S
EARLIER
Diesel for Ultralights
Gerhard
Heinz of Diesel-Air in Dessau means that in a short time diesel
engine will suit for ultralight aircrafts . Diesel Air´s 110
kW (150 HP) D 280 two-cylinder piston engine weighs 78 kg and the
fuel consumption should be less than that of current UL engines.
The engine has carbon-pistons and surprise: is two stroke.
Flight testing in Saphire and Allegro aircraft is planned
to begin in Juni this year. Picture: Allegro 2000 www.fantasyair.com
.
Is 2004 ultralight aircrafts come back
year
Changing winds for ultralight flying Year 2004
has shown some recovery after disastrous 2003 when for example in
Germany sales of new planes had plunged down to 185 from the earlier
350 planes. In Germany the Max Take of Weight was lowered down to
450 kg plus 22.5 kg rescue system that is now mandatory in Germany.
Most manufacturers in Europa had to reduce the work force in 2003
but this year the tide seems to turn. Specially the export to USA
has shown positive development in 2004. The Insuarance
fees of Ultralight aircrafts seems to stay unreasonably high. An
UL B should not be about the same price fork as A-class aircrafts.
One more job for ultralight air crafts
UL airplanes has been already used to tow sailplanes
for years. In Germany Skygraphics has developed a technique to tow advertising banners. UL-B are nowready tested for this job and trikes are on the road. Air
Charter Luftfart will do the schooling of the tow pilots with CT2K as workhorse. In many European countries it
is not allowed to use UL:s for commercial purposes but at least in Germany the lights are green. Is this so because
heavier planes have heavier lobbyists in right places. To use ULs will
spare the environment as well as ULs do the same job for half the price of the traditional planes.
Most people enjoy looking at airplanes flying specially when the noise level is
about zero as with UL planes.
Besides for the towing work ULs are used as a vechile for long
trips. UL spend a third of the fuel compared to average car for the same trip.
The travelling time will be just a fraction as well. If the plane is well checked the risk
of accident on the trip will as well be much lesser than on driving the same distance on motorways.
Besides a top drawer UL cost lot less than a luxury car and an UL plane
keeps its value much better than an average new car.
Recent posts in used aircraft section
Pipistrel Sinus, Revolution Mini 500 helicopter, Tecnam
UL, Goldwing 477 look more at classifieds section.
Air Magdenburg sports aviation exhibition
24-27 June 2004 A new international sports- and business
aviation exhibition. See at www.messe-magdenburg.de
Silence´s new name Silence Twister
The German Silence Twister is one of the Very Advanced
ultralight aircrafts s that excels in details , finisch and in prestige. Here a nice detail of the propeller.
Diamond Aircraft Industries new production center
Diamond Composite Center has started jan 2004 in Austria and
is now the larges plant in Europe.The final assembly of aircafts are made in Ontario, Canada.This
will expand the total capacity of Diamond air to 600 air crafts per year.
National Regulations for ultralight pilots who intend to fly
abroad summer 2004.
Austria: A permit is required. Ultralight pilots must have PPL. Minimum liability insurance is 4 million Euro.
Britain: Microlight pilots must apply permit and guest flight rights for 28 days. Flight plan and customs declaration are required.
Belgium: A 30 days landing permit is available.
Czech Republic. Must at first land on a custom airport. A landingpermit is required. Generally there are no landing charges for ULs.
Denmark: A landing permit, a flight plan and customs declaration is required. 9,2 million Euro liability insuarance is obligatory. Flight altitude 500-3500 feet MSL. Do not fly over densely populated areas.
Germany: Foreign ultralights do not need any special permit as in France. Three million Euro liability insurance is obligatory. Transponder must be on in TMZ´s . Under 5000 feet set the code 0021 and above 5000 feet 0022.
Finland A landing permit is required. Transponder must be switched on in the Helsinki and Vantaa (about 15 km north of Helsinki) CTR sector.
France: no special permits requited of ULs from the Schengen treaty countries. Only a flight plan isrequired. Pilots flying from outside Schengen zone must make custom declarations upon landing andbefore leaving. Info about microlight airstrips are at www.nav2000.com . The ultralights radio frequency123.5.
Italy: obtain landing permissions and submint flight plan. All on board must wear helmet. Don't fly higher than 150 m above the highest obstacle inside three kilometers. More info: www.ulm.it
Netherlands: A charged 28 days guest permit and a flight plan are required. Must have a transponder with A/C mode for altitudes over 1,200 feet.
Norway Permit for foreign ULs is required and valid for three months.
Spain: ULs need a landing permit. Maximum altitude is 300 m above ground. It is prohibited to fly UL in restricted or controlled air space. The microlight radio frequency is same as in France 123,5.
Sweden: A landing permit is required. There are no landing charges for ULs. Radio is obligatory.
The national differences in regulations
seem to last long time since European Aviation Safety Agency
has confirmed that UL aviation shall continue to be controlled by national authorities.But training
for UL pilots is largely uniform in Europe.The minimum training time is 25-30 hours. Differences in medical
requirement are considerable: in France UL pilot don't need a medical, in UK if you are fit to
drive then you can fly anything underMTOW two tons. in Germany UL-pilots need the expensive JAR-FCL
Class 2 medical. To get aoverview , look at the web site of European Microlight Federation
www.emf.aero where national representatives are required to inform about their regulations.
But as they say: knowledge increases the pain.
GPSMAP 296
with Terrain Awareness and Warning System
Garmin’s new
GPSMAP 296 sunlight readable
256-color TFT display and self-contained topographic database, TAWS-like warnings and
alerts, automatic routing. Optional MapSource® CD
downloads let you transfer this portable GPS from
aircraft to auto to boat. Only the coffe automat is missing.
Screen measures 3 4/5" diagonal. Garmin Database Area of Coverage:North, South and
Central America (includes Hawaii), Atlantic International - Europe,
Africa,Pacific International - Eastern Europe, Asia, Middle East and the
South Pacific (includes Hawaii).
The
London Air Show at Earls
Court on 16-18th April 2004
It will be convinient to stop here
if you come from Sun and Fun Fly-in from Florida that is held 13-19
th April. Use our forum to find a place to stay. For further details see londonairshow.co.uk
. Source:royalaeroclub.org/
2004 European Microlight
Championships
31-Jul-2004
- 07-Aug-2004 at Castelo Branco - Portugal. Email:
director@emc2004.net
Expo for Very Light Aircrafts
and ultralight aircrafts in Germany
14-15 August 2004
This
event is due to happen at Mengen airfield in South Germany and
will be combined with Fly In. Visitors can camp near the airfield.
More info at the arrangers page www.flugplatz-mengen-hohentengen.de/
UL and Scandinavian
Adventure Congress 
2004-03-19
Borås.
In a town Borås,
Southern Sweden there will be held Scandinavian Adventure Congress.
This is freely translated from the Swedish world - upplevelse- that
possibly means experienced. Anyway the 23-26 March the congress
is supposed to happen with much exiting to see such as this magnificent
CH 601 amphibi plane with two floats, indeed easy to look at. The
number of stands will be over fifty, arranged by well known Swedish
pilot and adventurer Igor Cronsioe. More info (Swedish) can be found here.
SUN-N-FUN 2004, April 13th - 19th in Paradise
city Florida
Sun and Fun EAA Fly-In The 30th Anniversary of the Spring Celebration
of Flight! Will this be the biggest fly-in ever. Many European ultra
lights
plan to be there. More info at Sun-N-Fun
homepage.
B-612 world record
ratified 
13/01/2004
.
Speed over a straight 15/25 km course : 194.2 km/h
at Bubovice, Czech Republic.More info at FAI.
Storch from land to
sea and vice versa
2004-02-24
Älvsjö.
The ultra light
class expands. There are many amphibian UL planes today but few that
can land both on water and land. The problem is the strict weight
regulation : a sea lander can weight max 325 kg empty with floats
and wheels. The Italian manufacturer Flysynthesis
seems to be the first one to handle this equation of weight
with Storch CL Amfibie with 80 hp Jabiru engine on the nose.
Lightaircrafts.com
changes server and expands
The 5th March 2004 lightaircrafts.com changed server to an
European location at www.34sp.com. Our earlier server by www.doteasy.com
was excellent but we now like to have the facility of php and web
log. This sever change might confuse visitors and we apologise that
the site has been down a couple of day. If you like to get your picture in the gallery then
send it to
.
Suzuki power
for Sky Cruiser UL
2004-02-17 Salo.
FI
Bilsam Aviation converts
Suzuki car engines for Sky Cruiser UL.
The LS 1300 XP generates 120
hp without turbo. The reliability of Japanese engines are well tested
and this will be a though competitor for the big names Rotax and
Jabiru.
The producer claims: 12-15% less fuel
means longer flight time and higher load capacity. The liquid cooled
engines temperature stays constant regardless of height, air temperature
or speed. To heat the cabin is more surely free of carbon dioxide
than the air cooled engines.
Coming events
in UK
BAeA Glider Aerobatic
Competition March 27-28
Dunstable.
Parachute Competition
March 29- Apr 2. and April 24-25 Langar
Spring Microlight Festiva
April 9-19 Northrepps..
Microlight Competition
April 24-25 Shobdon
Hiring
of Microlight Aircraft inUK
Hire
of Type Approved mcirolight aeroplanes is now allowed,but it does
not include any passenger carrying whilst an aircraft is hired.
http://www.bmaa.org/new.htm
EASA issues
first type-certification
The European Aviation
Safety Agency, EASA, has issued its first type-certificate. The
Agency shall help the European Commission to shape new rules for
aviation safety.
More info: www.easa.eu.int/
FSU Saphir in
produktion 
2003-11-24 Zellendorf, Tyskland
The
FSU Saphir is produced by Fläming Air
GmbH
80km south of Berlin. The planes MTOW is 472,5 kg and the x-class 600 kg. The
cruise speed is, and thereby leaving almost every other UL behind 250 km/h with Rotax 912S and VNE 300 km/h
and stall speed 65 km/h - that happens to be the max allowed stall speed for
an UL. There are rumours that this bird will have a two stroked diesel engine
as option and that spells less risk for fire, more reliability,
more flight hours and more economic flying. But will it weight too
much?
Europa XS monowheel motorglider 
2003-12-20 Yorkshire, UK.
Besides the retractable main gear for unprepared fields, XS have a few more aces in sleeve: you
can fit either the regular wings or the new, advanced glider wings to
your Europa in minutes, and start soaring around. When do we get an UL classified
Harrier?
Aircraft 100 years
17 th DEC 2003
This day
hundred years ago did two brothers , who had a small bicycle factory
for living, take off and actually fly 852 feet with an engine powered
aircraft. This did stop the ridicule. The plane would classify to
day as UL-plane. But was the German Gustav Weisskopf up flying
before?
Anyway you can read more in www.wright-brothers.org
Atec Zephyr 200´s
new model
Atec 321 Faeta,
Zephyr 200´s little sister, has got such improvements as carbon
fiber wingEs with quite effective flaps that lowers the
stall speed down to 60 km/h and Vne is up to 275 km/h. The serial production should start
in 2004. More interesting stuff about Zephyr 200 here.
Looking
back 
One
of the most exiting
UL-events in Europa this year was the UL-race from Alps
to Sicily not less than 1171 km.The fastest rig, Pioneer 300 from
Italy, flied this distance
in about 5 hours. More info .Dalle alpi all'etna.
The
International Air-sports Exhibition 2003
Saturday
6th and Sunday 7th of December at Telford, Shropshire, UK - half
an hour ride North West from Birmingham. More info at www.iae.uk.com/
Europa XLkit 
One of the most popular and a joy-to-fly kit-planes
is Europe XL: The builder may choose different types constructions: nose wheel,
"mono wheel that is quite special", standard wings or glider wings, Rotax 912S or 914 turbo.The
total building time is abut 500 h. The kit is made in UK and
there are over 800 kits sold. In UK it is OK to maintain self an experimental
class plane if the building time is over 500h. Europas stall speed is 81 km/h and it cruises
240 km/h. Empty weight is 354 kg and Mtow 623 kg thereby making this out of
reach for the UL-flyers.
UL-aircrafts tow sailplanes
2003-04-03 Örnsköldsvik, Sweden
To use UL-aircraft
as tow plane is the fraction of cost in comparison with traditional tow-planes
and
the noise and pollution will be dramatically reduced. A sailplane club in Southern
Sweden has experimented with the use of an UL-plane to tow
sailplanes up from the grass strip of 800 m (about 900 yards). Ikarus C42 with
100 hp Rotax dragged Bergfalke sailplane with two persons up soaring in about
seven minutes. Arne Sjöblom has made a detailed
report
in Swedish. To see it in English you can use f.ex. www.freetranslation.com
European biggest trade fair for
general aviation
is held
the 24-27 April in Friedrikshafen in South Germany. Here you will
find the newest of planes; sailplanes,props, jets, micro lights,
business air crafts-you name it. If you plan to fly there with your
micro light you need to apply permission from Luftfahrt-Bundesamt (LBA).
http://www.lba.de/
Link
to the fair: http://www.messe-fn.de/fairs/aero/index.php3
9th World Micro
light
Championship 2003
Will
be held at Long Marston (UK) 23/08/2003 - 31/08/2003. More info:
www.wmc2003.org/
The first
solo flight world around with
UL?
Matevz
Lenarcic, adventurer and flight photographer is preparing a new attempt to fly
around the world with UL. Last summer he had to abort his attempt
before crossing from Canada to Greenland. This year there will be
different plane: motor
glider Pipistrel Sinus 912 from Slovenia. So far
no one has rounded the globe in an UL aircraft without a co-pilot
and without airborne support.
More info:http://www.wingsforever.com/ang/index.htm
and about the plane http://www.pipistrel.si/.
Constant speed" from
Warp Drive
2003-01-17 Fort Walton Beach, USA
Warp drive "T" with constant speed blades
promises better speed and fuel economy. This blade is thinning towards
the
edges like a wing of a sailplane. It accepts steeper attack angle
. This is good news for the new generation fast UL-planes that would
else need an adjustable propeller. There has been reports over 20%
increase in cruise speed. www.warpdriveprops.com.
Silent
Racer 12 world record ratified
Geschendorf (Germany)
The looks can deceive. This plane has broken the record
of Weight-shift controlled to seat landplanes:Speed
over a closed circuit of 50 km without landing : 132.9 km/h . There are quite a few details that make Silent Racer
- the quietest UL -the winner: optimized
aerodynamics, the three wheels of the train are retráctiles...The
four-blade propeller is folding to diminish the resistance. Pilot:
Helmut GROßKLAUS (Germany),Crew: Dalia ALEWI.
More info:www.silentfamily.com/
Rotax
912S vibration
2003-04-01 Austria
There has
been reports about un normal strong vibrations with Rotax 912S engine. Rotax-Bombardier comes
with a service bulletin where is an analysis about this and
how to improve this irritating condition. Specially when the engine
runs 3600-4800 v/min when this 100 hp engine vibrates more than
its 80 hp sister. Rotax comes with a series of possibilities as
fault in engine installation, unbalanced propeller or incorrect carburetor
adjustment. But what about the S-engines high compression, and timing? More
info d01835.pdf.
Honda power
The Japanese Honda and Teledyne Continental have worked together with
a new engine for civil air crafts. There has been tests
with this engine a couple of years in Alabama, USA; Honda promises better fuel economy,
lead free gas, less weight and more power. Almost too good to be true. Hopefully
we will see this miracle in real life working on the nose of an UL or sport plane.
New UL
class in Europe?
2003-03-06 Germany
In Germany
ELSAMA (European Light Sport Aircraft Manufacturer Association) and the
German AOPA are working for a new light aircraft class. This out springs from the
problem that it has been quite difficult to stay under 450 kg max start weight
and have two persons on board plus the necessary fuel and equipment for safe
flying.
ELSAMA tries to get somewhere close to the Swiss Econolight-class
and the new US "Sport plane" class. Both these has 560 kg as
max start weight. This weight limit allows the manufacturers to make stronger and safer
planes. The proposal for the new rules should be done autumn 2003. Good news
for the enthusiasts.
Qualt 200 from Czech republic 
2003-02-20 Prag,Czech
The newest hot planes from Czech republic
are Qualt 200 made by Aerosport and the well known Sting-2000 from TL-ultra
light.
Aerosport did start production in 2002 and besides Qualt the company produces motor sail plane CGM-13.
The wings of Qualt are made of wood and plywood the body fiberglass. Slightly
unusual construction but looks good. The engine may be somewhere 60-120 hp.
Minus flaps and max speed will be 230 km/, VNE 252 km/h and stall speed 65 km/h.
Sparrow
Hawk's success
The
Sparrow Hawk ultra light , maximum take off weight - 1200lbs, goes
on collecting records. The FAI has ratified the distance
over a triangle record and speed over a 500km triangle (a new record)
for a flight from Big Spring, Texas, USA: 501.69km at 79.74km/h.
It seems that some of the made
in garage planes can beat their factory made sisters.
UL-bestsellers in Germany
2003-02-18 Windeck, Ger many
The WW of the ultra lights, Ikarus C42 is the unchallenged
winner UL in Germany with 64 sold planes in 2002. And his brother
Ikarus C22 shares the second place with the Italian Tecnam
P92 both 21 rigs sold in 2002. Then comes CT2K, Remos G3Mirage,
both 16 sold. There were totally 324 sold UL-planes in Germany
in 2002. daec.org/daec/musterzulassung.
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Editor: Seppo Simula.