Why Buy this Plane over Another?
I asked the question of U.S. dealer James Peeler. He’s been a Flightstar dealer and pilot for several years and is “one of us” ultralight pilots. Now that he represents the Czech aircraft, he should be able to relate why the model excites him.
The EV-97 EuroStar aka SportStar has been manufactured for more than 6 years in the Czech Republic and has been used as a trainer in Europe without even one service bulletin or airworthiness directive issued, Peeler says. The factory has achieved the ISO 9001 quality standard certification.
More pragmatically, Peeler says, “The plane flies better overall as a trainer than anything I have ever flown in my 22 years of flying with more than 5,500 hours in 103 different aircraft (general aviation, Experimental, rotorcraft, and ultralight).
“The performance is uncanny,” he continues. “It gets off like an ultralight (in less than 300 feet) and climbs like a homesick angel at between 1,200 to 1,500 fpm with two aboard, cruises at 100 to 120 mph, Vne 167 mph, and stall at 38 mph.” I didn’t find the ground roll as short nor the climb as strong, but perhaps Peeler’s technique is that much better than mine.
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SportStar for American Pilots
They’re already lining up out front though the party isn’t sure to happen. I’m writing about the FAA’s Light-Sport Aircraft proposal and those aircraft that intend to cash in on the new opportunity if the proposal becomes the law of the land.
Should ultralight pilots embrace this proposal? Or is it merely another niche of aviation that won’t substantially change how many ultralight pilots operate their aircraft?
Many true-to-the-breed ultralight designs are already kit-built, N-numbered aircraft flown by pilots with an FAA certificate. Lots of others prefer the light-handed Part 103 rule.
Light-Sport Aircraft, while potentially more capable, are going to carry much higher price tags and more government involvement. However, the kit business isn’t going to disappear nor are genuine Part 103 ultralights. (The last statement is the beginning of another story but I can easily demonstrate how Part 103 aircraft will remain an important part of the market.)
Still, the Light-Sport Aircraft proposal has considerable energy and may become law during 2003.
Aquilair’s Comfortable 2-Seater
French manufacturer Aquilair wants you to get in the “swing” of triking with their 2-seat trike, the Swing. The trike’s sporty name identifies what the French company calls their “chariot” (chassis or carriage). The name may also derive from the company’s unique fold-down system.
Most trikes pivot at the base of the mast (the component connecting occupants and engine to wing) or at a mid-mast point about engine height. Aquilair pivots the mast under the front seat – or the only seat in the case of their single-place model, the Kid. Placing the pivot point this far forward allows the company to offer easier lifting of the wing into position without using weighty and costly gas struts. The result is a simpler, lighter package that accomplishes the goal of letting one person erect the trike from its transport state.
The feature is driven, I was told, by the 90-pound female owner of Aquilair.
Xair Sidebar
Flaps and Less (span); The F Model XairThe Xair is available in the standard model as flown and reported in the main article. I logged a few minutes in the F model as well and have a few separate observations.
Flying in the F model with the heavier 80-hp Jabiru 2200 engine up front, I sensed the weight quickly when airborne. However, ground break came noticeably quicker, the 15 extra horses evidently overpowering the weight increase.
I noticed that turns to the right took much less rudder application when doing Dutch rolls. Banking to the left was normal but banking to the right required almost no rudder, the effect of greater power (and P-factor).
The F model Xair felt a little tighter in the air, no doubt due to the smaller wing that made bumps more noticeable and sharper. A semisymmetrical-type airfoil surely added to the sensation, permitting the F model to slip through the air with less resistance.
Xair Standard and F Models
he Xair hardly looks like a Weedhopper anymore. And its French-based producer, Randkar, may no longer care to associate with the pioneering design (though they surely wouldn’t mind selling 4,000 units like the Weedhopper). Indeed, the machine is now so different, the heritage barely reveals itself.
Today, it may take a stretch of imagination to see the Weedhopper under the Xair’s fancy new coverings. To try, let your mind’s eye take away the entire cockpit assembly and the aft fairing. What you’re left with does begin to look like a Weedhopper. The swept wing with its long chord, the simple, angular tail… it’s clearly a derivative of John Chotia’s Weedhopper.*
Global Contender
Created in America, the Weedhopper migrated to Europe (where more than one company picked up on the simple ultralight). One of those companies is France’s Randkar, which produces the Xair. It is built by an Indian company, Raj Hamsa, and returned to American soil by its U.S.
Simple, But Efficient – The TC Trike
The itch returned. In truth it never left, says TC’s Trikes owner TC Blyth.
“I was a hang glider pilot 20 years ago and when the time was right, I wanted to jump back in,” says Blyth.
But instead of returning to hang gliding, trikes are the machines Blyth chose to reinvigorate his flying. A Chattanooga, Tennessee native, Blyth’s familiarity with tailless delta wings stimulated him to get involved with trikes.
After his earlier time enjoying hang gliding, family and work responsibilities “interfered” with this enjoyment for many years. Many ultralight enthusiasts can understand this situation. In the interim Blyth took up fishing, but he says, “Stumbling around among rocks in moving water had hazards, too. You can trip and fall, and drown.” While he enjoyed fishing, he figured the risks of flying weren’t overwhelming and he itched to fly again.
Blyth started by representing Sabre Aircraft and reports selling many trikes for the Southwestern company.
South Africa’s Aerotrike Goes First Class
First came the Aerotrike. Travelling all the way from South Africa where Rainbow Aircraft manufactures it, the Aerotrike looked to be – and is – a very sturdy trike that could stand the rigors of flight instruction. However, some thought it lacked the finesse of the finest European trikes.
Designed by Mike Blyth, the Aerotrike was built precisely for the purpose of flight training. For years, Blyth had used other brands of trikes in his flight school. However, he found they wore out prematurely. This is never a good thing to a school trying to fund itself by teaching many students.
The Aerotrike’s Scout and Safari models proved to be durable flying machines. Former American representative Rob Rollison fitted his Aerotrike with a reliable HKS 4-stroke engine and proceeded to fly a lengthy 2,000-mile journey around Mexico. Not everyone would tackle such a venture, but Rollison says the HKS and his sturdy Aerotrike gave him the confidence to simply fly and enjoy.
Sky Raider Goes Tandem
Part-Time 2-Seater
Like the Kolb FireStar II, the Sky Raider II has a second seat for occasional use – but not for flight instruction. After flying with 165-pound Grant Rappe – a long-time Sky Raider pilot – as my volunteer rear seat passenger, I feel that two big fellows won’t fit. And even with small rear-seat occupants, you probably won’t want to fly for too long. Nonetheless, if you want a ride-along jump seat for occasional use, but you truly prefer single-seat handling and you don’t want to pay a bundle extra for the second seat and dual controls, the Sky Raider II might be for you.
Admittedly you have other choices in this vein. French trike maker Air Création addressed it with their Buggy. Here’s a 2-seat aircraft, which the manufacturer says is mainly intended for single-place operation. The New Kolb Aircraft Company has two models that can do this (the FireStar II and Slingshot II) and of course, the very similar Rocky Mountain Wings Ridge Runner Model II also works much like a Sky Raider II.
South African Star
Not long ago, Americans couldn’t buy products from South Africa because of that country’s apartheid policies. Our government employed economic sanctions that kept South African aviation developments off our radar. However, as their ultralight producers did business with Europe, the Southern Hemisphere country kept up with ultralight aviation despite the sanctions imposed by the United States.
One South African ultralight product is the Aquilla, a sturdy trike from Solo Wings in South Africa.
If the name Aquilla sounds vaguely familiar and a bit Italian to you, go to the head of the class. You’d be right on both counts. Aquila – spelled with one “l” – is a constellation in the Northern Hemisphere and the Milky Way. Exactly how a star in the northern skies inspired someone in South Africa I don’t know. Aquila is also a city of central Italy northeast of Rome.
Nonetheless, Solo Wings owner Aidan De Gersigny, who has been involved with hang gliding since the late 1970s, says Aquilla means “Eagle” in Latin, a name he used for a hang glider he sold 15 years ago.
North Wing Prepares the Apache Sport
Trike and trike wing manufacturer North Wing Design has debuted a new trike called the Apache Sport. Developed for the proposed Light-Sport Aircraft category, this new 2-seater can also be operated as an ultralight trainer qualifying under the training exemption to FAR Part 103.
Barely a year after the new millennia dawned, North Wing Design introduced their first new 2-seat trike to the ultralight community – the original Apache. In the last year of the old century, the Washington-based company offered their first trike – the single-seat Maverick with its distinctive strutted wing.
Prior to these developments, North Wing Design was a trike wing supplier. For many years, small manufacturers of trike carriages have been buying wings from North Wing because they handle and perform handsomely. In a still-earlier role, the company was a savior to owners of certain brands of hang gliders whose manufacturers had left the business.
North Wing came to the aid of these stranded owners.
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