ST. PAUL, MINN. – Here’s an interesting perspective on the World Meet in Hay. The
missing Manfred (Ruhmer) saw the event in his own way and expressed himself
clearly. He didn’t go|which also means somebody else got to win after Manfred has
won the last two World Meets. In the fifteen World meets that have been held since
1976, only one man has achieved more. Tomas Suchanek won the event three times
running, a record. Looking at the history of hang gliding’s
main worldwide competition, a New Zealand pilot unknown to most Americans, Terrence
Delore, won the first event. He was followed by Josef Guggenmos, the talented
German wing designer (’79); by Brazilian Padro Paulo Lope (’81); by famous Australian
Steve Moyes (’83); by British legend John Pendry (’85); by another Australian
Rick Duncan, now a partner in AirBorne (’88); by Robert Whittall who also
went on to paragliding competition fame (’89); and then three times in a row by Czech
pilot Tomas Suchanek (’91, ’93, and ’95); by German Guido Gehrmann (’98); twice by
Manfred (’99 and ’03); and now by Ukrainian star, Oleg Bondarchuk (’05).
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Thorp T-211
Thorp T-211 Sport E
From the world of general aviation aircraft comes an entry to the proposed Light-Sport Aircraft (LSA) category. Presently known as the Thorp T-211, the all-metal airplane will be called the Thorp T-211 Sport E when it makes its debut as a light-sport aircraft.
Famed designer John Thorp is perhaps best known for his work leading to the Piper Cherokee series and the T-18 homebuilt. His work on a design that became the T-211 started back in the 1940s before general aviation planes had transportation as their primary goal. When the T-211 was first created – as the T-11 Skooter and later the T-111 – it was intended to become competition for the Cessna 150. The T-211 is a light plane, tipping the scales at hundreds of pounds less than Cessna’s smallest model and so it was expected to perform better.
Under new management since 2003, Thorp’s design is ready to make the leap to the Sport E.
Connie Amphib — “The Flying Float” (and it is!)
Check out Bobbie Bailey’s Connie Amphib.
Many pilots are aware of aircraft referred to as flying boats. Among ultralight aircraft, the Aventura, SeaRey and Buccaneer stand out as good examples as do trikes like Polaris’ Flying Inflatable Boat. The flying boat reference describes those aircraft built around a boat hull with substantially different structure than airplanes equipped with two floats.
That clear definition is blurred by the introduction of a novel new ultralight from the inventive mind of Bobbie Bailey. His new Connie amphibian is neither flying boat nor a float-equipped ultralight. My BRS associate, Gregg Ellsworth, tagged it a “flying float.” Works for me.
Canada’s Lotus Float company offers a single float setup that functions much the same way but is an add-on to a wheeled ultralight. This may make a perfectly fine floatplane, but you have to do the fitting yourself, and it simply won’t be as elegant as Bailey’s Connie amphib.
Four-Stroke Engines for Ultralights
Ultralights have long been defined by their two-stroke engines. Rotax and other brands refined the two-stroke for aircraft use, and today’s two-stroke powerplants deserve their popularity. In the important power-to-weight ratio, two-strokes are hard to beat. Their cost is low, their overhauls cheap; these humble powerplants have lifted many a pilot into the air for many hours.
But despite the improvements, despite plentiful businesses to help you maintain your two-stroke engine, and despite a good performance record, two-strokes are still seen as inferior to four-strokes by many aviators.
Add to these impressions the regulatory changes many see as inevitable. The blue-smoking two-stroke (even when optimized) presents environmental problems for snowmobiles, watercraft and gas-powered lawn tools. Two-stroke days are numbered—not because of efficiencies, but because of ecological concerns and political decisions.
Hail the Four-Stroke
General aviation people say, “Well, of course four stroke is better.” But that’s the only kind of engine most of them know, and their aircraft weigh enough to accommodate heavier powerplants.
Product Lines – July 2004
St. Paul, Minn. – Paraphrasing a famous speaker, “You can satisfy all of the people
some of the time or all of the people some of the time, but, well| that’s about it.
I’m referring
to my story about Raven Sky Sports – it’s sale, then non-sale, and the challenge
to its name. First, I got in trouble for announcing
a purchase by an Oregon-based pilot. He and founder/owner Brad Kushner could
never quite close an almost-done deal. The would-be buyer was at first very upset
with me that I would share this news with the public without getting permission (though
I received an email announcement letter along with numerous other recipients). We
patched that up between us but then the sale never happened.
Next, I got a very unhappy but carefully written, four-page letter from the lawyer
who asked Kushner to stop using the name Raven Sky Sports. He thought I characterized
him in a poor light.
Product Lines – November 2004
ST. PAUL, MINN. — Just as the October “Product Lines” was headed to press a last-minute
update was inserted into the column by USHGA’s alert art director, Tim Meehan. At
the end of last month’s column I was writing about Alan Chuculate’s paraglider
aerotow trike, the SlowTow. A week after the deadline, Alan wrote, “The SlowTow
project suffered a major setback on Wednesday when Floyd Fronius crashed
in the trike and crushed a vertebrae and his heel. It was a classic case of a low
altitude aerotow problem resulting in the towplane pilot getting pitched down and
not releasing early enough. Both trike and glider were airborne at approximately
150 feet AGL.” Alan reports that Floyd thought the glider had released because the
towline was slack. He began to descend and turned left to reconnect and try again.
“But as he turned left the towline tightened rapidly, the glider climbed dramatically,
and the trike was slowed and pitched nose down.” Perhaps Floyd should have released
at the first sign of the problem, but it takes a short time to comprehend the situation
and he didn’t have those precious seconds.
Product Lines – October 2004
St. Paul, Minn. — Wills Wing has released their new Sport 2 model
in the 135 square foot size. The company says, “The Sport 2 135 is a high
performance glider for lighter pilots that’s easy to fly and land. All of the HGMA
vehicle tests are completed, and we are releasing the glider for sale at this time.”
The new model comes with their popular Litestream control bar and an aluminum faired
base tube. WW reports that the Sport 2 can achieve a glider of about 13:1. The smaller
model weighs only 54 pounds (your shoulders will love it!) and, as its mainly
intended for smaller pilots, the control bar is three inches shorter than on the
larger 155 model. More stats: Span is 29.3 feet (versus
31.5 on the 155), hook-in weight is 130 to 200 pounds (versus 150 to 250), and it
will work best for someone with a body weight of 130 to 160 pounds (versus 150-200
for the larger model).
Product Lines – September 2004
OSHKOSH, WISC. — Last month I was thrilled to report the Over Everest achievement
of Richard Meredith-Hardy and fellow pilot Angelo d’Arrigo. Since then,
I established contact with d’Arrigo for a story I prepared for Kitplanes magazine
(Nov. 2004).
After I investigated the project more thoroughly, I gained a clearer picture of
the enormous challenges. So| As we left our heroes last
month, Meredith-Hardy reported d’Arrigo was being bounced around after both aircraft
flew through some high altitude turbulence. No surprise, really. In thin air at 29,035
feet the hazards are real — even if you’re standing still. According to tug
pilot Meredith-Hardy, the “time of useful consciousness is less than one minute”
without oxygen. Only with rigorous training over long periods have some climbers
made the ascent without oxygen. The temperatures are colder than a cruel Minnesota
winter with the wind howling. During their final ascent climbers take one step, rest
for a full minute, then repeat| for hours.
Product Lines – August 2004
ST. PAUL, MINN. — Wow! Feel the chill! Am I nuts, talking about chill in August?
Even in my home state of Minnesota (just south of the Arctic), it’s summer and steamy
with mosquitoes the size of B-52s. However, the year-round conditions on top of Mount
Everest never get steamy| except maybe when a powered ultralight trike puts on an
airshow for hardy mountain climbers who made it to the world’s highest peak. This
news was first reported at the end of May by AvWeb.com, an Internet-only aviation
news outlet (bold emphasis is mine).
Headline: “MICROLIGHT CONQUERS EVEREST — So, what would you do if the turbo-intercooled
Rotax 914 engine powering your Pegasus Quantum trike, flying under a Pegasus
XL wing, was so hard to start that it flattened two batteries before finally catching?
Perhaps they were mildly hypoxic, but Angelo D’Arrigo and Richard Meredith-Hardy
chose to fly that engine (typically capable of 115 hp) over the world’s highest mountain
— towing a hang glider (a rigid-wing ATOS 2 from Icaro 2000) for good
measure.
Product Lines – June 2004
CENTRAL FLORIDA–
At the start of the big Sun ‘n Fun airshow, I had the pleasure to fly John
Dunham’s American Tug built for him by ultralight producer, M Squared
of Alabama. This design resembles the popular Quicksilver ultralights that evolved
from the original hang glider of the late 1970s. Beefed up for the hard duty that
is aero towing, the M Squared entry is a robust ultralight that should be capable
of steady operation as a tractor of the air. American Tug is a single-place aircraft
employing a 32-foot span, high-lift, slow-flying, single-surface, strut-braced wing.
While Dragonfly has been the lone fixed-wing tug in the USA, flight parks and clubs
now have another choice. And, importantly, the American Tug — as opposed to the
“Australian tug,” John says — costs substantially less. A basic Rotax 582-powered
tug should sell for about $20,000 says John. The American
Tug I flew, with a custom-configured 680 cc Rotax engine rated at 100 hp, demonstrated
an acceptable climb rate while towing plus excellent low speed controllability.
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