the other. Around this framework was a conventional, monocoque fuselage.[5] The MAC-125 was powered by a single 125-hp engine while the MAC-145 production model had a 145-hp engine instead and a larger tail fin.[3]
The first prototype was lost during spin testing for certification while being flown by Al Meyers.[4][5] Meyers parachuted to safety, sustaining a broken ankle,[4] and although the aircraft was destroyed, its steel inner structure was salvaged and used to build the second prototype.[5] Certification was subsequently successfully achieved with this aircraft.[5]
Only twenty MAC-145s were built, each to a specific customer order, a business strategy that insulated the Meyers company from the poor market conditions that bankrupted many small American aircraft manufacturers in the late 1940s.[5] Production continued until 1955 when the larger, 4-seat Meyers 200 was certified and began production. The Meyers Aircraft Company was acquired by the Aero Commander division of Rockwell International in 1965. [3][4] The type was never produced by Rockwell, and the design again changed hands as part of the Meyers package when sold to Interceptor Corporation in 1968 and subsequently to Prop-Jets Inc in 1982.[6]
Media related to Meyers 145 at Wikimedia Commons
