Excelling at “Just For Fun”
Going back to our roots and the dandy little ultralights that have given in-flight satisfaction to so many, we’re going to take a look at one of those aircraft, Quicksilver’s MX Sprint.
Some veteran pilots call the MX Sprint “humble,” but it is one of those “original” ultralight aircraft that simply won’t go away, and it shouldn’t. Why? Because the Sprint still offers a joyful flying experience that redefines boring holes in the sky. You pilot a Sprint in relative ease and at remarkable low cost, and once price enters the discussion, many ultralights show their value clearly.
Many in light-sport aviation are realizing that aircraft certified Experimental Light-Sport Aircraft (ELSA) and Special Light-Sport Aircraft (SLSAs), even when approved under a simplified, industry-created, ASTM-guided program, will be rather expensive aircraft. Some sleek fiberglass creations are reaching toward the six-figure mark – an unbelievable development given that ultralights have historically traded in a range of $8,000 to $35,000, the latter being a superbly equipped, Rotax 912-powered machine.
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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.
Quicksilver’s GT500 Qualifier
Quicksilver’s GT 500 is ready for sport pilots
In the automotive world, GT stands for Grand Touring and that may be an appropriate comparison for the GT 500 from Quicksilver Aircraft Manufacturing. With the unlimited view from the front seat of this tandem two-seater, touring in the GT 500 is definitely a treat.
When the sport pilot/light-sport aircraft (SP/LSA) final rule arrives on the aviation scene, this top-of-the-line model from the longtime Southern California ultralight manufacturer may well be one of the first available ready-to-fly light-sport aircraft (LSA). Quicksilver co-owner Carl von Hirsch has indicated the company will build the GT 500 as a ready-to-fly Special LSA. It will also offer the strutbraced MX Sport IIS as a LSA entry.
You might say the GT 500 is preapproved; in 1993 the tandem, two-seat aircraft received both a type and production certificate in the Primary Category (see sidebar). It’s pretty safe to say that the design will quickly pass muster under the FAA-mandated LSA consensus standards under development by ASTM International.
It’s a Winner; CGS Hawk Sport
Given Chuck Slusarczyk’s decades in recreational aviation, I imagine almost everyone in ultralight aviation has heard of the funny, Polish-speaking pioneer with the hard-to-pronounce last name (Slew-Sar-Chick). If Chuck had named his first business Slusarczyk Glider Supplies, pilots would have stumbled and renamed it for him. Knowing his name is a tongue twister, he wisely called it Chuck’s Glider Supplies.
In his early business years, when Chuck was younger and slimmer, he made hang gliders. Lots and lots of hang gliders. I flew one, as did thousands of others. He was one of a handful of east-of-the-Mississippi hang glider manufacturers. Being a long way from the West Coast where hang gliding was centered back in the ’70s, Chuck made the Californians nervous. They couldn’t keep an eye on his developments and he was regarded as unpredictable. Those who knew him thought the word should be innovative.
Then came powered hang gliding, such as it was in those days.
Clipper 912 with iXess Wing and Fun 450
After flying all their models, after visiting with company representatives on several occasions, and after visiting the factory in Aubenau, France, I feel like I know the Air Création people. So I should have known they wouldn’t just make a new wing purely for marketing reasons.
Indeed, when I few the iXess after flying their new Fun 450 wing (also reported in this article), I came away with that same head-shaking-in-wonder feeling that has affected me before. I know a little something about delta wing design, having been around hang gliding since the early 1970s, and trikes since their beginning. That helps me to comprehend how far these wings have progressed and how much harder it is to extract additional gains year after year.
Trike wings (and hang gliders) generally trade more glide or speed performance for handling ease. At least, that was how it used to be. Today, that statement must be modified to reflect the surprising capacity of modern wing designers to find more performance at the same time they refine the handling.
Sabre’s New Wildcat
Smoother and More Refined
Sabre Aircraft’s Wildcat is an evolving story of ultralight aircraft development. It also speaks to the increasing maturity of the light aviation industry.
For years, Sabre Aircraft’s sales of their various trike models may have been the largest of any U.S. manufacturer. As 2003 ended the company was reporting delivery of some 700 ultralights.
The company has long offered a good flying, simple trike with a modest price tag. Proprietor and designer Richard Helm made steady improvements to his Sabre Elite and Sabre 340 designs. But he took no major strides forward.
The vigorous pace of Sabre trike sales and the company’s need to stay on top of manufacturing issues can explain a drawn-out development period. Little time was left over for projects such as getting an entirely new trike ready for market.
That didn’t stop Helm. He kept working on elements of what would eventually become the Wildcat.
Blue Heron Marathon
Built lighter to fly better
It may be hard to believe that a company established in 1995 can be considered an old-timer in an industry, yet that’s precisely the case with Heldeberg Designs LLC and its line of Blue Heron powered parachutes (PPCs).
Nick and Marie Viscio founded Heldeberg Designs a decade ago and believe they are the second oldest, continuously operating powered parachute company in America. Only Six Chuter has a longer history under the same management and ownership.
Nick and Marie run the enterprise with help from son Nicholas D., who has a degree in mechanical and aeronautical engineering, and three part-time employees assisting with fabrication and welding. “Nick is very hands-on in operating the company,” said Mark Bayer, Heldeberg’s New York dealer with whom I flew at Sun’n Fun 2004. He added, “They’re not trying to be the biggest manufacturer, just the best.”
Why did the company choose the Blue Heron name for its machines?
Breese HKS Sidebar
On the Horizon at M-Squared
Paul Mather has another airplane in the works at his Alabama company. Called the AeroTug, it made its first public appearance in the summer of ’03 in Wisconsin.
Once called “Breese AT,” the new entry is built by M-Squared in a deal involving former Second Chantz Aircraft Recovery Systems owner John Dunham. Dunham says he approached Mather and M-Squared. They agreed that Mather will build the customized rig and Dunham will market and distribute it.
Already very familiar with M-Squared airplanes, Dunham leases one he owns to TV production studios as a filming platform. He explains, “I’ve been working with Paul to develop a new tug ultralight to compete with the Dragonfly. We will be doing flight and hang glider tow testing in Alabama, and then I will be flying it around to all the Florida parks to show it off. I’ll be the exclusive marketing agent for this aircraft.”
In explaining his request to Mather’s company, Dunham said that he wanted it to be, “…based on the M-Squared Breese single-seat design with the 2-place, single-surface, slow, strutted wing, plus a Maule-type tow hook release under the rudder, tundra tires, and a specially-built Rotax 670 – almost 100 hp at the same weight as the Rotax 582.”
About this hybrid model Mather says, “She’ll climb all day at 25 mph while towing a hang glider.
Breese With HKS Engine Is A Winner
Twenty-something years of ultralight flying have seen many changes take place in our ultralights. At the beginning of the ultralight industry we had craft such as Eagles, Weedhoppers, and Quicksilvers powered by engines like the 15-hp Yamaha, Mac 101, and Chrysler. Of these, only Quicksilver remains vibrant.
Here in 2004, we have aircraft like the Breese DS with its 60-hp HKS 700E 4-stroke engine. It may look like a Quicksilver but it’s a different flying animal. M-Squared’s Jay Stevens gave me a checkout in the single-seat Breese with its Japanese 4-stroke powerplant and it proved to be a very satisfying experience.
Strong and Powerful
The resemblance to Quicksilver, especially the California company’s strut-braced model, is obvious to most ultralight veterans but Breese manufacturer M-Squared has steadily changed their design. Looks, therefore, can be deceiving.
The use of struts first set apart the designs of Paul Mather, proprietor of M-Squared. A tailplane that uses no cable bracing added to the different appearance.
Seagull Aerosports takes a new angle
Seagull Aerosports takes a new angle on weight-shift construction with a fully enclosed cockpit.
Developer Michael Riggs might prefer I called his Escape Pod something other than Everyman’s Motorglider, but if you have any interest in self-launched soaring flight, Riggs’ invention is one of the most cost-efficient purchases you can make. The Escape Pod costs thousands less than ultralight motorgliders and literally hundreds of thousands less than sailplane motorgliders.
Oh, and one more thing this kind of flying machine is a hoot to fly. That the Escape Pod also transports easily, can be stored in a small space and is attractively shaped are icing on the cake.
Sure, it’s obvious-I like the Escape Pod. But could it be for you, too? Even if this aircraft isn’t your type, you might enjoy reading about how thoughtfully it was designed.
Trike Motorgliders
Before the Sport Pilot/Light-Sport Aircraft (LSA) rule was recently passed, trike enthusiasts had several other ways to fly such aircraft.
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