One of the all-time successes in the world of kit-built light aircraft is the Kitfox. Challenged in terms of success by Vans Aircraft’s RV series, many Kitfox aircraft have been sold. Denney Aerocraft, the original manufacturer of the Kitfox design, never considered a single-place machine. Why would they? Even pumping out 60 planes a month in their heyday of the early 1990s, they were barely keeping up production quotas.
Avid Aircraft, producer of the Avid Flyer (the forerunner of the Kitfox) also never pursued a single-place model. In the early 1990s Avid was also going strong. But by early 2000, things looked a bit different.
Dan Denney sold Denney Aerocraft to Phil Reid in the early 1990s, and the company was renamed SkyStar Aircraft. The company was then sold again to Ed Downs and partners, with the company name remaining SkyStar Aircraft. By this time, the Kitfox design became somewhat saturated, and other creations muscled into the limelight of pilot attention.
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Aero-Lite 103
Manufacturers in the ultralight industry believe they know what pilots want or what they will buy, anyway. A 2-seater is usually part of the answer. But, in fact, many industry watchers are wrong.
While many observers make the statement, ÒNinety percent of ultralights are 2-seaters,Ó statistics tell another story. Nearly 40% of ultralight and microlight aircraft sold in the U.S. are single-seaters, according to Ultralight Flying! magazineÕs surveys of manufacturers. Despite the polling results, however, those experts have a point. Two-seaters do represent the majority of ultralights and microlights sold.
Yet, just when you think 2-seaters are going to take over the whole market, along comes a new trend. Maybe it was FAAÕs lack of action on Part 103 changes, or maybe manufacturers simply decided to take on the challenge of staying within 103Õs tight weight, speed and fuel quantity restrictions. Whatever the correct answer, it doesnÕt change the fact of a growing population of Part 103 ultralights.
Titan Tornado
An Experimental ‘fighter jet’ that any pilot could love That vast majority of general aviation pilots who won’t even think about building their own plane has missed quite a revolution.
The FAA says approximately 25,000 aircraft are registered as Experimentals. That’s 15% of the GA fleet.
Building isn’t what it used to be. You no longer need to master the skill of reading engineering prints (plans), nor must you search high and low for parts.
These days, most registered Experimental aircraft are built from kits. Many are well-fabricated packages that can be assembled in just a few hundred hours. That can mean as little as two or three hours a night, two to three days a week, for about a half-year. Not a bad investment for a truly unique airplane.
One sport pilot who enjoys flying his creations is Minnesota resident Al Reay. For Reay, building is a means to an end.
2000 HKS
The 2000 HKS
In a concerted effort to give Rotax a challenge in the U.S. (and the world), the 60-hp 4-stroke HKS 700E engine arrived in America during 1998. Oh, sure, other engine makers including Hirth, Zenoah, and 2si have been in the market longer but they haven’t made a significant dent in the dominance enjoyed by Rotax.
To be honest, neither has the HKS… yet. Any brand-new engine is bound to have teething pains – even from a company that is a well-established purveyor of engine products in the auto industry. Some of the first 100 HKS engines to arrive in the U.S. experienced various minor troubles.
To the enormous credit of HKS and their American partner, HPower Ltd., all those HKS buyers received the same customer service care that Flightstar buyers have long appreciated. In some cases new parts were sent without charge and in all cases, HKS buyers could count on concerned attention from HPower.
Built for two
After ten years of producing exclusively single seaters, Tennessee-based TEAM Aircraft broke with tradition and rolled out their very first two seater, the Tandem Air-Bike, at Sun ‘n Fun ’96, following the company’s successful Air-Bike design debuted two years earlier.
Wayne Ison’s TEAM got a lot of attention from the Air-Bike – it being regarded as an aircraft you get on, not in. That same sporty, fun-to-fly concept has now stretched into a two-seat model.
Some buyers will use the Airbike Tandem for instruction under the training exemption to Part 103. Others will N-number the machine and use it for the occasional joy ride with a passenger. It should work well either way. In fact, the close-quarters tandem seating means that when the aircraft is flown solo, it should perform well and yet feel more like the agile single seater than some other designs. This theory has worked well for Kolb and their Firefly II, for example.
Gull flying in a new millenium
It is Mark’s design philosophy to make the most efficient aircraft he can, one that will use the least fuel. He defines himself as “a minimalist,” and this sentiment is carried throughout this beautifully optimized aircraft.
To me, Mark appears to have grown increasingly comfortable in his role within ultralight aviation. Relaxed and confident, he knows he has created a superior flying machine.
He also smiles a lot more these days in my opinion, thanks to a wonderful woman named Leslie who accompanied him to AirVenture 2000 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Married a year and a half ago, the two complement each other and make a good team.
No more tight squeezes
Perhaps it was this new personal relationship that motivated Mark to pay more attention to creature comforts. Notably, the Gull 2000 is wider than the previous single-seat or tandem two-seat Thunder Gull aircraft. Considering Mark is a lean and healthy vegetarian, his concern for broader pilots is no doubt appreciated.
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