In a flying world that seems to think a 2-seater is mandatory, Mark Beierle has released another single-place ultralight. And what a sweet ultralight it is.
I love the Thunder Gull series of ultralights. When people ask me what I personally like of the hundreds of ultralights evaluated, the Thunder Gull always springs to mind (among a few other designs). My interests may not be your interests, but I’ll bet most pilots would love to fly the Gull 2000.
Offered for sale here in the new millennium, the Gull 2000 is an appropriate name that seemed well aimed at lots of American ultralight enthusiasts.
Welcome to Gull 2000
For the new century, the Gull 2000 adds to, rather than replaces the older models from Earthstar Aircraft. The company will still sell their Thunder Gull J single-seater and their little-publicized Soaring Gull, which uses a very small engine and long wings to create something of a motorglider.
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Dope and Fabric Hawk Arrow
One of the ultralight industry’s longest enduring designs is the Hawk. First offered in 1982, the Hawk flies today – 15 years later! – in essentially the same form. A few years ago the Arrow name was added to a refined version (becoming the Hawk Arrow) but the basics didn’t change. The original became the Hawk Classic.
So, why are we reporting on it? Two reasons quickly spring to mind.
First, the plane deserves it. This is an excellent little bird that has delivered a lot of aerial fun to virtually a generation of pilots. However, new pilots enter the community between articles and these aviators need to know this design still works well today like it did way back in the early ’80s when ultralights were new on the aviation scene.
Secondly, this isn’t the same Hawk.
Oh, it still looks much the same. Such a statement is hardly fair, though, to the many refinements that showed up on the plane I flew for this report.
Rocky Mountain Wings Ridge Runner
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.
Super Magnum
The Super Magnum packs an 80-horse four-stroke Verner Some general aviation pilots are put off by ultralights; for others they’re great fun.
If you’re the type who likes the idea of ultralight flight but you don’t trust the common two-stroke engines, then Sport Flight’s Super Magnum kit-built aircraft with the Verner engine may be what you’re looking for.
JOIN THE FAMILY
For nearly a decade, Sport Flight Aviation has produced the Talon XP two-seater and the Magnum single-seater. In 1998 the company added the Super Magnum, a one-place airplane that features a substantial 80-horsepower engine from the Czech Republic.
The Verner SVS-1400 engine was brought to the United States by Milan Stavenik in the mid-1990s. Milan lost his life in an accident unrelated to the Verner, but development of the engine has continued under Sport Flight Aviation owner Roger Bitton.
In addition to the Verner, the new HKS 700E, imported from Japan by Hpower, is enjoying a good reception.
Skye Ryder Aerochute
Darlings of late-evening flying at airshows (when winds are calmer), powered parachutes are among the simplest and most fun of the ultralight class. If low and slow flying over inviting scenery sounds good, Six Chuter has your aircraft waiting.
Controls don’t get much simpler: right, left, aerodynamic braking (right and left together), and power for altitude changes. Lessons are therefore brief.
Powered parachutes are about the only segment of ultralight aviation that isn’t worried over their empty weight exceeding Part 103’s 254 pounds. The Skye Ryder I single place is a mere 205 pounds, way under the limit. The 215 pound Skye Ryder II is a two-seat trainer, therefore tipping the scales a whopping 281 pounds under the permissible weight!
Neither do they have a problem with the top speed limitation, flying as they do at 26 mph. The single place uses the 447 Rotax and earns a climb of 700 fpm.
Wings of Freedom — Flitplane
Here’s a fun little plane with a good design heritage. Something of a sleeper till now, new builder Wings of Freedom is starting to promote the Flitplane. This interesting aircraft is an Ultralight in the best tradition; she comes in well under the 254 pound weight.
True 103 aircraft are more popular than ever as federal regulations remain aviation’s lightest load. The Flitplane joins a welded steel fuselage to aluminum wings covered with dope and fabric. A cleverly laid out cockpit shows marvelously good use of triangulation for strength with the least structure. Her rounded tail preserves some style in the simplicity.
With such a light airframe, Flitplane has enough weight allowance to accommodate a beefy 35 horse engine from 2si that will push the plane enthusiastically into the air. However, this is an ultralight in which to enjoy slow flight. Using a big wing loaded lightly to only 3.4 pounds per square foot, the Flitplane can stall at only 26, cruise at 45, and not exceed 63 mph.
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.
Facing the buying decision
What Kind of Pilot Are You?
Let’s just say you actually know yourself. While this sounds like a comment that deserves a “duh!” response, don’t be too quick to judge. If every pilot or buyer of an aircraft knew what he/she needed or wanted, my job would be easier. But it isn’t so. Most pilots know something about what they want, but many don’t have enough information to make the best decision.
Some readers are “experts.” A good many ultralight or light plane enthusiasts have been around long enough and owned enough of a variety of ultralights to know what they like. These veteran sport aviators represent a lot of combined experience. If you’re new to ultralight flying, I strongly encourage you to seek out local experts. They can be your very best source of information because they know you. (However, as I reminded you last time, remember that anybody selling any aircraft – whether their own or one they represent – has a bias that you must not overlook.
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.
Foxbat
Manta’s Foxbat is the original rigid-wing trike.
A few months ago here, I revealed what I believe will be a new trend among trike ultralights: the rigid-wing trike. This machine will take the increasingly popular trike concept into the 21st century by using a composite wing of very high aspect ratio. Such a wing brings increased performance and promises dramatically better handling than can be found on the so-called flex-wing trikes that presently do the heavy lifting on trikes.
Only time will tell if my prediction is right. Yet years-perhaps decades before these rigid wings become common, an Oakland, California, company produced a rigid wing trike of its own. Foxbat was the name. That it did not achieve great market success is no condemnation of the trike or its then-unorthodox wing.
In fact, Pterodactyl, which did achieve good sales, used this identical wing as its starting point for the company’s much more popular line of ultralights.
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