CGS' new Hawk Plus As the year 2000 approaches, computer programmers may be sweating that Y2K bug we've all heard way too much about. Ultralight enthusiasts, on the other hand, will be celebrating the completion of two full decades as a member of the aviation community. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, a lot has happened. This newest community of pilots and designers learned a great deal. Accidents are far lower than in the "old" days, and equipment is far better. Specifically, ultralight aircraft designs are the best we've seen, with many reliable brands offering airworthy sport-flying machines. Buyers of ultralights include those lightweight enthusiasts who enjoy Part 103's freedom from FAA licenses, registration or certification. That's why ultralights can be bought for $10,000 to $15,000, and you don't need an FAA ticket to fly one legally. That fact practically assures that ultralights will stay on the radar of many aging baby-boomer pilots. Some general aviation pilots turn up their noses at ultralights. Others embrace them, including a surprising number of airline pilots who enjoy the "other end of the flying spectrum." Many GA pilots have found happiness in the CGS Hawk, a simple, good-flying design with a long history (at least in ultralight terms, where the whole universe is barely 20 years old). HE'S THE MAN A fascinating character study, ultralight designer Chuck Slusarczyk (Slew-ZAR-chick) created a machine that offers sweet flying for a modest price wrapped in a package that "conventional" pilots will find familiar. Of course, you'll have to do some kit building unless you select the Part 103 version. Our subject aircraft this month requires N-numbers and a pilot's license (student or better). Slusarczyk is best regarded for introducing the Hawk line over 15 years ago and for continuously supplying this customer-acclaimed design through ups and downs of the ultralight industry. In my own full two decades of covering the ultralight industry I've already flown every Hawk model produced. Recently I added the newest. Once upon a time, nearly 20 years ago, ultralights had to be foot-launchable. The now-laughable requirement made sense when ultralights first evolved from powered hang gliders, which were foot launched. Way back in 1983, Chuck Slusarczyk made a statement by fully enclosing the Hawk's fuselage. With not even a bomb bay door to allow the pilot's feet to touch the ground, foot launching became impossible. In some sense, therefore, Slusarczyk may be the "father" of the current fully enclosed ultralight. Many observers thought the FAA would bust Slusarczyk for this flagrant violation of the rule of the day. However, Slusarczyk had vision and saw the coming of the so-called "little airplane ultralight." He proved to be right. The FAA subsequently created Part 103, wiping out the ludicrous foot-launch rule. A new era was born. Even earlier, Slusarczyk had been the prime mover to place reduction drives between ultralight two-stroke (high rev) engines and their props. This dramatically boosted power and reduced noise, which helped spur the development of larger, faster ultralights and made the aircraft more neighbor friendly. I've known Slusarczyk for all of the two decades of ultralights. In fact, we go back even further, to when we each had an interest in hang gliders. I ran a flight school in the 1970s and Slusarczyk was a manufacturer. Along the years, each of us moved toward powered ultralights, and along the way, Slusarczyk evidently found better restaurants than I did. His mass increased colorfully while mine stayed boringly average. With his outsized "personality," the specially-decorated taildragger Hawk Plus he offered left me with plenty of elbow room. That's frequently not the case in super-light aircraft. BIG AND ROOMY For example, the first Hawks used a plain basic structure that had rather boxy lines inside. Such design is simple and very strong, but over time designers found better ways to do things. Curved structural members crept into the cockpit. Over the years, the cabin has gotten roomier - better for helmet-wearing or tall pilots - and it's gotten rid of the terrible glare that plagued the first Hawks. They had a flat screen in front of you. Fly with the sun at your tail, and the world was clear; vision was wonderfully large. Turn into the sun, however, and forget about forward visibility. The modern curved upper cockpit member forces its shape into the windscreen material. The result is far better visibility in bright sun. This kind of refinement has progressed over the years. Slusarczyk's air-show Hawk Plus, a typically sweet aircraft, was solidly based in the ultralight philosophy but carried a little extra girth to accommodate larger pilots. Aluminum-framed doors with Lexan windows are much clearer and quieter than the zippered ones. You have to hold the hard doors out of the way during entry, however, while the zippered ones fell away. You can also bump your head or shoulder on the door if the wind blows it back into you. Looking around inside, you'll find a flap lever immediately to your left. It has obvious detents that you can sense by feel, including neutral and two levels of drag-producing deployment. Another lever has a different detent. When you set the Hawk flaps in the reflex position, you subtly reshape the rear of the wing upward from normal. Drag is reduced and the aircraft can fly slightly faster. In tailed aircraft, the trailing edge of a wing generally continues a neutral or downward slope. What the reflex position does is move the lowered trailing edge upwards slightly. Other aircraft have employed this technique, but it seems to work particularly well on slower flying ultralights. The reach to the throttle in the Hawk Plus is a little long for my shorter-than-average arms. I don't like such fatiguing reaches; however, a builder can accommodate his body size and cure the complaint. Unlike the throttle, both stick and rudder pedals are a comfortable reach for someone my size. In the Hawk Plus the "Plus" comes from the seating area aft of the pilot. Our test Hawk was set up for cargo or fuel, but "you could install a jump seat with no controls," Slusarczyk said. GA pilots who are unsure of taildraggers can select a tri-gear version of the Hawk Plus. That's just one of the benefits from building your own plane. Actually, most taildragger ultralights are far easier to handle than tri-gear versions. Ground loops are rare due to slower takeoff and touchdown speeds, less mass, and flatter deck angles when all three wheels are on the ground. The Hawk is much easier to fly than the little Champion Citabria in which I took my first 35 hours of flight instruction. Though the Champ was really little more than an overgrown ultralight, its extra weight - probably triple the empty weight of the Hawk - was significantly located aft of the main gear. You could get tail ahead of nose all too easily, as regularly demonstrated by any student who failed to keep the rudder pedals moving. Fortunately for those legions of GA pilots without taildragger experience, the Hawk Plus has a fraction of the ground-loop potential as my old Citabria. SWEET TAKEOFFS AND LANDINGS Lifting off in the Hawk has always been pleasurable. I just love the way this bird takes to the air (and returns to terra firma). I don't care how many hours a pilot has; most of his advanced skills are enjoyed in the air, doing aerobatics, flying competitions, soaring or making long cross-country flights. When returning to base, though, most will appreciate an easy landing aircraft. The Hawk is one, and it's complicated only slightly by the taildragger configuration. If this concerns you, go for the tri-gear setup. The price is the same. Another benefit you'll quickly note is visibility. After Slusarczyk installed an overhead skylight that runs the entire wing chord, his Hawk Plus offered a panorama that reminds me of an IMAX theater. You can look ahead of the turn, a useful quality in a crowded environment. Using full flaps for landing makes for as modest a touchdown as you'll find in ultralight aviation. Slusarczyk repeated his "Fifty-is-Nifty" approach-speed advice. That yields a wide safety margin, and I later made approaches that were significantly slower. Use flaps. I experienced much firmer landings without them. Fortunately they operate easily, and using them will quickly become second nature. Side slips are fun, give a different view of your landing strip and work well on the taildragger Hawk Plus. I ran out of arm, and was unable to push the stick sufficiently forward. But with flaps as useful as those on the Hawk, you won't need to employ slips very much nor as deeply as I was trying. I found roll response to be very good in the new Hawk Plus. When I led vigorously using hard rudder, the stick bumped into my leg using up some of the stick's range potential, but it takes a hard roll effort to reach this limit. Break-out force was quite good, better than many ultralights. The taildragger Hawk Plus' pitch response is predictable; it holds gentle attitude differences easily. Despite this ease, trim is still desirable to cope with changing conditions. Full throttle in the smooth-running Hirth powerplant brings close to 80 mph indicated. That's an ultralight speed, but it will still take you around the countryside. Slower speeds come with other benefits. For example, designs that stay below the magical three-digit barrier (100 mph) don't appear to develop problems with flutter and other higher-speed phenomenon. As always, speed evaluations depend on installed instrument accuracy. Airspeed indicators notoriously possess small installation errors. Nonetheless, in recent factory test flying with the new Japanese HKS engine, Slusarczyk said he witnessed a four-stroke, 60-horsepower Hawk "zoom past 80 mph." CHARMING FLIER I discovered power-off stalls come at about 38 mph indicated, which is somewhat higher than I expected. This prototype probably weighs a bit more than the production models will. Full power stalls cause it to hang on the prop at a squeak over 40 indicated. As I've found on early Hawks - and on many modern ultralights with their powerful ailerons - adverse yaw is significant. A distinct prop burbling gives an audible warning that you aren't flying straight. When I tried rudder-only turning, I found the prop made a continuous buzzing noise as it struck the air asymmetrically. You can hardly miss the signals. Slusarczyk has his bird placarded in bright red tags with easy-to-read white letters. One reads "SPINS PROHIBITED." I had no intention of violating that recommendation. It turns out that the placard was installed "because I had it," Slusarczyk said. Yet in a few words he expressed his design philosophy. Keep it simple and it'll work great. Previous Hawks I've flown recovered from a spin very cooperatively. If you want to build the Hawk Plus, you'll find the kit is based on the more deluxe Arrow model, which retails for $12,500 with a standard 40-horse Rotax 447. A 65-horse Hirth 2706, as equipped in our test bird, will add about $1,800. With electric starting, that's a bargain. If you're determined to spend more, you can choose other options, including instruments, a ballistic parachute, brakes, floats, electric starting and more. Arrow models are made with dope-and-fabric covering, but you can save time and weight by going with sewn Dacron sail cloth. Painting can add considerable weight - more, actually, than a colorful sewn wing covering. The Hawk Plus defines itself from the basic Classic model by refinements such as streamlined struts, curved overhead support member and curved supports. Overall, it costs about a thousand dollars more, but it's worth it. Indeed, nearly 200 Hawk Arrow models are flying. The one labeled "Shakey Jake Slusarczyk" is the first of the Hawk Plus models, but Slusarczyk said late last year that a winter sale had gone over well and the new Plus is getting a strong reception. CGS Aviation's Hawk line is at the heart of the ultralight industry, with close to 1,500 units operating. In my mind and the minds of many customers, Hawk is one of the success stories in all of aviation. Add the company's engaging and entertaining owner/designer, Chuck "Shakey Jake" Slusarczyk, and it's not hard to see how, or why, Hawks have multiplied. Important as Slusarczyk the personality is to the equation, I still feel the Hawk's wonderful flying manners are its prime attribute. Add a modest cost, many build options, and you should more closely examine the Hawk line. I encourage you to sample the fun of ultralights. The Hawk Plus can suit this purpose.