Airtest – Aero Designs Pulsar

The Aero Designs Pulsar

It is many years since Sir Frederick Handley-Page boomed “Add lightness and simplicate!” at a young employee, but today his advice remains as valid as ever for all aircraft makers. Aero Designs has heeded it better than most. Costing little more than a second hand production two seater, his extra light Pulsar flies two people in more comfort, faster and further on hardly more than half the fuel. With marvellous visibility and nicer handling, it even has quickly removable wings to save its owner from exorbitant hangarage costs. But if you want a new one you will have to build it yourself – although, because of its simplified construction, this is no longer so difficult.

How do they achieve such efficiency and so wide a range of good qualities? Through incredibly light construction and clean aerodynamics. The designer, an aerospace engineer, first flew his diminutive single seat Star Lite back in 1983, winning with it at Oshkosh the EAA’s Outstanding New Design Award. Its Pulsar derivative uses the same basic formula of epoxy sandwich fuselage, ply skinned wing and Rotax power. Early examples had a wood main spar and single ignition Rotax 532 engine but now a composite spar and dual ignition, water cooled 66 horse Rotax 582 are standard. Either tailwheel or tricycle undercarriages are options and, for an additional $6000, 80hp four stroke Rotax 912 powers the Pulsar XP.

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