If you’re familiar with Avid Flyer or Kitfox aircraft, you know at least something about Just Aircraft’s Highlander. Its pedigree “path” is somewhat meandering but leads to an excellent flying machine born of a rich American airplane design heritage.
Dean Wilson was the originator of this now-proven design shape. The first departure from Wilson’s Avid Aircraft company was Dan Denney, who went on to offer the Kitfox. Denney’s prowess as a marketer brought international fame to the Kitfox and, over the years, the sale of nearly 3,000 aircraft. At one time Denney Aerocraft was among the country’s largest suppliers of kit-built aircraft. What had been an ultralight design evolved into a successful 2-seat homebuilt, but that wasn’t the end of the evolution behind Wilson’s original creation. Denney sold his company to Phil Reid, who renamed the Idaho company SkyStar.
A Well-Evolved History
Another break-off from Avid Aircraft and Denney Aerocraft was Flying K Enterprises, which introduced the single-seat Sky Raider.
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AirBorne’s Edge X Wizard Trike
For years now, the boys from “down under” at AirBorne Australia, led by co-owner Russell Duncan, have been coming to America. The ultralight they have been showing is the deluxe Edge Executive model. It’s a beauty, but the company lacked a simpler, lower-cost model. No more!
In April of last year, Duncan and crew debuted what they call the Edge X Wizard model. The “Edge X” series refers to the new trike carriage, above which you can have the double-surface Edge wing, making the Executive trike, or you can select the new single-surface Wizard wing. It is this new offering that is the focus of this pilot’s report.
Smoothly finished in all-white powder coating, and lacking the nose pod and aft fairing, the new Edge X trike carriage looks light and basic. At only $11,700 fully assembled, it should find a market in the USA, I feel. (The figure is complete in every way except for an import shipping charge, which U.S.
The Lil’ Breezy B-Model
Open-Cockpit 2-seater
ust when you felt as though Light-Sport Aircraft (LSA) was the only segment of aviation getting any press, along comes a flying machine that harks back to the early days of ultralighting but with a distinctive fuselage construction and composite wings.
Just when it seemed like every new LSA had to be enclosed, four-stroke-powered, fast, and have leather seats, along comes a new open-cockpit, mile-a-minute airplane that can easily carry two people on the power of a 50-hp Rotax 503. The leather is on your flight jacket.
The Lil’ Breezy B can weigh 350 pounds empty, fly at 60 mph, and sell for $12,500 (for all parts plus engine/prop but not your assembly labor). In my experience that sounds like an ultralight. Born in the new millennium, the Lil’ Breezy B is a modern ultralight.
Before we go fly, let’s examine the machine and talk to its developer, Jack Harper.
Buckeye Convertible
I never really noticed before just how much the Buckeye Industries powered parachute carriage looked like a trike carriage. Maybe you didn’t either, but in your mind’s eye, remove the prop guard and see if you don’t agree. They aren’t identical, of course, but the visual relationship is uncannily close considering the two aircraft types developed separately.
What a perfect situation. Ralph Howard’s family members and friends have built Buckeye from “nothing” to one of the world’s largest aircraft manufacturers, all in the ’90s and without even using the entire decade! Whatever combination of talent, money, timing and luck was involved in this tale of success, the Howards want to keep it going strong. That won’t be easy, but these Indiana Hoosiers may be up to the task.
Take the momentum of a reported several hundred powered parachute units sold each of the last few years. Revise the hardware slightly to expand into the manufacture of trikes, and you have a potent mixture that could emerge as one of America’s largest trike builders.
Eye On the Sky Watch
There was a time when a company called Beaver RX Enterprises – which produced the Canadian Beaver designs – was among the leading North American ultralight manufacturers.
In particular, the Beaver 550 tandem 2-seater attracted many customers. The company once claimed more than 3,500 ultralights flying. Certainly the model dominated the western Canadian market but also had a presence in the U.S. and other countries.
The old Beaver RX Enterprises company went through a number of leadership changes and, driven by overly-ambitious management goals, finally succumbed.
When I visited the now defunct company, the firm was a publicly-held corporation listed on the Vancouver Stock Exchange. Even the stock exchange has experienced a transformation, so perhaps it isn’t surprising that Beaver RX Enterprises also lost its heading.
As we’ve seen with other good designs, however – such as Quicksilvers, Phantoms or Drifters – the better ultralights can outlast their ownership. The Beaver line is among those survivors.
First-Ever Powered Parachute SLSA Approval!
Summit Powered Parachutes beat a group of companies working toward the first Special Light-Sport Aircraft PPC. The Vernon, British Columbia, Canada-based powered parachute producer won their SLSA Airworthiness Certificate on Thursday, April 27, 2006. I flew and reported on the Summit II in the 11/03 edition of Ultralight Flying! Magazine. I found Summit II to be notably different than most other powered parachutes partly due the sliding rudder pedal-like foot controls used to steer the canopy that exhibited fluid action. Last November Summit won German certification in the only such approval by an American company with which I am familiar. This earlier certification may have helped Summit as they prepared for stating compliance to the quite different ASTM standards. Although the powered parachute standard has been done for many months, those producers have not rallied to the new regulation. All that may change now that Summit is out of the gate with their approval.
FK9 Wins SLSA Certification
FK Lightplanes FK9 Mk IV becomes our 21st SLSA since April 15 (a rate of 3 per month!). A longtime ultralight enthusiast with a list of FAA ratings, importer Tony Anderson has moved fast since securing distribution of Germany’s FK Lightplanes. Since my SPLOG two days ago, Tony was able to confirm by copy of his Airworthiness Certificate the SLSA approval for the FK9 Mk IV on November 17th. Here is a proven microlight design built very lightly (590 pounds empty) using fiberglass over steel construction. Powered by a Rotax 912 or 912S, FK9 cruises at 105 knots and climbs 1,500 fpm at gross (with 100 hp engine at 1,146 pounds gross weight). In service for many years in Germany, FK9 is quite popular with flight schools. It also has the slickest of wing folding mechanisms. A single person can unhook the wing — from the tip — and fold the wing.
Air Creation Buggy/Kiss
For many years, I’ve been critical of trike handling. While I try never to forecast the future, I’ve gone out on a limb and predicted that rigid-wings will eventually become commonplace on trikes (though I don’t also predict delta wings will disappear).
Going Rigid?
Rigid-wings look a lot like modern hang gliders and trike wings in many ways, but they have control surfaces. Because these surfaces are deployed via weight-shift movements they neatly combine the benefits of 3-axis ultralights – lower control forces and good control authority – with the elegant simplicity of weight-shift. Rigid-wings can carry good weight and are somewhat faster than delta wings (called “flex wings” by hang glider pilots), and they also handle more easily. I think this makes them a nearly inevitable development.
While I still believe rigid-wings are coming to trikes, it may take longer than I thought because the trike industry may finally be rising to the challenge.
Hybrid Powered Chute
As focus sharpens on FAA’s proposed Light-Sport Aircraft regulation, the first aircraft segment to complete an ASTM airworthiness consensus standard is powered parachutes. While these aircraft are simpler, which helped speed the process, participating manufacturers got together well and hammered out their certification rules efficiently.
Summit Powered Parachutes of Canada hasn’t yet chosen to enter the Light-Sport Aircraft arena. They aren’t worried, just wary of new regulations. In fact, the company started work under England’s BCAR S regulation. Just recently, Summit was working to qualify for German DHV certification. They see no great challenge passing the proposed U.S. powered parachute standards, as currently defined.
Fortunately, the proposed Light-Sport Aircraft is not the only destination in sport aviation. It may be part of the spectrum of aviation regulations.
We’re seeing more new designs tuned to Part 103. And the Amateur-Built 51% rule will still allow many 2-seat ultralights to be built and flown as they are today.
Star in Your Sky
The expression “seeing stars” is a good thing, if it means flying a delightful aircraft on a lovely day. After sampling the Sportstar in ’02 (see “Sportstar Pilot’s Report”, December ’02 Ultralight Flying!), I looked forward to a flight in its predecessor, the EV-97 Eurostar. You could say I had stars in my eyes. A blue Florida sky was dappled with miniature cumulus clouds, winds were mild, and the fuel tanks were full in a pretty blue-and-white Eurostar. I was ready.
On a beautiful Saturday, April 17, I flew the Evektor Eurostar with Nick Motlagh (pronounced “MOTE log”) – a sharp young aviator about to embark on a career in the air. He has been accepted to compete for fighter jet training in the Air Force after graduating from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida.
Motlagh had flown the Eurostar (N30167) over to South Lakeland Airpark to allow a flight review.
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