The nation is focused on the celebration of 100 years of powered flight, thanks to efforts by a couple of Ohio brothers in 1903. But ultralight aviation has its own bigger-than-life hero from yesteryear and he’s also from Ohio.
Chuck Slusarczyk needs no introduction because almost everyone involved with ultralight aviation for any length of time knows the jolly designer of the Hawk series of ultralights.
Chuck first flew gliders just as did Orville and Wilbur Wright. Like the famous Wrights, he ignored those who said he couldn’t do what he hoped to do – in Chuck’s case, bring to market an ultralight that broke new ground in several important ways. For one, you had no chance to foot-launch it.For those who became ultralight enthusiasts more recently, the rule in the early 1980s – before passage of FAR Part 103 – was that ultralights had to be foot-launchable. When Slusarczyk first introduced the Hawk, a demonstration of foot-launching was required; since the Hawk was fully enclosed, the pilot could not provide the demonstration, if asked.
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Light Sport Aircraft – What you may fly!
The FAA’s new sport pilot/light-sport aircraft notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) has been released. With a 90- day comment period underway, the proposed pilot certificate and aircraft categories are on the minds of all light-aircraft producers and anyone who flies for fun. The flying machines that will fit under the proposed new aircraft categories will be called light-sport aircraft, and in this article we’ll take a look at what’s currently available|and what the future may hold.
“The FAA’s new rule is destined to globalize the light aviation industry.”
The promise is great for Americans. When the new sport pilot/light-sport aircraft NPRM changes are finalized and implemented, we will enter a new era in light aviation. People who have wanted a light aircraft to fly for fun but who didn’t have the time or skill to build it will be able to buy a ready-to-fly airplane. And, they’ll be able to learn to fly in less time and at less expense than the cost of acquiring a private pilot certificate.
Buggy + XP
Red is the best color for marketing reasons I was told by a Detroit car marketing executive with a half million a year salary. If you’ve seen a Chrysler TV ad recently, you can see they painted all the cars and trucks bright red.
Published in Light Sport and Ultralight Flying
Seating
Single- or 2-seat
Empty weight
386 pounds
Gross weight
772 pounds
Wingspan
30 feet
Wing area
135 square feet
Wing loading
5.7 pounds/sq ft
Wing
Trike
Height
11 feet 7 inches
Fuel Capacity
9.9 gallons
Kit type
Assembly
Build time
30-60 hours
Standard engine
Rotax 582
Power
65 horsepower
Power loading
11.9 pounds/hp
Cruise speed
56-74 mph
Never exceed speed
87 mph
Rate of climb at gross
1,477 fpm
Standard Features
Twin trike carriage, XP 12 double-surface wing, weight-shift control, hand and foot throttles, steerable nosewheel (push-left, go-right) with brake and mudguard, parking brake, wheel pants, pneumatic suspension, instrument panel, lap seat belt, regulator, water temp, Rotax C gearbox, intake/exhaust silencers, full fairing with windshield, 3-blade composite prop, back seat storage.
Champion Ultralight
Avid Aircraft has never indicated a lot of interest, sticking to their popular 2-place models and moving more in the direction of features like a Lycoming (general aviation) engine rather than downsizing.
Published in Light Sport and Ultralight Flying
Seating
Single-seat
Empty weight
284 pounds
Gross weight
560 pounds
Wingspan
26 feet 9.5 inches
Wing area
114.5 sq ft
Wing loading
4.9 lbs/sq ft
Length
17 feet 7 inches (18 ft 9 in wings folded)
Height
6 feet
Fuel Capacity
5 gallons
Kit type
Construction
Build time
200 hours
Standard engine
Rotax 447
Power
40 horsepower
Power loading
14.0 pounds/hp
Cruise speed
63 mph
Never exceed speed
80 mph
Rate of climb at gross
700 fpm
Takeoff distance at gross
75 feet
Landing distance at gross
100 feet
Standard Features
Folding wings (3 minutes), towable on its own wheels, steerable tailwheel, four-point safety harness, Lexan® windshield, instrument panel, adjustable seat, 5-inch main wheels with tubeless tires, 5-gallon wing tank with quick drain, Piper Cub-type main gear shock absorber, engine mount and universal engine adapter plate.
Cosmos Samba
You may know pilots like this. Heck, you might be one of these folks. Large numbers of them help manufacturers get trick new hardware on the market. Their willingness to try fresh concepts and their enthusiasm for all things new make purists an essential part of flying.
One type of flying purist is the sort who prefers to stick with a FAR Part 103 ultralight. The genre helps define ultralights in general – we fly them because we like them, not because we’re hoping to grow up and become an airline pilot someday. Purists prefer the simple honesty of Part 103 flight.
Slow-flying ultralights allow flight closer to fields and trees and landmarks. Amazingly short takeoff rolls and uneventful stalls make these basic machines easy to enjoy and give them versatility as to the size airstrip required. Low cost and operating expense help convince even more pilots. So, if all these things are good, why not make them the best they can be – the slowest flight, the shortest takeoff, the lowest cost?
HKS Hurricane Hauler
Last year, the 60-hp HKS 700E 4-cycle engine burst on the ultralight scene with more impact than I’ve noted since Rotax established itself as the engine of choice for ultralight enthusiasts. Among those embracing the new designed-for-light-aircraft powerplant was HY-TEK Hurricane, manufacturer of the Hurricane brand.
In the years since Mike Kern took over the Hurricane, he has shown savvy about the ultralight marketplace. He was able to see where he could enlarge his potential customer base, and his quick acceptance of the newly-available engine proves this.
Despite years of good success with high power-to-weight ratio 2-stroke engines, lots of would-be ultralight buyers remain unconvinced. A Hurricane with a 4-stroke gives HY-TEK the chance to appeal to those buyers and more.
In addition to ultralight enthusiasts looking for more, Kern sees a market in those hordes of Cessna drivers who want something different. A new Hurricane with the HKS 700E fitted is priced below all but the most worn-out general aviation planes, and can be more fun than operating a heavier aircraft that was built as a transportation device rather than a joy machine.
New Kolb Aircraft
Sometimes I’m amazed that we’ve now got ultralight pilots buying engines that cost more than $10,000. Twenty years ago, Eipper Formance (Quicksilver) sold complete ultralights that cost $3,499. Even in the ’90s, many complete ultralights – engine and all – cost less than the price of a Rotax 912 4-stroke engine on its own. One that meets that description is Kolb Aircraft’s Mark III with a 50-hp Rotax 503 dual carb 2-cycle engine.
Nonetheless, the 81-hp Rotax 912 has invaded the realm of what is loosely called “ultralight” flying. Of course, a Rotax 912-powered aircraft simply cannot be used on a single-place Part 103 ultralight. And any 2-place plane with a 912 is less likely to qualify as an ultralight trainer under the training exemption to FAR Part 103; the big engine may push the plane too fast and could make it heavier than 496 pounds (the ultralight trainer empty weight limit).
Aeros Venture from Sabre
Only a little more than 10 years ago, the wall fell in Berlin, Germany and Communism collapsed in the USSR. Before these momentous events, few Americans knew anything about the Ukraine (which was part of the USSR) and even those who did were largely unaware of its ability to produce aircraft.
Yet by the mid-1990s, some Americans became aware of a Ukrainian company named Aeros. One man became an importer of their hang glider line. G.W. Meadows and his Thermal Riding Vehicles business sold so many hang gliders from the former Soviet satellite that the American market leader, Wills Wing, had to drop prices to remain competitive with the lower cost hang gliders from eastern Europe.
In this article I’ll review the Venture, the newest Aeros model for the American ultralight market. But this new Aeros ultralight follows the Aeros Antares (once known as Graffiti), reviewed in the December 1997 issue of Ultralight Flying!
Sky Cycle
In a world of ultralights populated with powered parachutes, powered paragliders, weight-shift trikes, and all manner of 3-axis ultralights, why not a powered hang glider? Why not return to our roots?
For those too new to the scene to remember, ultralights started out as powered hang gliders. John Moody, the man widely known as the “Father of Ultralights,” first motorized and flew a hang glider called the Icarus II (which evolved into the Easy Riser). Moody’s first ultralight, back in the mid-1970s, had no landing gear and no tail because those appendages weren’t on hang gliders then, or now.
After Moody’s early work – plus that of others in the hang gliding and ultralight community – other pioneers began adding power packages to more conventional hang gliders. The Easy Riser Moody flew had good performance but didn’t break down as efficiently as the fully-foldable “flex wings,” as they are commonly known today.
Interplane Skyboy
In May 2000 I wrote about the imported Sabre Aircraft Venture trike. That model from the Ukraine was quite impressive and worthy of your consideration. Now from the Czech Republic comes the Interplane Skyboy. Should Yankee ultralight manufacturers show concern? Yes, I’d say so. However, American pilots – while perhaps showing an interest in imported designs – don’t seem to buy a lot of these planes. Or do they?
In recent years we’ve seen trike sales soar. Few industry leaders predicted this despite the persistent efforts of the big European trike builders. Many veterans claimed trikes would never have an impact on the majority of pilots who prefer 3-axis controls. They are being proved wrong, for now anyway.
A key reason that holds back U.S. purchases of imported aircraft has to do with local support. Even a good importer can’t always control when spare parts are available. Interplane solves this dilemma in an interesting way and with American style: they bought the Czech Republic factory.
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