Ultraflight

The Department has also allowed that In all cases the weight penalty incurred through the 1nstalla11on of a ballistic parachute Nery system can be deducted from the empty weight of the aircraft This a sound move towards safety and goes hand In hand with the ANO 95.10 ceiling being increased from 300 ft to 500 ft to help make such hie saving systems more effective.

Ultralight Directory on Finals

Don’t forget that the March issue of Australian Aviation we will be running A special Ultralight Directory. The Directory will list each aircraft type represented in Australia and provide details on where each distributor can be contacted. Certainly 11 you are at all interested In becoming involved with ultralights this Directory will be a must to keep and refer to throughout 1984.

It’s only in our giant 136-page bumper March issue, so order your copy today from your local newsagent, or save money and subscribe directly.

Stingray Looking to New Zealand Ano European Market

The Stingray, one of the prettiest ultralights in existence, Is being eventually targeted at the New Zealand and European markets. The driving force behind the Stingray is Ray Tolhurst who in addition to producing an average of five Stingrays per month from their Camden base also actively developing a number of low-cost aviation offshoots. Ray felt out the US market this year with a visit to Oshkosh. Unfortunately the Stingray had been entered as a foreign ultralight in what turned out to be fairly vague regulations, this then re-classified the weight limits of the class and had the Stingray overweight by nearly eighteen kilograms The fix would have been to replace the types standard 50hpRobin 440 with a smaller single cylinder motor of around half the power. Under the conditions, Ray wisely thought 11best to leave the aircraft as 11was. 111s sold in the US and will be perfectly ‘legal’ under the new US ARV (Aircraft Recreallonal Vehicle) regulations.

The Stingray is selling excellently in Australia and at around $9.000 complete on the trailer, not difficult to see why the basic type boasts a 2.000 ft per minute climb potential. 2-3 gph fuel burn cruises at between 45 and 60 kts and is also available In full canopied and float versions like the Paxford Hawk the tricycle undercarriage of the Stingray allows to operate safely in medium wind states something that the tail draggers have great difficulty with.

Training for Stingray flight for the ab-initio student is undertaken via a cert1f1ed gliding course at any gliding club. Ray explains that the Stingray handles so much like the average glider that the difference is pure that it is significantly smaller and has the added safety of an engine. Ray can be contacted on (046) 66 9742.

An Arresting Idea

Ultralight flying is fun, that’s for sure but under certain circumstances, like all forms of aviation, the fun can rapidly turn to tragedy. Certainly, a primary frame failure aboard your ultralight, loss of control through cable breakage or even engine failure under certain conditions will culminate in disaster. One method of enhancing ultralight flying safety is by fitting a ballistic charge parachute system. Ultralight Flying Machines of P.O. Box 182, North Balwyn, Victoria, are marketing the US-built Ballistic Recovery System which has been certified to operate in under 1.5 seconds. With a chute style matched to your aircraft size, this means that while flying as low as 150 terminal dive can be satisfactorily arrested. How many lives would this have saved to date if fitted as standard, nee compulsory equipment to every ultralight sold? No doubt in some cases, pilot awareness comes into the ultimate survival equation but one could say that even the most unaware pilot Could activate the system in lime from heights above 250 ti. The Weight of the tubular unit plus mounting brace Is a mere 3 kg and while not excessively cheap at around $1100 the unit could well be the smartest investment of a pilot’s life in the long run.

Hornet Destined for European Production

Probably the most revolutionary ultralight in Australia, 11 not the world, is the remarkable Hornet from Adelaide-based Free Flight Aviation. Of good news to all Australians is that the Hornet has been selected by French aircraft component manufacturer, Ameca, for production for the European market The Hornet, which features a wingspan almost three times greater than its length, Is more of a powered glider than a typical ultralight Powered by a single four-cylinder two-stroke radial of 30 hp mounted in a pusher mode ducted propulsor shroud, the Hornet Is capable of cruising at 85 kts and attaining altitudes in excess of 10,000 ti. The glide ratio is a stunning 15:1 and while the local flyaway price tag of around $15,000 is well above the competition 11must be pointed out that the Hornet Is really more of a powered glider than a basic ultralight. Either way, the Hornet again proves that Australians are fully capable of designing some of the best ultralights In existence.

National Geographic Article a Boost for Ultralight Aviation

The prestigious National Geographic magazine ran an interesting supplement on ultralights in their August edition It made good reading and would have certainly provided good PR for the sport Some interesting facts unearthed that manufacturers in the feature USA while where that market their leader, are more Eipper, than with fifty more ultralights than J 7,000 aircraft shipped, holds almost a third of the entire market in North America. In 1982 E1pper, who made the Quicksilver, reported sales of more than S9 m The Quicksilver MX can climb at 800 fpm, takeoff in less than 20 m and has a ceiling of 12,000 ft.

On safety, Eipper President, Lyle Byrum, quotes, “The 7,000 ultralights we have manufactured since 19n have totalled more than one million flying hours. There have been ten fatalities, one for every 100,000 flying hours, half that of general aviation. I will state flatly that the properly maintained and flown ultralight Is rapidly becoming the safest flying machine aloft 1981 there were 48 reported ultralight fatalities from 12,000115,000 machines in operation. In the same year, there were 1,251 fatalities amongst 213,267 US GA privately owned aircraft, a very similar rate overall.

Other interesting points In the article were that a Pterodactyl has claimed an unoff1c1al altitude record of 21.210 ft while transcontinental flights across the US are now becoming commonplace Most ultralight buyers are aged 30/50 and are disgruntled (with the high cost and over-sophistication) private pilots. By comparison, most glider pilots are in their 20s and 30s and steer clear of anything harbouring a propeller.

Alternatives to the Two-Stroke Engine Emerge in the USA.

The traditional ultralight power plant the two-stroke has definite advantages over most current alternative engines. The two stroke is light, simple to build and overhaul and is relatively cheap to buy. Against that, you have a measure of unreliability high relative fuel consumption, and short engine life special fuel requirements and noise. At the recent Sun, ‘n Fun ultralight rally in the US a number of interesting alternatives to two strokes were launched.

The three most interesting comprised two four strokers and a rotary. The most radical was a six-cylinder four-stroke radial mounted. In two rows boasting four valves per cylinder, dual magnetos. tri-carburetion and two plugs per cylinder. Complicated enough to make a Formula One driver grimace yet its makers, First Class Aircraft, claim that their engine, named the Pong Dragon, is far more reliable than any two-stroker as It produces its full 35 hp at a lazy 2,450 rpm. The Pong Dragon weighs in at 52 lbs and has a fuel burn of just over 3 gph.

If the Pong Dragon is complex then the twin-cylinder offering by Global Machine Tools can only be termed simple by comparison. Based on the engine, Global has remodelled the block to form a two-cylinder unit that weighs 74 lbs and produces 28 hp at 3,200 rpm. Global claims the unit will run 1,000 hours with only minor valve timing adjustments and can be uprated in stages to a maximum of 70 hp. Like the Pong Dragon, this engine is at home on mogas or avgas.

The most promising is perhaps a small rotary, just like in the Mazda car, that is being developed by Dawn Star Technologies. It is a single-rotor air-cooled Wankel of die-cast aluminium construction that boasts 38 hp at 5,500 rpm. DST claim a TBO of 1200 hours while the 66 lb unit is so smooth and quiet that it does not even require shock mounts. No doubt these developments will filter Down Under and in time, associated with propellor development, will help reduce the all-important noise footprint of current ultralights.

Award Winning Hawk Impresses

The impressive CGS Hawk has won yet another award, this time the ultralight division of the Oshkosk ARV (Aircraft Recreation Vehicle, basically the US equivalent to our own ANO 95.22 proposal) design contest. The Hawk had also won the Best Design Award at the ’82 Oshkosh and Sun ‘n Fun rally in Florida. Hawk is a single-seat high-wing monoplane powered by a single 35 hp Cuyuna twin-cylinder two-stroke engine. Marketed locally by Paxford Aviation of Bankstown, the Hawk sells in kit form, two-thirds completed for just under $11,000. This is getting into the top end of the ultralight market but Paxford manager Jim Owen justifiably claims that the Hawk is more a small conventional aeroplane rather than just another ultralight. Indeed the aircraft features such niceties as lever-operated flap settings from 10 through 33 degrees, tricycle undercarriage, comprehensive instrumentation and sufficient endurance, at around 50 kts cruise, to make it useful even out to cross country journeys of more than one hundred nautical miles.

Probably more impressive than the Hawk itself is the training school that Paxford is establishing. The school will be run by ex-RAAF Wing Commander Noel Kruse from Paxford’s private field based at the Oaks, near Camden, southwest of Sydney. The basic course will be around $1200 and will comprise between six and ten hours of dual experience in Paxford’s Robin R2160 (for which they are national distributors) or a cross-hired Auster. The ab initio pilot then proceeds on to stage two which comprises around ten hours on the Hawk itself, two of which are in the company of a second Hawk with the instructor guiding the pupil via a specially designed radio system. Following two hours of formation-type flying the pupil then concentrates on circuit work, stalls, landings, etc until after around ten hours on the Hawk he has his ultralight ‘wings’. Jim Owen also points out that the basic ultralight course will also include comprehensive BAK (Basic Air Knowledge) instruction and will take the pupil up to the required DofA Air Legislation Exams capability.

The benefits of this style of in-depth course is that if the pupil then wants to proceed to full standards he has only to have a medical, get a student licence and for around $1500 and about 20 hours dual in the Robin can upgrade to PPL status. Either way, Paxfords are confident the average ab-initio would be able to get a PPL for under $3000. Needless to say Australian Aviation is quite excited by this method of training and we will be completing this course ourselves for reporting in a future edition of the magazine. Paxford’s can be contacted on (02) 70 0319.

North American Ultralight Statistics

Staggering in Enormity

Ultralights are certainly booming in the US. One of the largest firms is Rotec which is currently shipping 50 kits a week and will soon increase this to an unimaginable 300 per month early next year when their new factory commences operation. Rotec commenced production in 1979 and sold 400 kits in that year. Production for 1982 was 2,000 units and the 1983 target was for more than 3,000 units delivered. Three models are in production; the single-seat 48 hp Sport, the single-seat 38 hp Rally 28 and the two-seat 48 hp Rally 3. The US Army is one of the latest customers of Rotec with the recent acquisition of one single-seat Rally Sport and three two-seat Rally 3s for a special field evaluation program at the US Army’s Airborne Board at the JFK Special Warfare Centre at Fort Bragg, North Carolina Rotec and the Army will be evaluating the ultralights largely as trainers though their ability to be employed in the surveillance and laser designator modes will also be explored in detail. Rotec feels that the ultralight could be used effectively in the anti-helicopter role equipped with lightweight air-to-air missiles. The vulnerability of the pilot to ground fire and inability to operate in marginal weather though is considered as the primary obstacles to be overcome if the ultralight is to wear khaki.

Rotec are also developing agricultural kits for their Rally 3. A two-tank 12-gallon or four tank 24-gallon arrangement can be fitted which will provide a spray pattern 45 ft wide capable of covering two and a half acres per minute at 26 kts. The crop spraying attachments could be a viable addition to a farmer who is already using his ultralight for stock control, fence surveillance and communication roles. In Australia, this sector of the market has not even been touched yet.

Australian Ultralight Federation in Full Swing

Thl3 Australian Ultralight Federation is now in full operation with membership forms being available from Federal Secretary, Mike George, 39 Chessell Street, Box Hill North, 3129. The AUF Joining fee Is $15 and the annual subscription is $20. In the USA there are more than 6,000 members of the Ultralight division of AOPA indicating the enormity of the class In North America.

Eipper Teams With Lotus in New Partnership

Eipper, the US-based manufacturer of the highly successful Quicksilver MX ultralights, has teamed up with UK racing and sports car manufacturer Lotus to develop future ultralight airframes and power plants. Lotus are to initially develop two engines. The first engine will be a 30 hp twin-cylinder which will then be developed into a four-cylinder unit of 50 hp. Eipper currently holds a third of the vast US ultralight market which is a considerable achievement considering that there are more than fifty manufacturers in the USA alone.

Vinten Autogyro Impressive in Heavy Weather

Support for Vinten’s claim that, unlike microlight aircraft, the autogyro can operate safely in inclement weather was provided by the company’s test pilot, Richard Pentreath at the 1983 Cranfield (UK) Air Pageant, who took to the air in a wind which put the main marquee, housing 25 exhibitors, out of action and forced the tethering to the ground of many light aircraft on static display. In calmer weather, says Pentreath, the autogyro can be flown by foot rudder alone leaving the hands free to operate photographic or other equipment.

Power is provided by a Weslake W118 at twin engine developing 85 hp (63.4 kW). Maximum level speed is given as 185 km/hand economic cruising speed is 130 km/h. Safe operation is said to be possible from difficult and confined environments – 20 m is required for take-off in a 10 knot (18.4 km/h) wind and only 1 m for landing. The maximum rate of climb is 5.1 miles

Fixed-wing pilots, believes Pentreath, will feel more at home in the autogyro than helicopter pilots. The fuselage length is 3.38 m and the height 2.11 m. The rotor diameter is 6.15 m and the propeller diameter is 1.21 m.

Production is due to commence in 1984, says the company following clearance and registration by the Civil Aviation Authority. Each aircraft will be supplied with a British Certificate of Airworthiness.