When the Phantom was introduced to the ultralight market at Sun ‘n Fun in 1982, it won the Best New Design award, not only for good looks and strong performance but for its structural integrity! Indeed, it was touted as having been tested to +9 and –6.6 Gs. Though dismissed by some pilots, wire-braced designs are actually very tough.
Phantom is a kit built from anodized aluminum tubing, bolted and riveted together. The wings, tail surfaces and ailerons are covered in Dacron sail cloth envelopes and Phantom used a double surfaced wing for better cross wind control and handling.
A wire-braced, high-wing, tricycle-gear ultralight aircraft in a tractor configuration, Phantom has a pilot pod with windscreen and a steerable nosewheel. (These were not common in those early days of ultralight vehicles.) Controls are standard stick and rudder — a left hand throttle and right hand joystick — with full span ailerons.Ultralight April 2020 — Seventh in the Vintage Series: Ultralight Flight Phantom
When the Phantom was introduced to the ultralight market at Sun ‘n Fun in 1982, it won the Best New Design award, not only for good looks and strong performance but for its structural integrity! Indeed, it was touted as having been tested to +9 and –6.6 Gs. Though dismissed by some pilots, wire-braced designs are actually very tough.
Phantom is a kit built from anodized aluminum tubing, bolted and riveted together. The wings, tail surfaces and ailerons are covered in Dacron sail cloth envelopes and Phantom used a double surfaced wing for better cross wind control and handling.
A wire-braced, high-wing, tricycle-gear ultralight aircraft in a tractor configuration, Phantom has a pilot pod with windscreen and a steerable nosewheel. (These were not common in those early days of ultralight vehicles.) Controls are standard stick and rudder — a left hand throttle and right hand joystick — with full span ailerons.
Ultralight Flight Phantom
Original power was supplied by a Kawasaki 440 engine with a belt drive but this was updated to a Rotax 447 using a belt drive and later with a gear drive.
Cruise speed on the Phantom ultralight is between 55 and 60 miles per hour. It can climb 700 feet per minute and stall speed at approximately 25 miles per hour.
To gain perspective on the history of this well-regarded design, I reached out to an old friend who had extensive early experience with the original company located not far from his home.
“Right after Sun ‘n Fun 1980, four prototype Mirage ultralights showed up at Skylark airport in East Windsor Connecticut,” recalled Ken Godin, now known for his ComposiClean company. “A team of four or five people built these planes speculating that if they brought them to Sun ‘n Fun during the initial boom of Ultralight Aircraft they could sell lots of them.”
“Immediately after seeing these bright colored flying toys at Skylark, I rode my motorcycle to Windsor Connecticut where the Ultralight Flight Inc., facility was quartered. Ultralight Flight was housed in a old building of about 2,000 square feet that used to be summer housing for migrant tobacco pickers.
“I met Frank Riley, the president of the company, Fred Bell, the vice president, Dan Bell (Fred’s little brother) who was in charge of the shop,” Ken remembered. “There were three other silent partners, attorneys in the Hartford area. Fred Bell’s sister, Diane, had a sail loft and sewed all of the wing and tail coverings. Another employee, John Dempsey, was the guy with the ideas and skills to design and test an airframe.”
“Within a couple of hours of seeing the planes at Skylark, I had a new job in the ‘machine shop’ of Ultralight Flight. I made pretty much all the tooling to cut, drill, and bend aluminum tubing, make plastic bushings, and a wire jig for upper and lower wing wires and control cables for the Mirage.
Sun ‘n Fun 1980 proved to be a big show in the then-new ultralight area. Interested spectators and business people sought dealerships in the new sector.
“Within a couple of months after the show, we had tooled up and set up a dealer network across the country that produced sales of 10 to 20 birds a week,” Ken noted with enthusiasm! “We had a pretty well oiled machine and could really pump out kits.”
“This went on for about a year when Dempsey came to the table with his idea for a much advanced aircraft, the Phantom. With a full length boom-tube fuselage, a double surface wing with upper and lower battens and full span ailerons as opposed to the Mirage’s spoilers, we all felt it had great potential. Our dealers loved the ideas. So, while we were banging out Mirage kits, Dempsey went to work on the Phantom. I was able to do a lot of work with him. As he finished a new control surface or fuselage component, I would build the production tooling for the part.
“About nine months later, when all of the load testing and checks and measures were done, we brought the new Phantom out to Skylark Airport for test flights. It was a pretty awesome time. It was an amazing flying machine, going well beyond Mirage.
“Just as we were finishing the production set up for the Phantom, we moved the facility a couple of miles away to a brand new building. Our shop more than doubled in size, to 5,000 square feet. We built all new custom workbenches for our purposes. Everything was set up well enough that our production team was making 20-30 kits a week for a couple of years. During that time we phased out the Mirage.
Phantom Aeronautics, in business since 2003, makes this version of the well-loved ultralight.
“Over those two years of rapid Phantom production, the company experienced a couple of lawsuits and sales where slowing from market saturation — customers had a lot of ultralight models to choose from. The three attorney-partners, against Bell and Riley‘s wishes, decided to sell the company, to one of the biggest dealers we had in North Carolina.”
As Ken was only 20 years old he opted to stay closer to home but again got active with Pioneer International Aircraft at Ellington Airport. That company went on to build the Flightstar, over 1,000 of which were produced.
After this busy period came to an end, Ken lost track of the Ultralight Flight group, but the design was popular enough that it lead to some very similar aircraft — one named Avenger and another called Hurricane, Both have left the business but the current Phantom manufacturer said they can support these aircraft with many compatible parts.
At the time of production of the following video The Ultralight Flyer would estimate the value of a used Phantom from the 1980s to be worth between $4,500 and $6,500.
More than 1,800 Phantoms were produced, said current builder, Phantom Aeronautics.
Beside going over the aircraft carefully as described in earlier installments of this Vintage Ultralights series, The Ultralight Flyer recommends that the buyer contact Phantom Aeronautics to inquire about any modifications or updates that the factory might recommend. It is our understanding that they can also supply some major parts for the Hurricane and Avenger line of ultralight aircraft, which are very similar in design.
When the Phantom was introduced to the ultralight market at Sun ‘n Fun in 1982, it won the Best New Design award, not only for good looks and strong performance but for its structural integrity! Indeed, it was touted as having been tested to +9 and –6.6 Gs. Though dismissed by some pilots, wire-braced designs are actually very tough.
Phantom is a kit built from anodized aluminum tubing, bolted and riveted together. The wings, tail surfaces and ailerons are covered in Dacron sail cloth envelopes and Phantom used a double surfaced wing for better cross wind control and handling.
A wire-braced, high-wing, tricycle-gear ultralight aircraft in a tractor configuration, Phantom has a pilot pod with windscreen and a steerable nosewheel. (These were not common in those early days of ultralight vehicles.) Controls are standard stick and rudder — a left hand throttle and right hand joystick — with full span ailerons.
Lazair entered the market in the early 1980s and was sold in kit form. Kits took between 500 and 1,000 hours to build as they were basically a raw materials kit. The fuselage and tail section use aluminum tubing with bolt and rivet construction.
Power was originally supplied by two modified Pioneer Chainsaw engines of approximately 5.5 horsepower each. The Series 2 and 3 models used two, single-cylinder, 9.5-horsepower Rotax engines. These engines were mounted on the leading edge of the wings.
Climb rate on the Lazair Series 2 and 3 ultralights was approximately 450 to 500 feet per minute. Cruise speed was between 35 and 45 miles per hour. Stall is around 25 miles per hour.
From comments to 
“Pioneer engines are under powered,” galactica one noted. “The Rotax 185s are good engines, parts are available, and performance is adequate. They should be upgraded to around 30 horsepower total,” the commenter added, as “two engines in the 15-horsepower range would give Lazair proper performance.”
Of course, I refer to 
Bristell with 
Representative U.S. Sport Planes, led by industry veteran Scott Severen, has demonstrated this baggage capacity with photos showing a 
Since I first saw the F2 in mock up, Flight Design has redesigned the intake for two reasons: “to reduce drag as we confirmed the older version was very functional but draggy; and for aesthetic reasons,” said the company. “Flight Design team designer and Head of Airworthiness, Christian Majunke, designed conceptually. He also designed a rather novel installation of the coolant and oil radiators,” elaborated Flight Design USA representative, Tom Peghiny.
At Sun ‘n Fun 2020, Deon expected to introduce Whisper to American kit builders. Alas, as with the rest of this group, you probably won’t see it until July in Wisconsin.
Bruno will be aided in his approach to the U.S. market by longtimer, Ed Ricks, who once helped the Paradise Aircraft people with their 
The FireStar is a high wing, strut braced, taildragger in a pusher configuration. To some aviators, “taildragger” is a negative. However…
If you prefer new to a used aircraft, the modern Part-103 compliant Kolb Firefly won’t cost you as much as you might think. However, the Kentucky factory is busy building these aircraft, so a ready-to-fly model might be a few months coming. Part 103 ultralights are quietly out-selling many other types and for good reasons: they are proven, inexpensive, and involve almost no FAA regulations.
Power for used Firestar will likely be supplied by the Rotax 377, 447, or 503 two-stroke aircraft engines, however, a variety of engines from 28 to 55 horsepower have been used.
As it turns out, the Sorrel Hiperlight SNS 8 was originally designed at the request of Ron Schettler, the first Canadian Distributor of 
SNS 8 is offered in kit form. It features a two piece 4130-welded steel fuselage, which can be separated for ease of storage. The aircraft can be covered in pre-sewn Dacron sail cloth envelopes or by the use of standard aircraft covering materials. Building times are in the 150 to 400 hour range, with the conventional fabric covering taking longer to complete.
Thunderbird Aviation was established officially in 2002 by Ron Jones. He reported, “[We] offer aircraft that appeal to a wide range of interests …from an ultralight, to a two-place Experimental, to a fully aerobatic yet cross-country-capable machine, and soon to come will be the SLSA Version.”
Beside a Rotax 377 or 447, other engines that have powered the Hiperlight SNS 8 are Hirth, Kawasaki, and half-VW conversions.
Meanwhile, I have been producing more content here on ByDanJohnson.com so everyone sheltering-in-place can at least fantasy fly their favorite flying machine. I will also continue with the “Virtual 
Changes for 2020 include a reshaped and longer cowling, Blackline propeller with new spinner, fully integrated landing light, and an additional NACA inlet to improve cooling. Other aerodynamic improvements include new landing gear legs with internal brake lines and new low drag wheel fairings. This all leads to significantly reduced drag and an increase in maximum speed. The company reports, “[These] aerodynamic modifications have made the CTLS 2020 nearly 10 knots faster!”
A new 
“Our F2 Light-Sport Aircraft model is fully ASTM-compliant after fine tuning,” noted the company. “Our first airplanes will be delivered to customers in June 2020. Careful engineering allowed us to bring this complex airplane under the maximum allowed take-off weight (of 1,320 pounds or 600 kilograms).”
Late in 2017, a Flight Design review concluded that prepregs could deliver a more consistent final product by ensuring constant material quality and processing parameters and could produce a lighter and stronger aircraft at a more competitive overall cost. The low-temperature cure could be done outside an autoclave. The latter reduces tooling costs and can boost build rates. Following careful analysis, the company went with Hexcel. Prepreg materials — “pre-impregnated” composite fibers have an epoxy material already present — were first used for the F2 prototype.
Flight Design began to review the market for available material options with a key part of its strategy to find and qualify a prepreg system that is not traditionally used in higher cost autoclave production for aerospace applications.
Already in operation since March 1st, Flight Design will “offset” the carbon emissions from the fuel burned by their airplanes during the first 2,000 hours of operation. They’ll do this by employing the 
Offsets will come from cash contributions by Flight Design to programs that meet internationally-accepted standards. Funds will be deployed to planting more trees and other actions that consume CO2.
The look it presents when assembled but not covered is that resembling construction of a geodesic dome, except flat. It looks like a daunting build but you just put piece after piece in place, right on the drawing, until all the “popsicle sticks” are in place. The process is not unlike color-by-the-numbers as little kids do.
The charming, highly-affordable, all-wood Koala was designed by Mike Fisher and Wayne Ison in the early 1980s. Yes, the same, one-and-only Wayne Ison associated with Team Aircraft, another builder of light weight, low-cost, nearly-all-wood designs. We will present an article and video on Team’s MiniMax later on on the Ultralight April 2020 Vintage series.
From the beginning Fisher and Ison designed Koala to fit 
We can have you in a plane for the price of a used Harley motorcycle, said 
Hawk was the first ultralight to be fully enclosed, meaning it had a floor, meaning you could not foot-launch it. The rule was still in place when Chuck first debuted Hawk but that one aircraft lead us into the brave new world of wheel-launching.
The point of this series of short (5-minute) videos is to identify aircraft almost anyone can afford. I should not have to say it, but please don’t assume a $5,000, decades-old ultralight will compare well to a modern LSA. The good news is that, in some ways, such a low-cost aircraft might even be more fun assuming you use good judgement about when and where to fly.
In recent months many light aviation enthusiasts have been asking about progress on FAA’s proposed rewrite of the Light-Sport Aircraft regulations. Following a lengthy teleconference in 2019, the 
FAA is moving forward on the rulemaking project yet everything remains in progress while the agency gathers internal assessments. What follows is as accurate as possible at this time but changes will occur.
FAA generally agreed with our back-calendar estimate that the NPRM may be forthcoming in late 2021 or early 2022. This was based on the perceived amount of work remaining.
A number of pilots and aircraft developers, surprised by the large potential increase in weight, have wondered what will keep these aircraft from becoming very large. If FAA will not specify a weight, what will prevent LSA 2023 from becoming heavier aircraft beyond the scope of LSA and the Sport Pilot certificate?
At present, FAA has given no specifics on speed, but reading between the lines, LAMA expects maximum flight speeds could be 140-150 knots.
However, matters regarding operation of LSA falls under Flight Standards, the people who manage Part 61 (airmen certification) and Part 65 (mechanics).
If the Ip value worked out to be less than 1.2, it was proposed at one point that the aircraft would fit within the definition of a Light Sport Aircraft. This formula would only work for airplanes, not applying to rotorcraft, powered parachutes and weight shift control trikes.
However, there is a very simple explanation for the lack of sensitivity of the formula to weight. And in fact, the explanation comes from algebraically simplifying the equation itself. When you do that, you find that even though weight appears in the original equation, it quickly drops out since it is in both the numerator and the denominator.
As an example, the wing area of a Flight Design CTSW is 107.0 square feet indicating that it is considerably larger than the minimum 57.87 square feet defined by an Ip of 1.2.
A frequent comment I hear is that the price of recreational aircraft are too high. Some pilots have been stating this for 18 years, since a couple years before Light-Sport Aircraft emerged.
Throughout aviation history, airplane builders worked hard to shave pounds, ounces, or grams from their designs. If light is right, then ultralights do it best.
Yet for many, the Buccaneer XA could be a load of fun for just the right price. Plus, 
One of the top-rated ultralight aircraft, ‘er… vehicles, of the early 1980s was the Buccaneer amphibian.
First introduced in 1984, Buccaneer XA was the first amphibious single-hull ultralight to enter the market. It featured bolt-together aluminum tubing for the main frame fuselage, with a center mounted fiberglass hull bolted to it. Buccaneer’s wings, tail section, ailerons and rear fuselage were also constructed using aluminum tubing joined by gusset plates and bolt joints, then covered with slip-on, sewn-Dacron sailcloth “envelopes.”
Power was originally supplied by the then-popular Rotax 277, a 28-horsepower, two-stroke engine. Later models were powered by the Rotax 377, 447 and 503 engines. All these were discontinued by 
You should also throughly inspect the airframe, wings, landing gear, and the control systems.
“Two years of hard job, more than 20 years of specific experience in this sector, invested into this new project. This new plane represents the sum of our vision, the expectations and needs coming from our customers and the desires of the STOL market. Design and elegance, innovations and safety, improved aerodynamics and performance, enhanced cabin comfort with new cargo capacity, reliability and strength, functionality and the potential to deliver new adventures, all come together quite well mixed.”
“Norden is a name used to identify the beautiful Nordic and Scandinavian countries — Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland. These incredible lands, with northern Canada and Alaska, are linked to the concepts of adventure and STOL operations. It is no secret that true bush flying was invented in the genuine Northern Territories.” Great distances and remoteness helped Pasquale find a name that could both inspire great “adventures” and “long trips.”
He also reported, “The standard tailwheel can now be upgraded to T3 tailwheel suspension system or even Acme Stinger. The standard bungee system can be upgraded with a custom made shock absorber system produced by one our dealers, or even with a more professional Acme Shock Pro Series system, designed for tough operations.”
Years ago at the very beginning of Light-Sport Aircraft and Sport Pilot, 
Rainbow’s 15-day Light Sport Repairman Maintenance Courses are taught in their new home facility in Kingsville, Missouri. These courses allow the students to obtain an FAA Light Sport Repairman Certificate with a Maintenance Rating (LSR-M), giving them the equivalent privileges of a Airplane and Powerplant (A&P) with an Inspection Authorization (IA), but limited to light sport aircraft.
Rainbow’s LSR-M class is an FAA approved workshop and an FAA certificate will be issued after successful completion. You do not have to own an aircraft. You do not need to be a pilot. You may charge for your services. The fee for the LSRM course: $4,195 or $3,995 (if paying in cash), which considering you can earn money afterward, represents a good bargain.
“This, too, shall pass…” said my neighbor, Bill Chernish, who flies for Southwest Airlines. His industry is unusually battered by the coronavirus pandemic. His calm and forward-looking view is refreshing amidst the fear seen, well… everywhere.
Delay, postpone, or cancel — that seems to be the question organizers of events faced in the current pandemic scare.
“Nevertheless,” he continued, “it is still imperative for Messe Friedrichshafen (the exhibit operator’s business name) to look to the future.
Like tens of thousands of others, I so enjoy this event and was looking forward to the show that was to begin in just a couple weeks. I was able to back out of most booked travel and will start planning for the 2021 event.
Relax, folks. We’re not going anywhere fast. Across all industries, shows and events have been “falling like dominos,” as publisher Ben Sclair put it when I called to discuss 
Later yesterday both the giant Florida theme parks Disney and Universal announced they will close Sunday through the end of the month. These Orlando-area businesses along with other theme parks draw 75 million visitors annually with a $75 billion economic impact, said officials, so even a few weeks of closure is a serious decision.
The organization said, “With the full support of Polk County, the City of Lakeland, Lakeland Linder International Airport, and the FAA, at this time we are planning to postpone the 2020 Sun ‘n Fun Aerospace Expo until May 5-10. We appreciate the unwavering support of our airport and community and hope everyone will make plans to join us here this May.”
“The best practices of scientific and health resources are being followed as we prepare for our 2020 event. At 
How does one LSA brand rise and stay above others?
My tongue-in-cheek subtitle comes from the perspective of an average-sized pilot talking to the father and son team of Tom Sr. and Tom Jr. Gutmann. These gentle giants stand so tall above me that even Tom Cruise’s acting box would not let me look this pair eye-to-eye.
Tom and I flew Super Sport at the 
What you don’t get with CT Super Sport is the back window and hat rack cabin space of CTLS. The slight enlargement of the longer, fancier LS does indeed make the cabin feel roomier and you have less space for things you need in the cockpit — though the floor compartments in front of both seats will suffice for most things you may want to access during flight. Both models keep the ample storage area aft of the cabin but you cannot access that while flying.
Coordinating closely with 
If you like airplane statistics and facts, this article may interest you. Some pilots don’t follow such things while others eat it up (you know who you are). For these readers, we have a new perspective that many may find intriguing.
When you go global with these two aviation sectors, you find the USA has 80% of the GA fleet with the entire rest of the globe flying the other 20%.
Take Cirrus out of the count and GA registered 448 aircraft from 15 producers, only 65% as many as all LSA/SP kit producers registered.
FAA permits two place hang glider for instructional purposes, and believe me, every one going for a flight is going to learn plenty. Still, an instructor needs to know his or her student and preflight coaching is essential. To achieve a perfect safety record, Mike has clearly set some proper techniques to work for him.
Each of Mike’s tandem flights isn’t walking out on the airport ramp and hopping in a plane for an hour. Coaching, driving up to the launch site, setting up the glider, launching into flight, and retrieving from landing consumes much more than an hour even if the flight itself may be short. Doing this thousands of times with excellent success speaks to using best practices.
Look at that cockpit view (a different angle shows in the video). What more could you need?
Just one year ago, I flew Tucano for the first time. The small-scale fighter-like aircraft was dashing with its modified Rotax 912 producing 140 horsepower.
In a phrase: Tucano 915 climbs enthusiastically from take off to 10,000 feet without a decaying rate of climb.
