Experimenter is a magazine created by EAA for people who build airplanes. We will report on amateur-built aircraft as well as ultralights and other light aircraft.
Issue link: http://experimenter.epubxp.com/i/323139
36 Vol.3 No.6 / June 2014 LIGHT PL ANE WORLD tralight can be built with electric or gas power. Cruise speed is 42 mph and stall speed is 22 mph. The SSDR movement in the United Kingdom and Europe is a reaction to the cost and tight regulations on microlights there. Desiring the freedoms we have in FAR 103, Europeans have created new aircraft catego- ries, with empty weights lower than those in the United States. The Zigolo motorglider weighs a mere 220 pounds with a para- chute. Learn more and see videos at Aeromarine-LSA.com . James Wiebe displayed and fl ew a new Belite ultralight with foam wings and a new engine. It may look a little like Be- lite's previous models, but nearly everything on his new Pro- Cub is dif erent. The ProCub wings and most of the tail and aft fuselage are constructed of CNC-router-shaped, extruded polystyrene sheet insulation covered with Dacron, followed by the application of the colored Oracal sheeting. No paint is involved. Foam wings are built by stacking and bonding precut and shaped ribs on aluminum or carbon-fi ber spars—like mak- ing a shish kebab. It's an entirely new way of building a wing. The ProCub is powered by a water-cooled, single-cylinder, 35-hp Polini Thor 250 two-stroke engine with a gear reduction. Most of Belite's customers want the ½-VW direct-drive engine, but the Polini has comparable weight and cost and performs much better on takeof . Check out the amazing new ProCub at www.BeliteAircraft.com . Dennis Carley, the new owner of the Aerolite 103, fl ew a V-twin Briggs four-stroke engine on one of his ultralights at Paradise City. He acquired two of these engines when he bought the company from Terry Raber in 2012. The engines were modifi ed by a German fi rm for use in ultralights. The engine performed quite well on the Aerolite and was smooth and quiet. The Aerolite will soon be available in Europe as the Aerolite 120, so named because of the 1 20-kilogram (264-pound) empty weight limit in Europe's unregulated category. Learn more at www.UFlyIt.com . NE W L IGH T- SP OR T A IRCR A F T Italian manufacturer Tecnam, the world's largest manufacturer of sport class aircraft, revealed its U.S. version of the new low-wing Astore. All other Tecnam models, except for the Sierra, are high-wing airplanes. The Astore uses the same wing as the Sierra but in a more compact and maneuverable airframe. It has the looks and style of luxury. The nose gear casters, and the ground steering is via individual toe brakes. The standard avionics package in- cludes an iPad mini preloaded with a Tecnam Astore owner app with checklists, performance data, and weight and balance calculations. Jim Wiebe pushes the Belite ProCub in after a fl ying session. The view inside of the aft fuselage of Belite's ProCub showing its foam construction. The roomy cockpit of the Bede 17L has plenty of headroom with the canopy closed. Photography by Dan Grunloh E A A E X P _ J u n e 1 4 . i n d d 3 6 EAAEXP_June14.indd 36 6 / 3 / 1 4 8 : 4 1 A M 6/3/14 8:41 AM