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/378679
EAA Experimenter 23 ver. To date, the eSpyder remains in limbo, and this marks the second time Yuneec has abandoned the electric flight bride at the altar. Back to the future: Chip Erwin agreed to trust his one- and-only electric prototype to my eager mitts. Now, piloting experience is an elusive genie: It can grant fabulous wishes or bedevil you with anxieties over your imagined deficient skill set. But one look at the Zigolo evoked those early ul- tralight flying memories. Watching Chip fly it looked like a piece of cake. What? Me worry? Still, there's always that tension/thrill when you solo a single-seater the first time, especially when there's no two- seat trainer to try out first. You don't know exactly what to expect until the moment you commit to takeoff. And what if I dinged Chip's only flying Zig? Yikes! But this simple three-axis ultralight comes with a solid pedigree. Many Goat gliders are flying worldwide, primar- ily as unpowered hang gliders. Chip offers his gas-powered version with the same 25-pound, 25-hp, single-lung Vittorazi Moster 185 two-stroke engine as Italian company Aviad has for years. MOUN T UP, SOL DIER! On the Zigolo, the pilot's posterior perch is a molded high back seat out in front of the wing/"fuselage"/ landing gear. The well-ventilated taildragger has no windscreen. At a stall-to-VNE speed range of 19 to 50 knots, who needs one? And the catbird seat is comfy. The rudder bars (the produc- tion model has aluminum box pedals now) feel ample, and there's a substantial Cub-like stick to give you something reassuring to hang on to in case all that open space might seem a bit daunting. The motor control sweet spot though is a smallish, left side-mounted "throttle" slider box—about the size and com- plexity of a wall-mounted electric fan switch. But, that little slider speaks volumes about our fl ying futures. Push it for- ward for power and slide it back for no power. There's almost The "throttle" for the electric motor. The very ultralight-looking Zigolo with its pneumatic chute.