Experimenter

FEB 2015

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.

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14 Vol.4 No.2 / Februar y 2015 THE AEROLITE 103 ULTRALIGHT sold the complete package of design rights, drawings, construc- tion jigs, and remaining parts to Dennis Carley. Everything was packed up and moved from Millersburg, Ohio, to DeLand, Florida, where his company provides sales, service, instruction, assembly, and repair of ultralight and light-sport aircraft (LSA). Dennis has built more than 100 ultralights and experimental aircraft in the last 20 years, including many trophy winners. As a Quicksilver and Challenger dealer with a builder-assist program, and a former designated airworthiness representative (DAR), Dennis inspected and certifi cated hundreds of LSA and experi- mental aircraft during the implementation of the LSA rule. Dennis wants to manufacture airplanes, and he has the facility and the staf that can do it. U-Fly-It has a 5,000-square-foot facil- ity at the DeLand Municipal Airport that can build 10 airframes at time. They built 20 Aerolites in 2013 and 40 in 2014, and they expect a maximum output of 50 per year. Perhaps for the fi rst time, the Aerolite 103 will be built using mass-production tech- niques. The Aerolite 103 is available only as a complete, ready-to- fl y ultralight that has been test-fl own or as a complete airframe. There are no kits. Very little has changed on the Aerolite 103 from the version reintroduced by Terry in 2010. It was—and is—a clever design that incorporates components from outside the typical parts stream. The control yoke, familiar to conventional pilots, helps to simplify the control system and allows duplicate push-pull cables to operate the ailerons and elevator, providing a level of redundancy. The yoke, the spun-aluminum fuel tank, and the seat were originally designed for sandrails—a kind of light- weight dune buggy intended for sand dunes. Dennis added a slip indicator and some turnbuckles in the control system. The fi berglass nose cone was originally painted, but the color is now molded into the fi berglass. The Dacron wing and tail coverings seen at AirVenture 2014 and at Sun 'n Fun fi t perfectly, and they match the quality of fi t that Terry produced in his show planes. Dennis intends to continue that tradition with a sailmaker in Tennessee who has the patterns. The plastic-extruded stream- The underwing mount for the Hirth F-33 with a cog belt updrive and electric starter. A portion of the 5,000-square-foot U-Fly-It shop at the DeLand, Florida, airport. Photography by Dan Grunloh and courtesy of U-Fly-It

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