ByDanJohnson.com

Affordable and Capable: Merlin Lite
sponsored by Aeromarine-LSA.com

News & Video on Light-Sport Aircraft, Sport Pilot Kits, and Ultralight Aircraft

Search Results for : Quicksilver

Not finding exactly what you expected? Try our advanced search option.

Select a manufacturer to go straight to all our content about that manufacturer.

Select an aircraft model to go straight to all our content about that model.

Select a F.I.R.M. List company to go straight to all our content about that F.I.R.M. List company.

Quicksilver’s Sport II S

by 1 Comment

Think about the Cessna 172, workhorse of general aviation and the most popular aircraft ever built. Cessna is once again building them though the plane has seen little change other than new interior finishings and avionics.
Published in Light Sport and Ultralight Flying

Empty weight
430 pounds

Gross weight
1,000 pounds

Wingspan
31 feet 2 inches

Wing area
170 square feet

Wing loading
6.1 pounds per square foot

Length
18 feet

Height
8 feet

Kit type
Assembly-type bolt-together)

Build time
50-75 hours

Standard engine
Rotax 582 2-cycle

Power
65 hp at 6,500 rpm

Power loading
15.4 lbs/hp

Cruise speed
(75% power) 64 mph

Never exceed speed
80 mph

Rate of climb at gross
850 feet per minute

Takeoff distance at gross
325 feet

Landing distance at gross
125 feet

Standard Features
Rotax 582 engine, ASI, full dual controls with dual rudder pedals and steerable nosewheel, dual throttles, mechanical brakes, in-flight adjustable trim, 4-point seat belts, double-surface presewn wings, 2-blade wood prop, extensive manuals.

Quicksilver’s Sport II

by 6 Comments

You’ve heard it before: Quicksilver is back! Again and again we’ve heard this, yet it seemed to be an apparition, a mirage in the desert. As soon as you thought the company had put its financial affairs in order, along came another disappointing tale of what was politely called “corporate restructuring.”
In fact, the changes were often more provocative than substantial, but they gave the impression of a company that had lost its way. The worst thing that happened was that customers became unsure if they should send deposit money.
This was not a good place to be in the ultralight industry. Companies work hard to establish good reputations. They know those good vibes can disappear as quickly as a wing nut in tall grass.
The 1999 reincarnation of the company is called Quicksilver Manufacturing. Previously, the company had been called Quicksilver Enterprises and Quicksilver Aircraft (and before that a series of Eipper iterations, named after founder Dick Eipper).

Bingo! It’s Dingo… A Charming, Fun, Affordable Part 103 Ultralight Biplane

by 2 Comments

If you look at Dingo and smile, you may be an ultralighter. Appearance and qualities about Future Vehicles‘ single seat bi-wing flying machine attract certain pilots like bees to a bright flower.
If you must have two seats, large flat screen displays, an autopilot, and luxurious appointments, you probably are not attracted to Dingo. Fine. The good news is that you’ll have plenty of choices among Mosaic LSA.
Those of us still smiling at the nearby images might already be captivated. If you are caught by Dingo’s interesting specs and its affordability, you might want to learn more. So, here’s more…
Dingo Is for Fun
Shown to Americans for the first time at MAX 2024 (Midwest Aviation Expo) by Bluff City Aircraft, Dingo drew steady interest from the fun flying crowd. For a grin-producing flight at the end of your workday, Dingo might be just about perfect.

Forty-Year-Old Ultralight Still Flying At AirVenture

by Leave a Comment

At the 1993 EAA annual convention (long before they called it AirVenture) a young dreamer walked the ultralight grounds with hopes of someday building and flying an ultralight aircraft. On row 1 in front of the Ultralight Barn, Mike Ostrander spotted a well worn Quicksilver MX with a for sale sign. A short negotiation later, Mike, was the proud owner of an ultralight rebuild project. With the help of his father, he disassembled the Quick and brought it home to commence the resurrection. He also built a trailer for the Quick with the intention of avoiding hangar fees.
Mike’s yearlong restoration and construction efforts paid off when he brought his Quicksilver to Oshkosh in 1994. He brought home an honorable mention award in the ultralight category. On top of that, he won the EAA 1997 Reserve Grand Champion and another honorable mention in 2004. On the ultralight flight line at AirVenture this year, the Quicksilver still looks as new as the day he finished its restoration in 1994.

Dragonfly Is Back Home in Florida — Hang Glider Tug … Working Ranch “Tractor”

by 4 Comments

Dragonfly was born in Florida in the early 1990s. Back-of-the-napkin sketches started in the 1980s following the dynamic 1970s when hang gliding swooped into national awareness. What one designer did with Dragonfly would become one of the most celebrated developments in hang gliding.
Throughout the ’70s, hang glider designs accelerated smartly in glide performance and sink rate, stretching from slope-hugging 4:1 triangular-shaped wings to elegantly long and slender “bladewings” that could exceed a 20:1 glide yet remain foot-launchable and still be an aircraft you could carry on your shoulder (when folded down). Passionate enthusiasts thrilled to a 5X performance improvement in a decade or so.
In the beginning, most pilots launched off mountains to get enough height to catch thermals. Yet lots of America doesn’t have mountainous terrain. Florida had plenty of pilots eager to fly hang gliders but to find the best soaring, they had to load up their gliders and drive 10-12 hours to the hills of Tennessee where flight park operators like me catered to them with mountain launch sites.

Aero 1000 Engine

by 3 Comments

Air-Tech, supplier of the Aero 1000 HO 4-stroke ultralight engine, is here at Sun ‘n Fun to remind builders that they have engines ready for immediate delivery. Air-Tech, which is a full-service, authorized dealer for the popular Quicksilver aircraft, introduced this 39-hp electronically fuel injected thumper a few years back. The company was responding to light aircraft pilot requests for four-stroke reliability. “The two-stroke engine will be a thing of the past for aviation sooner or later,” contends Air-Tech production manager Ken Borne. The problem, Borne says, has been the availability of 4-strokes to replace these engines.” But now we have several of these Helvenco Swiss-made engines ready to go at all times,” he said. The engine has been in use for more than a decade in Europe’s highly competitive carting world,” details Borne. “The cart racers run them for 24 hours at up to 15,000 RPM.

Simple, Light, Affordable… Why Recreational Flying Can Soar in 2024

by 22 Comments

Simple, light, and affordable is not a throwaway line. Each word is pivotal.
Like many of you, I have enjoyed the advancing development of the LSA space, leading to Mosaic LSA in about 15 months. Additional operational capabilities plus features like autopilot, synthetic vision, and powerful, compact engines… all these can build a very exciting airplane.
With Mosaic, the list gets even longer: more weight, more seats, more powerful engines, plus retract, adjustable props, even aerial work for entrepreneurs (see full list). Wonderful, I agree. Some pilots have asked for more and industry with FAA have been working to achieve these potentials.
Yet this is a path to ever-more complex (and expensive) aircraft. Have you been waiting for Mosaic LSA? If yes, your wishes may be answered in 15 months. If not, please continue reading.
Simple, Light, Affordable — All three words are key. Much depends on your aviation goals.

Ahead of Its Time, Rainbow’s EMG — Electric Motor Glider — Proved Idea of Electric Part 103

by 8 Comments

Nine years ago, in 2014, electric aircraft were mostly experiments and the beginning was challenging. Several ill-fated projects attempted to electrically power airplanes that were inappropriate for such a powerplant. Batteries of the day had lousy power-to-weight ratios. Enough juice to lift and fly a two seater, much less a four seater, by an electric motor made for very short duration flights, measured in minutes not hours. An electric Cessna 172 project never succeeded; hardly a wonder.
Similar challenges face more than 350 air taxi start-up businesses. Sure, someday you might zip around big cities using UberAir but I think that remains years in the future. Range anxiety felt in electric cars becomes much more intense in an aircraft.
On the other hand, electric Part 103 aircraft enjoy two enormous advantages: (1) they only need to fly 30 minutes to an hour to deliver all the fun their owners have in mind; and (2) since Part 103 aircraft are the lightest in powered aviation, lifting them by electric power and batteries is far more achievable with today’s technology.

Back to Our Top-50 Videos — Aerolite 103 May Be the Top Seller Among True Ultralights

by 6 Comments

Among the couple hundred readers who commented on my recent Mosaic article, several referenced Private Pilots who consider a Sport Pilot to be “unqualified.” I’ve heard that, too. In fact, I’ve heard similar comments my entire long career.
It’s a pecking order thing, I suppose, a natural human response, but I dislike when one aviator puts down another. Is a hang glider pilot somehow less than a power pilot? Is a LSA pilot doing a lesser job flying than a GA pilot? Indeed, is the humble prop pilot somehow less than a jet pilot? Are pilots who like rotary or seaplanes oddballs? I think not but such opinions are too-commonly heard.
Similarly, why are pilots so ill-informed about Part 103? Most pilots have heard of the category yet most of them know next-to nothing about the aircraft type. Contrarily, I can say this: the ones who learn about Aerolite 103 know this is a right-proper light aircraft and they want more… for less.

EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2023 — Set-up Day Tour to Whet Your Aviation Appetite

by 2 Comments

Do you know when you’re an airshow junkie, ‘er… enthusiast? Answer: When you actually enjoy observing the set-up process. I’ve made the following observation many times.
The night before opening, with literally hours before the show starts, the place appears in a state of chaos. Pandemonium reigns. Vehicles, crates, equipment of every kind is seemingly strewn about as if by a storm (which did do some damage on Saturday night, ironically most affecting those who started earlier).
Every show I think, “No way can they get this or that exhibit ready in the 10-15 hours before the main gates open to hundreds of thousands of visitors.”
Yet every show on opening day, I find myself saying, “What?! It’s all done!” Did they work all night? Even if staff was willing to work all night, it seemed unlikely to get the job done mere hours earlier. Maybe it’s magic or Santa’s Elves.

Privacy Policy
Terms of Use