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.
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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.
Esprit
Meet the Esprit – a twin-engine ultralight motorglider.
Soaring enthusiasts who want to self-launch their aircraft are limited to simple hang gliders on one end and expensive motorgliders on the other. Performance for these machines ranges 15:1 to 50:1. To get one you’ll spend $5000 or $200,000. What you could not do is spend $20,000 to get medium performance*… until now.
Debuting his machine at AirVenture 2000 airshow, Dobro Hajek brings a modern soaring aircraft to the ultralight community. I believe he will also find significant interest from two other groups: sailplane and hang glider pilots. Each loves dedicated machines without engines but many will also prefer an aircraft that can launch itself.
Welcome, Esprit
With its distinctive compound-tapered wings and winglets and its dual engines with folding props, the sleek Esprit goes a long way past the Aero Dovron that Hajek (pronounced HAY-yek) once imported. The Straton D-8 was an interesting little motorglider with a high wing and struts but at 17:1, this inexpensive machine didn’t have the go power it needed to attract a solid market in the United States.
Marske Sailplanes
The Marske Monarch continues to offer economical soaring.
Ultralight sailplanes. Are they a new category of aviation, a segment of ultralight aircraft or just little sailplanes? Though ultralights seem to be some of the newer aircraft in general aviation, their true lineage is based on soaring machines.
For example, the first and still most successful ultralights, the Quicksilver series, came from a hang glider design to which a small engine was added back in the 1970s. Trikes, which have continued to grow in worldwide popularity, are based on delta-wing hang gliders to which power and landing gear were added. Therefore, though the term may be relatively new (going back a decade or so), the aircraft has a longer heritage. One shining example of this is Jim Marske’s Monarch.
New Model, Old Design
Marske has been building the Monarch for 20 years and has added his higher performance model, the Pioneer, to his list of designs spanning 40 years.
TEAM Aircraft – Air Bike
TEAM Aircraft – Air Bike
By Dan Johnson, August 1, 1995
“Wow! …what a great little machine,” is how many airshow attendees regarded the unique plane TEAM introduced at Sun ‘n Fun 1994. When the company unloaded the Airbike at the Florida event, it was immediately surrounded with admirers who didn’t leave it alone for the entire week.
The mystique encompassing the Airbike is more than looks. A delightfully simple and light machine, it meets the weight requirements of Part 103 with 30 pounds to spare! An airplane you get on not in, TEAM’s Airbike is aimed at newcomers, or anyone looking for a good time in the air. Derived from their early (never released) EZE-MAX, an all wood design with an equally narrow fuselage, the Airbike represents a departure for TEAM. She’s made up of a welded steel main structure, wood wings, fiberglass upper cowl, aluminum support structure… making the Airbike a genuine “composite.”
Flying an Airbike confirms one thing.
Badland Ultralight Grows a Nose Wheel
A phenom in the ultralight world, the Badland made news at last year’s AirVenture by rolling out its single cylinder 460cc, 39 hp Thumper engine married to its sturdy chrome molly airframe. This year, Badland unveils two major developments, a nosewheel and carbon fiber ribs.
The Badland nosewheel design is an homage to the Vans RV-8A original nosewheel and is very robust for its size. The nosegear assembly is welded 4130 steel, holding a 4.00×6 nosewheel. The mini tundra tires for the Badland are actually fabricated in house, giving the aircraft its STOL competitor look.
To make up for the added weight, Badland’s founder, Chris Deuel, and his team designed and fabricated light but extremely strong wing ribs using carbon fiber and high-density foam composites. The CF ribs are attached to the aluminum spars using epoxy to provide both a strong bond and isolation from the aluminum and to prevent corrosion.
If It Flies Like a Duck and Floats Like a Duck, Maybe It IS a Duck
Article Updated July 17, 2024 — After this article was posted, Miguel Rosario reported, “Duck is still in tests. Now we will install a 912 ULS 80-horsepower engine, as requested by future customers.” He continued, “Molds are under construction for production, which we hope to start in three months” (approximately October 1, 2024). He finished, “I will keep you updated on all developments regarding Duck.” —DJ
You probably know Seamax. This longtime, performance-oriented LSA seaplane was one of the first to make a splash in the U.S. light aircraft market way back in December, 2007.
Today, regretfully, the Seamax company is going through some very difficult circumstances as noted in this State of the Seaplane Sector report. We don’t know the end of those stories yet.
Nonetheless, Seamax M-22 designer Miguel Rosario remains active. You can’t keep a good man down but apparently you can keep him on the water.
Chip Erwin and the TrueLite Mow the Lawn — And Then Go Flying! (UPDATED AGAIN!)
In our original post, we linked to video of the TrueLite performing taxi tests. Now it’s done better: flying! See the new videos below as Chip Erwin documents the first flights of the TrueLite happening now in Florida.
Those of us looking for pure flying in lightweight form can’t help but be intrigued by the TrueLite ultralight, marketed here by Chip Erwin’s Aeromarine company. “The taxi test went fine. I didn’t have any airspeed reading so I’ll have to see what’s going on there,” Erwin says in the video. While the 36 hp Vittorazzi Cosmos 300 ran a bit hot during the taxi tests, he feels it was because it sat idling for 5 minutes before the test, saying that it cooled down once he got moving.
Here’s a sampling of videos related to the TrueLite.
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