We Be James & Belite Aircraft: Ultralight Aircraft & Avionics; FAR Part 103

How to laminate carbon fiber to plywood

2012-01-24T20:31:00.001-06:00

In our Belite ultralight aircraft, we occasionally make and use a carbon fiber / plywood laminate. This makes a very nice looking and strong panel, yet is very thin. It is capable of holding a lot of load when suspended across a frame, for instance, a seat bottom. (Double sided applications would probably be used with other cores than thin plywood.)

I recently made some of this magic thin carbon fiber / plywood. I documented the production steps so you can see how we do it.

In order to do this, we'll use some thick beveled glass, tacky tape, a vacuum pump and some vacuum tubing, bagging film, peel & ply film, fluffy cloth padding, epoxy, and of course, -- carbon fiber and plywood.

Let's start with a nice sheet of beveled plate glass. We've cleaned it thoroughly (I mean it, thoroughly!!!) and have lined the edges with tacky tape. It has been waxed, then the glass has been sprayed with film release, and I've run some plastic vacuum tubing along one edge, secured with tacky tape as well.

Warning: carbon fiber and epoxy and glass can be nasty stuff -- always use breathing protection, along with protective gloves. Use these instructions, as always, at your own risk.

Let's get going...


Plate glass, cleaned and prepared for use.

Mold release, special wax, and tacky tape


Vacuum tubing, with notches cut into it every few inches


Generic vacuum pump, attached to tubing.


Closeup of tacky tape in corner, holding vacuum tube down

I connected the bagging film to the tacky tape on one side, then flipped it back over the edge of the table:

Bag Film attached to tacky tape on one side, then flopped over side of table.


Second strip of tacky tape, along with peel ply film placed to tape

We don't use fancy carbon fiber, just inexpensive industrial 3K weight and plain weave. The number of layers is dependent on the application. For seat bottoms, 2 layers work well.

Carbon Fiber cloth (3K, plain weave) doubled over to correct size

The plywood used is birch, 1/8". The size I am making here is 2' x 4'. The glass must be completely clean, completely dry.

Plywood, 1/8", 2' x 4' size


Carbon Fiber (doubled) placed over dry plywood.

Now I mix up some epoxy. We use West Systems, with 'slow' or 'fast' depending on the temperature of ths shop, along with my patience. How much epoxy? Enough to thoroughly wet the carbon fiber cloth and leave puddles of epoxy; you'll have to figure it out as you try this process. I pour it on the cloth and move it around, gently, with a small paint brush. I am careful not to disturb the orientation of the carbon fiber as I brush in the epoxy. It will drag with the brush very easily, and is a pain to move back to a square orientation.

A bunch of wet epoxy on the carbon fiber / plywood sandwich

After doing that, I flip the peel ply over the wet carbon fiber and careful work out any problems with the film.


Peel ply flipped onto wet epoxy.

Now I take some puffy cloth and put two layers on top of the peel film. It's purpose is to allow epoxy to squeeze up through the peel ply and into the puffy cloth. (Puffy cloth == high fill, non woven polyester)

Two layers of puffy cloth over the peel film

Note that I I doubled it up even more at the edge near the vacuum tube. This helps ensure that epoxy will not wick into the vacuum tube, but will fill into the cloth first.


More Puffy Cloth near vacuum tubing

Removing the covering from the tacky tape all around, I then pull the bagging film over everything. This is hard to do, because the film tends to stick with creases, which makes it hard to get a good vacuum seal. It's easier to do if someone helps you pull the film tight.

Bagging film pulled over the entire assembly.


The vacuum pump is then turned on. You can see it suck the bagging film down almost immediately.

This is how it looks after a few minutes. The epoxy is being sucked through the peel ply, into the puffy cloth.

The film had a couple of leaks. I fixed them with blobs of tacky tape.

At this point, I left the vacuum pump on and left the whole thing setting and curing. When I came in the next morning, I removed the green bagging film. It was easy to do; it didn't stick to anything. All of the epoxy below is fully cured:


Bagging film removed, revealing cured epoxy throughout puffy cloth

The peel and ply will pull right off the carbon fiber assembly. Here's how it looks, as it is peeled off. This is where things get really cool:


Removing the peel ply and excess cured epoxy


Closeup of carbon fiber, note white dots (from peel & ply holes)

The assembly easily lifted off the glass. If it's difficult, a shot of compressed air under one corner can make it easy as well.

The carbon fiber / plywood is nearly ready to use

And then all I have to do is trim off the edges using a band saw. Here's the finished panel, ready to use:

Carbon Fiber bonded to plywood

I hope you found this helpful!

-- James Wiebe, 2011 EAA August Raspet recipient

Mile High

2012-01-16T19:12:00.000-06:00

This morning, I'd had no hope for flying today. I called the airport weather line, and it reported that the wind was gusting to 26mph. In a crosswind, making takeoffs and landings insanely impossible.

Come along with me, I have a story to tell.

I had wanted to fly this plane today:

Yellow Ultralight Aircraft from Belite

So, I went about my work in the shop, and felt badly that I couldn't fly due to the crosswinds.

Afternoon crept around, and another phone call to Jabara weather showed a much more favorable wind: crosswinds had reduced to 15mph. Improvement, for sure, but still well above my limit of 7mph crosswind.

Another hour later, and the winds were down to to 8mph. With the ability of our huge grass runway to angle into the wind, either on takeoff or landing, I was now safe to fly.

====

The gas tank was not full, but I didn't care. I wasn't planning to fly for more than a few minutes. I wanted to check out some engine mounts that I'd been experimenting with -- which type would produce the smoothest engine, in conjunction with the new, amazing propeller we'd been trying out?

Last week, I'd tried the new propeller/engine combination for the first time. On another aircraft, it had produced some fairly eye opening takeoff and climb performance, as documented in this video: (Click on the picture, and go for a ride!)

Belite Ultralight Aircraft takeoff video

(Click on the CAPTION, and the video will load and play....)

Today, I was trying the same propeller/engine combination on the yellow aircraft, along with some slightly different engine mounts.

====

I'm off the ground easily and quickly, and the altimeter has passed 3000 feet in the climb. (Ground level is 1400, so I'm plus +1600 over the ground...) I'm kind of amazed that I'm not cold. I have just my winter leather coat on, a hat, and some good gloves. Normally, for winter flying, I wear coveralls. But not today.

====

And now the altimeter has reached 4000 feet above sea level. The views are beginning to be a bit surreal: Jabara airport is now a long ways below me to the west; I can see Hawker Beech field to the south, and Benton (Stearman Airport) is just 4 miles to the west.

====

Still climbing; the altimeter passes through 5000 feet. I no longer am doing anything other than having a good time. For some reason, the idea of climbing is just a lot of fun.

====

The views are very, very good. I am able to take off my gloves, and retrieve my phone from my pocket, and take some pictures:

Hawker Beech field to the south (left of center in this photo)

Jabara airport to my right

Looking towards the southeast

I keep considering the feel of the engine. It sounds strong. I make a note of the squawks to be corrected before customer delivery of the airplane, later this week:

a) the control stick is a little right of center in straight flight -- adjust rod end bearing setting to fix
b) (maddening) the EGT/CHT is inop -- must fix!!!
c) midrange roughness in engine -- adjust belt tension to ensure no slippage and adjust carburetor mixture
d) the floorboard is made from beautiful stained wood (hey, we've always done it that way) but I've decided to change this airplane (and all future airplanes) to aluminum, for safety sake. The muffler is below the engine and ahead of the floorboard, so putting in a floorboard firewall seems like a good safety idea. We have some 2024 clad aluminum for this application.
e) the brake cable on the left side is skewed. It needs fixing.
f) the radio still does not have the antenna installed, and needs to be tested thereafter.

I think I'm forgetting one squawk, but I wrote them all down and gave them to Gene after the flight.

====

While the ground winds were 6 knots when I took off, I can tell that the winds aloft at my altitude are very fierce, yet very smooth. I am pointed into the wind, yet I am hovering in place over my home field. My ground speed slows to literally 10 knots. (With a slight bit of work, I could have moved backwards.) (And this is really no big deal. I've done this kind of thing before in other aircraft. I remember hovering over a wheat field many years ago, in a Cessna Cardinal.)

====

The altimeter has reached 5,200 feet ASL. Just about one mile above sea level. While I'm nowhere near the maximum ceiling of the aircraft, I'm running out of time, gasoline, and warmth.

I've been higher in a Belite before, but this flight was a little better documented.

Do you remember my old blog post, What Altitude Did James Reach...? I certainly flew higher that day.


Panel of Belite Ultralight Airplane at 5200 ASL!

Time to go down.

One more picture of me ---

James in Belite Ultralight Aircraft, really really high off the ground...

Really time to go down.

I push the nose over, and the airspeed indicator shows 70 mph. (Redline is 80mph.) I put in a couple of notches of flaps, and it helps reduce the fairly significant elevator forces, as the plane does not want to go down. Of course, I work in some power reductions.

====

And I land. Back on the ground. Gene comments on how I'd been a hovering spec in the sky.

====

I've been recording the flight on GPS Essentials, on my DroidX phone:

The proof is in the flight profile. Climb to 5200 feet; ground speeds below 10mph (and nearly 100mph); turning into the wind and with the wind. Climbing at a steady rate of about 180fpm.

(looks like someone made a move in Words with Friends)

====

Thanks for sharing this flight with me.

James Wiebe, @jamespwiebe on twitter, please follow me
James is the EAA 2011 August Raspet recipient

World Class Takeoff and Climb

2012-01-14T17:30:00.000-06:00

Our Belite ultralight aircraft is now demonstrating world class takeoff and climb performance.

This is our new aluminum airplane design. The propeller / engine combination has been tweaked for optimum performance and smoothness.

We've got some great new video which proves it ---

You can see the video here.

(Thanks to friend Jim Loewen for providing the video.)

Make sure you are following James on twitter: @jamespwiebe

-- James Wiebe, EAA 2011 August Raspet recipient

Gorgeous Skies; First Flight; Video

2012-01-09T20:26:00.001-06:00

Hey Everyone,

Please remember to follow me on Twitter. @jamespwiebe I'll be twittering from Sun N Fun and Oshkosh later this year.

-----

It was a gorgeous afternoon in Wichita, KS -- temperatures in the low 50's, calm winds, blue skies.

I was scheduled for a first flight in a new airplane. I've done this a fair number of times, and it is always a process which is cautiously approached and ultimately thrilling.

This particular plane is equipped with a 45HP MZ-201 engine. I ended up flying it with a couple different propellers (none of which was quite right) and I look forward to flying the plane the correct prop later this week.

But this flight was still pretty cool. I attached a high definition portable camera to the wing, and took video of the flights. You can see one of the videos here on Belite's YouTube channel.

Gene captured some great pics of the maiden flights -- and a couple of them are just spectacular.

The new owner is in California. We look forward to shipping this plane in a few days.

You might enjoy reading the following details:

1) The windshield still has the plastic film in place. We pulled it away only on the left side of windshield, and held it in place with tape. I couldn't see out the entire windshield.

2) The fuselage frame is a welded version of our new aluminum framework. The entire frame is constructed from aluminum. The wings utilize carbon fiber spars (which you can't see in the picture.)

3) The paint is just UV resistant primer from Stewart Systems. We expect the customer to finish covering and painting the airplane, but it's up to him.

4) The engine is a 45HP MZ-201 from Compact Radial Engines.

5) First flight was just smooth and easy.

6) You can see the camera (from GoPro) mounted under one of the wings.

7) This aircraft has the big 5x5 tires. Note the white tire labels are still on.

Ultralight Aircraft from Belite, aluminum frame

Ultralight Airplane from Belite, aluminum frame

Ultralight Aircraft touching down

Ultralight Airplane from Belite pulls in

-- James Wiebe, EAA 2011 August Raspet recipient

Top 12 Things you can see in test flight video of ultralight aircraft

2011-12-29T21:39:00.000-06:00

Here is what you'll see, in this YouTube video of Belite's ultralight airplane:

10. I turn to the camera and smile a lot.

9. I do mild wingovers.

8. I do steep turns around a point.

7. I enjoy the beautiful weather on December 29, 2011.

6. I get to prove that flying is more fun than working.

5. I make the owner of this airplane wonder why I haven't delivered it already.

4. I do a really sweet full stall 3 point landing. If you look very, very carefully, you can see the steel landing gear springs barely compress, but just for a moment.

3. You can see what a poor video editor I am. Actually, I didn't do any editing ... just loaded the video to YouTube.

2. At the end, you can see Mike, Gene, and my nephew, Matt.

1. You can see the plane climb from ground level to 800' AGL in a little over two miles of ground distance.

0. You can see me dive the plane to over 80 mph (IAS)

-1. You can see why I enjoy doing this.

Streamlined Struts produce zippy performance!

2011-12-25T20:16:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas!!

One quick post on one of our development items, along with a new Belite video on YouTube --

I'll skip the analysis and just talk about the results --

After installing streamlined lift strut fairings on an airplane, I believe that we reduced drag at cruise speed by about 18 pounds. This increases cruising speed, with our smallest engine, by about 5 mph. That is very significant when we are talking about cruising speeds in the 50's with just a 28HP engine.

I borrowed Eric's plane for the installation and test of the new lift struts. The proof is in pictures and video. It's just a couple of minutes long, please watch this video!

Remember, I weighed 210+ pounds and the performance was just awesome. The plane was also configured with our new improved flaperons.

We've also upgraded to a new HD camera for our inflight videos. Just got it a couple of weks ago. I learned a lot about how to mount cameras on aircraft when I was working at Mythbusters on the Duct Tape Plane myth., and you'll see much more airborne ultralight HD video in 2012.

James Wiebe, EAA 2011 August Raspet award winner

More on "Hoerner Wingtips" in ultralight aircraft

2011-12-21T21:02:00.002-06:00

My previous post cited the work of Dr. Hoerner in the development of wingtips which produce smaller vortices, which consequently produces less drag, which consequently allows more speed (for a given thrust), and consequently a better rate of climb....

Clearly the Hoerner wingtips are a desirable thing. While there are other ways to produce effective vortice reduction (for instance, vertical winglets or even flat plates), the Hoerner wingtip is more easily fabricated, and frankly, in my opinion, just looks darn sexy.

Soooo, it's worthwhile to spend a couple of minutes reviewing Dr. Hoerner's research, so we can guess what positive results these wingtips will give us.

Below is a basic illustration of a wingtip vortice, which I have copied from Dr. Hoerner's most excellent book, "Fluid Dynamic Drag".

Vortice at wingtip, from Fluid Dynamic Drag, by Hoerner

This illustration shows how high pressure air is spilling from the underside of the wing out of the wingtip, causing the vortice. (The villain isn't the vortice, it is the fact that a vortice is created by the loss of high energy air from the bottom of the wing. The evidence and creation of a vortice only proves the problem.)

Dr. Hoerner reviewed several different kinds of wingtip configurations, including square wings with sharp edges (which is exactly what our Belite ultralight airplane has), along with round rectangular edges, sharp rounded wings, sharp full wings, and more. He also reviewed vortices and drag reduction around wingtip fuel tanks (which are not in our current Belite innovation plans.)   With each kind of wingtip shape, he calculated and presented the effective span of the wing -- in other words, a longer wing is a better thing -- and if you get that length 'for free' (by using better wingtips), that is a really good thing.

The very worst wingtip is a rounded wingtip, with a round cross section. The very best wingtips are ones which have a sharp cross section.

And interestingly, the square wingtip with a square edge is nearly as good as the very best wingtip, but not quite. It is worthwhile to quote Dr. Hoerner on this topic:

"Theory predicts minimum induced drag for elliptical lift distribution across the span....   however, directly in one case... that a rectangular wing (with sharp lateral edges) does not have a higher drag due to lift than the elliptical wing."

Wow. Score one for Belite, and the game of innovative improvement hasn't even started!

Back to Dr. Hoerner's writing:

"It is seen that the most effective plan forms are the rectangular, the moderately tapered ones and those which have a long trailing edge....   In other words, to make the span of the rolled-up vortex system, or the effective span of a wing of given basic shape, as wide as possible, it is favorable to keep the tip vortices apart from each other as far downstream as possible."

Now if I look back at his charts, I do see that sharp wingtips have an advantage over the square wingtip with square edges, and all of those have huge advantages over rounded wingtips.

So the Hoerner wingtip is taking it to the next level.

Let's find some more interesting remarks from my new best friend, Dr. Hoerner. He makes some comments about the most ideal wingtip shape, which I (and others) now call "Hoerner wingtips":

"In case of [Hoerner wingtips], which is the most favorable one concerning small drag due to lift as well as to minimum sectional drag, it appears that one additional effect is the bent-up shape. Experimental data.... on a small-aspect-ratio wing, confirm that this feature is important. Combination of [Hoerner wingtips] with a moderately tapered plan form is believed to be the most effective..."

So things get a bit 'guess-work-eee' from here. But we think that we know the following:

* sharp wingtips reduce the size of the vortice -- which is what the Hoerner wingtip is all about
* the addition of the Hoerner wingtip spreads the trailing edge, adding span, and further separating the vortice
* sharp wingtips have less drag at higher angles of attack, which is where ultralights spend more time at than higher speed airplanes

Hey, wait a minute. I better provide some documentation for a couple of those points. Here's another illustration from the book which helps:

Improvement shown with Hoerner wingtips -- with square wingtips not far behind!

The illustration shows, on the top right hand side of the curve, the slightly higher coefficient of lift achieved with the Hoerner wingtips. Square (Belite) wings are close behind, with round wings falling off considerably.

Here's a final helpful illustration, showing the cross section of vortices with sharp vs round wingtips:


Decreased vortice size with Hoerner wingtips (a) vs round (b) or wingtip tanks (c)

Finally, some conclusions...

Q. So what is all of this worth to a Belite ultralight aircraft?

A. We believe the aerodynamic effective span will increase by a little over 2 feet. However, we are cheating a bit, because the Hoerner wingtips will add about 20 inches of real span all by themselves. The increase in effective wing area is 7+ square feet! (with an original wing area of about 108 square feet).

Q. What performance increases will result?

A. Hopefully I'll see an improvement in climb rate, a reduction in stall speed, a reduction in takeoff roll, a reduction in landing roll (I'd like to beat my personal measured 100.5' landing record -- which I know I'll be able to do [because I've already done it in another Belite, before I even started talking about Hoerner wingtips :-) ]) and more...

Q. What weight penalty do the wingtips entail?

A. Substantially less than a 8 ounces per wing, vs. our existing square design. Really!

Q. What if they don't work quite that well?

A. Then I'll get to figure out why, and I'll have the coolest looking ultralight airplane on the planet.

My thanks to Dr. Hoerner, and his wonderful book. I believe my quotes and illustrations taken from his book fall under fair use doctrine.

I am also indebted to Mike, who is building this wonderful test airplane with Hoerner wingtips for me.

If you want an overview of what else I'm working on (and willing to talk about) you can read it here:

Upcoming 2012 Product Innovations at Belite Aircraft

-- James Wiebe, 2011 EAA August Raspet award recipient

Upcoming 2012 Product Innovations at Belite

2011-12-19T21:25:00.001-06:00

"Upcoming 2012 Product Innovations at Belite"

an overview of what's coming...
this post focuses on "Hoerner Wingtips"

One of the absolute joys of my pseudo-job is that I get to investigate, implement and test aerodynamic improvements to my Belite ultalight airplanes. As a result, I have come up with a goal of decreasing drag on our aircraft so that our very smallest engine option will allow cruising flight at 62mph. (And the larger engines will require throttle limitations in order to stay within Part 103 -- or registration as experimental aircraft.)

When all is implemented, this will provide important improvements to takeoff and landing performance, along with substantial improvements to climb rate, reduced stall speeds.

Because our aircraft is so similar to a conventional high wing aircraft, I have identified several opportunities for drag reduction which are already available on many 'commercial' certified aircraft. These opportunities include:

a) lift strut drag reduction via fairings -- all airplanes should have this
b) wingtip drag reduction via reduction of wingtip vortices
c) increased Lift / Drag in wing airfoil via subtle improvements
d) reduced drag due to improved cowling design
e) And maybe there will be more.

(none of these future options have been made available, or even priced yet)

I've already implemented and test flown a Belite with lift strut fairings, and I will provide a full report soon. Hint at the outcome: It was awesome.

I'm also working on a changed cowling design -- it will take a few more months and I'll have that one ready for report.

I've been reading through a variety of aerospace engineering reports on wing airfoils. I find that my engineering and math background are an excellent helper for me as I've learned more and more about airfoils.

As for wingtip vortices, lots of people already know that Dr. Hoerner tested many different types of wingtips, in order to select and document those which increased effective span and reduced drag by reducing or eliminating those nasty wingtip vortices. I happen to have gotten my hands on a copy of a couple of his books (they were loaned to me by a friend at my Church) and they have been delicious reading for my ultralight aircraft aerodynamic engineering education.

So, here's some photos of a set of wings in construction progress, showing Hoerner wingtips being fabricated. These will end up on a plane which is being built to exhibit at Sun N Fun in 2012. No opportunity for improvement is being overlooked in this airplane. The wings in question are carbon fiber spars, with aluminum ribs, and the Hoerner wingtips. You may also notice that they are also being prepared for VFR night flight via the addition of wingtip lights. (The airplane is being built with a heavy 4 stroke engine, and will be registered experimental, thus allowing night flight. It will be also be flyable as a legal FAR Part 103 airplane, albeit with a different engine.). (This particular set of wings is being built by builder Mike. Mike is awesome.)

So here are the pictures:

Belite Ultralight Aircraft wing, under construction with Hoerner wingtip


Detail of Hoerner wingtip, showing nav light fairing


Front view of Hoerner wingtip, with much smooth work still to do


Quartering view of Hoerner wingtip


View of Hoerner wingtip, prior to adding foam to front cell


Trailing edge quartering view of Hoerner wingtip

View of Hoerner wingtip from outside rear

Belite's Turn Coordinator: "More sensitive and more stable..."

2011-12-09T11:13:00.001-06:00

From one of our customers, we received this unsolicited testimonial concerning our Turn Coordinator and VSI:

Kathy,

Attached are two snapshots of my instrument panel "upgrade". The close-up shows the turn coordinator and the VSI (with an aux power port for my AdventurePilot 700/Skyradar kneeboard.)

I'm most impressed with the turn coordinator. It's both more sensitive and more stable than the analog instruments.

I've also tried using just the turn coordinator, VSI and the existing airspeed indicator as a "needle-ball-air speed" substitute, and it works very well.

I've also used the combination to fly the traditional two minute turn and I'm quite impressed.

Regards,

Ted Jula, KTAN

N701TJ (Zenair CH-701, Rotax 912ULS)

Here's the photos he included of his installation:

Belite's Turn Coordinator and VSI used in experimental aircraft

Thanks, Ted, for your positive comments! The Turn Coordinator is our best selling instrument, and you've helped explain why.

Our Turn Coordinator is priced at $200 SRP. Compare our product's performance and price to any old fashioned electric unit!

You can buy it from our webstore, or from Aircraft Spruce, or from Wicks.

-- James

Risk, Cannonballs and Mythbusters

2011-12-07T20:17:00.001-06:00

...

Risk, Cannonballs and Mythbusters

Last week, I deliverered an airplane to a new owner. The airplane had been specially modified to meet the requirements of a handicapped pilot. We'd modified the control stick and reduced the door entry height. We'd also installed doors, simply to provide a little comfort on chilly fall and winter flying days.

James Wiebe flies a very special ultralight airplane from Belite; modified for a handicapped pilot

The aircraft had a number of features to increase safety: aluminum fuel tank, extra wing spar, spring landing gear. Even the cloth fairings on the landing gear arms cut dag, resulting in increased cruise and climb peformance.

Risk can be measured in many ways. Flying our aircraft entails risk: they are not certified; we sell them under the FAR Part 103 exemption which allows all kinds of privileges, in return for risk: no medical, no pilot license, no aircraft registration.

Earlier today, I flew another ultralight aircraft:

Test Flight of a Belite Ultralight Aircraft (on the ground, actually)

And I took some risk. I am interested in providing a high quality product for my customers, so I realize that I must be willing to accept risk. The engine was running roughly at high power: a carburetor problem of some sort. Gene and I fiddled with it, and I had it running acceptably for my test flight purpose, but certainly not acceptable for customer delivery next week.

In one or two days, I will test fly the same plane with a different propeller. We will evaluate the performance of the propeller, because it is important to add to the body of information available to us, and to our customers as to what works best, and to our vendors, and to the greater community of aviators.

There is a financial reward, if I manage these risks appropriately. Hopefully, this small business will continue to grow, and will eventually pay me something. (The financial account has mostly run the wrong way. Thankfully, that pendulum also is moving in a more positive direction.) I've risked *a lot* on Belite.

And now, Mythbusters.

Errantly, they shot a cannonball through the front and back of a house, off the roof of another house, and into a minivan. They certainly didn't mean to, and before it happened, a lot of very intelligent people thought they had properly mitigated their risks.

Which goes to show, even the smartest of folks can't anticipate everything. Risk doesn't always pay off (at least for the current account.)

I've read through many articles, I've researched the Mythbuster cannon shot literally from a bird's eye view (thanks to Google Maps), and I've seen what I believe to be factually incorrect (but irrelevant) reporting on their accident. I read the twitter posts of Grant, Tory and Kari -- they seem to be taking responsibility straight on. And from my limited experiences working directly with these people, I am confident they will make it right. They are very proactive, they will rise above this accident, and they will be better for it.

Back to airplanes.

I want to help aviators fly. This experience doesn't happen: ....

Belite Tricycle Gear Ultralight Aircraft landing

... unless I stick my neck out, invest the money, and fly the plane. And let my customer do the same.

Risk can produce some beautiful things.

I can't help but think of our aircraft handicapped customers. We have a couple of them. Their ability to fly was severely eliminated by the FAA, but then they discovered Part 103 -- and our aircraft. One of them (Eric) has become a wonderful friend of Belite, and has given Harley a beloved permanent home in our hangar. He is allowed to risk and fly under Part 103, even though medical certificates would be denied, and Eric has received immense joy as a result.

For further background on why I say these things, consider reading Matthew 25, verses 14 through 28. It speaks critically of people who don't take risks, and it speaks well of those who do.

Ultralight Aircraft from Belite touching down

Beautiful Cub Yellow Ultralight Aircraft

2011-12-01T16:24:00.001-06:00

Belite Ultralight Aircraft, aluminum construction, 45HP motor

I flew this plane today. Loved it! Phenomenal performer. The airplane is constructed from aluminum, and is available with a variety of motor options. Shown is a 45HP motor from Compact Radial Engines. This looks very similar to the Duct Tape Plane which was featured on Mythbusters - same color, same taildragger configuration, but with aluminum construction and a bigger engine. This particular ultralight airplane is soon heading to a customer in Missouri.

Belite Ultralight Aircraft, aluminum construction

Assembling a Belite Flaperon

2011-11-28T19:25:00.001-06:00

Ultralight Airplane Flaperon Assembly Manual for Belite Aircraft

Last Revised November 28, 2011

Figure 1 Completed Flaperon, on a plane.

SPECIFICATIONS:

· CERTIFICATION STATUS: NONE. THESE FLAPERONS ARE UNCERTIFIED. Use only on experimental or ultralight aircraft, at your own risk.

· CHORD: 12” (0.305 meter)

· LENGTH: 105 ¼” ( 2.673 meter) (span of single flaperon, excluding mounting horn extension)

· AREA (per flaperon): 8.77 square feet (0.815 square meters)

· WEIGHT: dependent on amount of paint and glue. About 4 pounds.

· RED LINE Vne: 80mph. Do not use these flaperons on aircraft exceeding 80mph.

· CAUTION: 62mph is top of green arc. Keep flaperons centered (0 degrees relative to chord of main wing) and make only slight movements at 62mph and higher.

MATERIALS:

· MAIN SPAR: 0.875” x 0.035” 6061-T6 round aluminum, one piece for each flaperon.

· LEADING EDGE: 0.500” x 0.035” 6061-T6 round aluminum, one piece for each flaperon.

· TRAILING EDGE: 1.125” preformed 3003 aluminum (Aircraft Spruce PN: 03-48900), one piece for each flaperon.

· MAIN RIBS: Precut 1/8” Birch Plywood, qty 28 (14 per flaperon)

· FALSE RIBS: Precut 1/8” Birch Plywood, qty 56 (28 per flaperon)

· NYLON BUSHINGS: fits over main spar and in flaperon droppers. Qty 6.

· MACHINED ALUMINUM DROPPERS: fits to nylon bushings, allows attachment to your wings. Qty 6. Machined from aluminum. Parts are “heavy duty”, having replaced an earlier design which wasn’t as beefy.

· CONTROL HORNS: One for the left and one for the right dropper. Made from welded steel.

· RIVETS: Qty 8, use four to connect each control horn.

· ALUMINUM SHEET: 0.016” thickness, Qty 16, use to create ‘boxes’ at each end of flaperon, also around flaperon machined droppers.

· BALSA WOOD: used to create rounded end on far end of each flaperon. You should have 24” of 1x1” balsa. Makes two end caps.

· NUTS, BOLTS, and WASHERS (used to attach flaperon to wing). Qty 12 of each.

· BLUEPRINTS in electronic form – you print. We can email these to you.

· MANUAL (this document) in electronic form – you print. We can email this to you.

NOT INCLUDED:

· GORILLA GLUE

· WOOD SEALANT such as exterior polyurethane

· FABRIC COVERING and associated materials (fabric glue, primer, paint…)

· CLEANING SUPPLIES (sandpaper, scotchbrite, acetone…)

· TOOLS (normal stuff like clamps, pliers, aviation metal snips, riveters…)

WORK AREA:

· You will need a work area, completely flat, allowing you to build a flaperon. A minimum size of 18” by 10 feet is recommended.

CHECK YOUR MATERIALS:

· In the event that you have any shortages, you MUST notify us within 14 days of receipt of this kit.

1. Preparation.

a) Ensure that your work area is absolutely flat and big enough (10’ x 18”).

b) Read these instructions through at least three times before doing anything. Ensure you understand everything before doing anything!

c) Remember, you are building a LEFT and a RIGHT flaperon. Please don’t build two left flaperons (or two right flaperons).

d) Remove plastic film from trailing edge material.

e) Clean up all aluminum using scotchbrite and acetone, as required.

f) Trim and sand all plywood parts to finished shape. (Remove the excess tabs). Check that they fit over the spar tube, and that the leading edge tube also fits in the front notch of the rib. Sand as necessary. We like using a round drum sander, such as are commonly used with a Dremel or electric drill.

g) Ensure that nylon bushings fit over spar. Ensure that they also fit inside machined droppers. Sand inside and outside of nylon bushing as necessary. Final fit should be ‘butter smooth’. Absolutely no friction allowed. Flaperon dropper should flop and swing under its own weight. IF YOUR NYLON BUSHINGS ARE “OVERSIZE”, YOU MAY NEED TO MOUNT THE NYLON BUSHINGS IN A DRILL CHUCK AND TURN THEM DOWN TO THE CORRECT DIAMETER USING A MILD RASP OR SANDPAPER.

h) BEFORE YOU GLUE ANYTHING, make sure the surface is roughed up with sandpaper and absolutely, completely clean with acetone. This is absolutely necessary to get a good glue bond to aluminum.

i) A note on Gorilla glue: Our design has all of our ribs ‘locked’ in place by design, and the glue further immobilizes them. This is true in our flaperons, and also in our wing design. We use Gorilla glue in some locations because it adheres to materials extremely well, and because it is not used as a structurally critical bonding material. Also, Gorilla glue expands enormously, so use sparingly. Read the instructions on the glue container. We like to have water available in a misting bottle, so that it can be sprayed lightly on components which are to be glued.

2. Test Fit Ribs and Bushing/Droppers

a) DON’T GLUE ANYTHING until specifically instructed.

b) Slide all of the ribs, false ribs, bushings (with droppers) onto the spar. Sand out the holes as required. Remember, each rib has a top and a bottom, because the airfoil is not symmetrical.

c) Using the blueprints as a dimensional placement guide, determine where to place all parts. You may wish to place tape on your bench to mark locations, as shown in our photos.

d) ******* NOTE *******, although not shown in our photos, place an extra false rib on each side of the flaperon droppers, at approximate locations of 46”, 47 ¼”, 93”, and 94 ¼”. These will help you when it comes time to glue aluminum sheets on the top and bottom of these box locations. If you forget to put them in now, they are tough to get in later.

Figure 2 Sliding the Ribs over the spar

Figure 3 Another view of sliding the ribs over the spar

3. Glue the Main Ribs

a) MAKE SURE you have all parts slid over the spar and properly oriented. If you forget them now (or have them upside down) it is very hard to fix later.

b) GLUE: the main spar to the main ribs. Clamp the main ribs to the work bench, as shown in the photo. We use a glue syringe and minimal amounts of Gorilla brand glue. MAKE SURE that everything is absolutely square. Allow glue to set.

Figure 4 Clamping the main ribs to the workbench

4. Glue the Leading Edge, False Ribs

a) Clamp the leading edge (0.500” round tube) to the flaperon assembly, as shown in the photos. This locks all of the main ribs and false ribs in position. Make sure everything is absolutely square. You can hang the assembly off the end of your bench, as we show in the photos.

b) GLUE: the leading edge into position with Gorilla glue to all ribs. Also glue the false ribs to the main spar.

Figure 5 Gluing the leading edge, false ribs, and main ribs

Figure 6 Letting the flaperon hang from supports while gluing leading edge

5. Trailing Edge

a) Using a flat pliers, smash the trailing edge material so that it matches with the locations of the main ribs. See the photos. Don’t use a pliers with serrations, as it will scratch your aluminum.

b) ENSURE that the insides of the trailing edge are substantially roughened, wherever it mates with a rib. You’ve got to do a good job of roughening, so that the trailing edge will remain glued in place.

c) GLUE the trailing edge into position with Gorilla glue.

Figure 7 Trailing edge showing 'smash' detail

Figure 8 Trailing edge being fitted

Figure 9 Trailing edge being glued

6. ‘Box’ Fabrication.

a) Each flaperon is boxed at four locations, using aluminum sheeting: at each end of the flaperon, and at the two locations where the flaperon droppers are attached. The boxes are composed of a top sheet and a bottom sheet.

b) Make sure the aluminum sheets are of the right size. Make sure the slots (for the droppers) are cut to fit. Trim as necessary.

c) ROUGHEN and CLEAN the aluminum sheets, so that the glue will adhere.

d) Glue into position.

e) ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY DO NOT allow glue to get close to the nylon bushings and droppers.

f) We built our units without rivets on these box structures. You may choose to use rivets along the attachment to the trailing edge, if you desire.

Figure 10 Tip box skin glued and clamped

Figure 11 Tip box after clamps removed, before clean up and trimming

Figure 12 Another view of tip box, top down (Excess spar to be cut off)

Figure 13 Root box. Don't cut off the root spar!

7. Trim ends of flaperons; trim glue.

a) If your spar, or trailing edge, or leading edge extend beyond the outside rib, trim them flush using a band saw (or hacksaw). Sand smooth. DO NOT trim off the main spar on the inside rib – you need this ‘root’ section to install the control horns.

b) Sand off all excess glue. If you were neat with your glue application, this is not a big problem.

8. Attach Balsa end blocks

a) Glue a piece of balsa to outside end of flaperon. Use gorilla or wood glue.

b) Carve and sand to produce a pleasing aerodynamic appearance.

Figure 14 Balsa end cap, carved and sanded.

9. Apply sealant to wood.

a) Spray or brush on two coats of a good weather resistant wood varnish on all wood surfaces.

Figure 15 Protect the wood by giving 2 coats of exterior varnish.

10. Covering.

a) Cover with lightweight dacron fabric, prime, and paint.

11. Check Fit to wing assembly; install control horns.

a) After you have assembled the wings, clamp the flaperon droppers to the wing assembly to check fit. Slight adjustment of wing rib placement may be done to compensate for fit.

b) BEFORE INSTALLING CONTROL HORNS, ENSURE that wings, when folded, allow control horns to overlap. This is a tricky and critical step. Slight offset of control horns allows this. This means you must build the wings, and test fit wings on the fuselage, before installing control horns!

c) After test fit is complete and perfect, install control horns using four rivets (supplied) and 3M 2216 glue (not supplied). Control horns are to be placed 90 degrees perpendicular to flaperon chord.

Figure 16 View of uncovered flaperon in test fitting to wing (NOTE: aluminum box structures not yet done)

Figure 17 Another view of uncovered flaperon (NOTE: aluminum box structures not yet completed)

Figure 20 Quartering view of full left flaperon

Figure 21 Root of right flaperon after installation.

********************************************************

Aluminum / Carbon Fiber Spar Loading to 6Gs -- Stunning Load

2011-10-27T21:50:00.004-05:00

I have some really stunning load test pictures of our aluminum and carbon fiber spars. But before we get going on them, here is some necessary preamble, given our recent fantastic showing on MythBusters:

If you are looking for Belite Aircraft's production photos from MythBusters, click here. We were thrilled to be part of the "Duct Tape Plane" episode!

If you would like to follow James' tweets, @jamespwiebe is the handle to find on twitter.

If you would like to go to the main Belite Aircraft website, here is the link to follow.

Now, on to the spar loading.

Extremely long time blog readers may recall my tests of carbon fiber spars a couple of years ago. I wanted to repeat that testing, but this time I wanted to test both our current aluminum spars and our carbon fiber spars. And I was pushed to increase the load test from a 4G test up to a 6G test, which I did. (Thanks, Mike!) Also, the length of our spars had increased from 11.5 to 12 feet, as we've increased wing span (and also the wing chord.) And we had switched vendors for both the aluminum spars and the carbon fiber spars. So it was time for another test, and time to push to new limits in our testing.

This is a simple spar loading test, not a wing loading test. Of course, the airplane has two wings and each wing has two spars. We make an assumption that each one of these four spars is 'carrying' one fourth of the total weight of the airplane. Since our gross weight of our Belite is 550 pounds, the 6G loading of the entire wing structure is 3,300 pounds -- more than 1.5 tons. Therefore, the per spar loading is 825 pounds. That's a lot of weight for a single spar to hold. (The aluminum spars weigh 7 pounds; while the carbon fiber spars weigh 4 pounds, so they are capable of supporting 100 to 200+ times their own weight. Wow!)

The distribution of weight on the spar loading test spread the load over the length of the spar, with weight added at each location where a rib would be attached. Also, the spar is supported at the root (where it attaches to the fuselage) and at the strut attach point (where a strut would transfer load to the fuselage).

So here's a photo of the outcome with the aluminum spar test:

6G Spar Loading Test on Ultralight Airplane (Belite Aircraft)

And here's some individual shots:

End Section of the aluminum spar -- one of these rib/weight locations is overloaded, even for 6Gs.

Mid Section of the aluminum spar


Root Section of the aluminum spar

We also did the same test with a carbon fiber spar. Here's a photo of the outcome:

6G Load Test on Carbon Fiber Spar

The carbon fiber spar is covered in a protective plastic film.

I accidently overloaded the aluminum spar on the second to last outboard rib position, so I labeled the aluminum spar photos 6G+ :-)

The aluminum spar showed absolutely no bend after the weights were removed -- it returned to a perfectly straight attitude. In other words, this wasn't close to being an ultimate load test. There's lots more strength hiding in Belite's spars. Likewise with the carbon fiber spars -- the bend is very mild in the above photo.

Who knows how much more it could hold before it would snap? (This test does not cover other elements of the wing design, such as the lift struts, ribs, etc --- that work is saved for another day.)

IF I WAS CHOOSING, I would prefer the carbon fiber spars in my own airplane, (they are a $2200 option) but the aluminum spars prove to be an economical and beefy answer as well, albeit at a weight penalty of about 11 pounds per airplane.

Mythbuster Duct Tape Airplane production photos

2011-10-20T11:13:00.001-05:00

It's time to reveal lots of production shots from Mythbusters and the Duct Tape Airplane, which is an ultralight aircraft from Belite Aircraft!

Reminder: All photos on this website are (C) 2011 James Wiebe. If you are interested in high resolution photos for publication, contact James. Do not copy my pictures!

The show aired last night. Viewers responded by looking us up on the web and it crashed our website! Now it's back up.

You can follow james on twitter: @jamespwiebe

Also, please sign up for our airplane and product updates by clicking here.

And our website is here.

Now, the definitive collection of pictures from the production of "Duct Tape Airplane" on Mythbusters, using a Belite Ultralight Aircraft:

Kari, Tory and Belite Ultralight Aircraft

Duncan and Belite Ultralight Aircraft

Eric is Grizzly

Overflying Mythbuster crew in a Belite Ultralight Aircraft

Gene, James, Kari, Tory, Grant and Duct Tape Aircraft (Belite Ultralight Aircraft)

Grant and Tory work on Belite Ultralight Aircraft

Grant confirms myth on Duct Tape Airplane (Belite Ultralight Aircraft)

James and Jennifer in map room at Mythbusters

Kari Byron and Be

Kari Byron dancing with Belite Ultralight Aircraft in background

Kari, Grant, Tory and Duct Tape Airplane (Belite Ultralight Aircraft)

Kari Byron with sweet smile

Fuel, Kari Byron and Duct Tape Airplane (Belite Ultralight Aircraft)

Lauren (Director) with Mythbuster Trio and Benny (1st Camera)

Kari Byron with Belite Ultralight Aircraft

Kari Byron, Grant and Tori and Duct Tape Airplane (Belite Ultralight Aircraft)

Overflying the Mythbuster production group at New Jerusalem Airport in Belite Ultralight Aircraft

Another shot of the Mythbuster crew on the ground

Kari Byron enjoys the sunshine, Duct Tape Airplane and Grant

Tory: Why so concerned?

Gene, Mythbusters, and the Belite Duct Tape Airplane

2011-10-18T16:16:00.003-05:00

Gene got in the act out at Mythbusters, helping do some work on the duct tape airplane. Note that we are in the parking lot, and the motor is running.

Gene Stratton in the parking lot at Mythbusters with Belite ultralight aircraft

Mythbusters Duct Tape Airplane: 2 days to go

2011-10-17T01:36:00.000-05:00

Avweb wrote something about it.

Kitplanes did as well.

So did the High Altitude Flying Club.

And here is one picture, from the set, as Kari, Grant, Tory assemble the Belite Ultralight Aircraft with some duct tape:

Grant, Tory and Kari with Belite Ultralight Aircraft and duct tape

Much more, very soon.

Mythbuster Posts Cool Belite / Duct Tape Airplane Video

2011-10-13T12:01:00.001-05:00

You can see brand new video of James Wiebe and the Belite "Duct Tape Airplane"

here:

(http://dsc.discovery.com/videos/mythbusters-duct-tape-plane/)

Look carefully, and you can see what the airplane looked like when they truly finished covering it.

From the Mythbuster website:

I will have many new high resolution pictures of the entire duct tape airplane production, including great closeups of the MythBuster trio. I will post them on October 20.

Duct Tape Airplane on Mythbusters

2011-10-05T21:37:00.000-05:00

Exactly two weeks to go.

Discovery Channel put out a press release on their upcoming myths. It's been reprinted in a few places around the web, for instance, on Entertainment Weekly and on Monsters and Critics (dot com):

In the press release, Discovery Channel talked about a whole bunch of myths, but they said this about the one myth that Belite helped with:

"Can you use duct tape to fix a plane that has been mauled by a bear? (As odd as this one sounds, it’s a story that has inundated our fan site message boards for years!)"

It's gonna be big. BIG.

Photoshop, Mythbusters, Belite, Bears, Kari and Duct Tape

2011-10-04T19:58:00.004-05:00

My friends at Mythbusters production company kept telling me that I would probably have four weeks warning before the big episode aired. I actually got two weeks and one day, and the notice didn't come from them, it came from someone who read the Mythbuster's website and inquired if the episode in question involved us.

Uh, yes! it does!

Here's a link to a video which the MB gang talks about the myth, tested with a Belite aircraft.

And here's a link to the Discovery / Mythbuster programming schedule which discloses our upcoming episode.

Quoting the Discovery channel / Mythbuster schedule:

"Adam and Jamie test three viral videos featuring the extraordinary excavator: Can it really row a barge? Be used to go wakeboarding? Perform seemingly impossible feats of acrobatics? Then -- using only duct tape -- Kari, Grant, and Tory attempt to patch up a plane that's had an unfortunate encounter with a bear."

And now, I confess to some photoshop sleight of hand.

Check out these two photos, one of which I previously posted, and tell me what the difference is:

Grant, James, Kari, Tory, Jennifer

Grant, James, Kari, Tory, Jennifer, and something else

The first photo was on my website. The second photo is the original; I edited it to avoid letting the cat out of the bag too early (that our myth involved duct tape.)

Nashua 357 duct tape. Accept no substitute!

I have many more photos which I will be posting after the episode airs on the 19th of October. Including photos of Kari acting very beary.

"Bird Dog" Utralight Aircraft for sale

2011-09-24T17:13:00.000-05:00

We have another 4130 Chromaloy steel fuselage Belite aircraft available for near term delivery at a substantially discounted price. It is available in a tricycle gear configuration for $15,100 or in a taildragger configuration for $13,900.

Details are important:

a. This aircraft is brand new, and includes a brand spanking new F33 Hirth engine with new prop.
b. This aircraft is Ready To Fly.
c. Rear fuselage covering NOT included.
d. Only the wings are painted, and the color they've been painted is drab olive green --- aka military green.
e. Tricycle version includes disc brakes.
f. Taildragger version does not include brakes.
g. Spring landing gear NOT included. $400 option.
h. Includes Polycarbonate windshield.
i. Does NOT include engine cowling. $350 option.
j. If you would like it completely covered and completely painted, add $4000.
k. Instruments include ASI, Inclinometer, AGL Altimeter, EGT/CHT, and tachometer.
l. FAR Part 103 legal in either configuration.
m. Approximate weight is 240 pounds in taildragger configuration, 252 pounds in trike config.
n. Deposit of $2500 seals the deal. Call Kathy @ 316 253 6746 if you are interested.
o. Includes electric start on engine and battery.

These are pics which we delivered of an olive green airplane a while back. It is exactly representative of this new offering, with full covering, paint:

Belite Tricycle Gear Ultralight Aircraft takes off

Belite Ultralight Aircraft taxis in

Blatant Pitch for G Meter with Near Death experience as illustration

2011-09-22T22:22:00.001-05:00

I've always been interested in how strong the bumps are. A great illustration of this is derived from a terrible mistake I once made as a pilot.

I was in my great big turbo Cessna 206 somewhere over the high plains of western Kansas and eastern Colorado. My passengers and I were eager to get to our fishing and camping destination in Idaho. Perhaps I was a little too eager...

Because I made a shortcut to my destination and I flew under a developing thunderhead. I remember seeing, with some sense of awe, the cloud vapor moving from clear air below, straight up into the thunderhead. In other words, I could see the thunderhead acting like a great big Hoover, sucking up moist (but clear) air from directly below and converting it into cloud vapor as it moved into the thunderhead at a rapid rate. And for some stupid reason, I flew directly under this monster.

And got sucked up into it.

The plane oscillated between overspeed (well over redline -- I was staring at the airspeed indicator and I remember seeing the it *well over* redline) and something else. The forces on us occupants varied between negative force (less than 0 G) and something else... I'd love to have seen the G's. But I couldn't -- we had no "G" indicator in the cockpit. (We only had the evidence of things flying all over the cabin during negatives, then returning to the floor during the positives.)

So, many years later, I have designed an instrument that would show all of the G forces --- Belite's G meter. It shows positive and negative G's on separate scales, up to plus or minus 6 Gs. It keeps track of the peek values, by blinking the highest extremes observed on both the positive and negative scale. It uses very little power, runs off 12 volts (actually anything from 8 to 14 volts), and has a tiny little microprocessor in it that keeps track of everything. And I made it inexpensive, in 3 different configurations (1.75 inch square, 2.25 inch standard round, and portable box). Since the LEDs are so very bright, it is also dimmable for night usage.

2.25" Round G Meter, with positive and negative scale

By the way, the thunderhead did spit me out the other side a minute or two later. I'd been 'flight following' with Denver center. The controller had observed the altitude and airspeed variations I'd been experiencing, and was kind enough to verify that I was still with him. I was, and I am still here now.

Please enjoy using our G Meter. You can see a lot more of it on YouTube here.

And you can purchase it on our webstore, or from Aircraft Spruce, or from Wicks.

Harley and me

2011-09-20T22:10:00.001-05:00

The air temperature had settled to about 82 or 83 degrees. This felt comfortable; especially in comparison to the brutal days of our earlier summer. And after rolling down the grass runway and leaving the ground, the air aloft was even gentler and cooler. And the air was calm.

I was catching a ride in an old friend, and it was a privilege to be a guest in the airplane we've known as 'Harley':

Ultralight Aircraft from Belite Aircraft

The takeoff roll was a little long; a lack of headwind was to blame. Maybe some of my 200 pounds contributed to the longer roll as well. Even so, I was able to join along for a comfortable rate of climb.

I noted that the pond off the far end of the runway is still very parched for rain. A turtle slapped around in the shallows. I wonder if any fish are living there. Also, I haven't seen any deer drinking there since last fall. What will this fall bring? Harley wondered as well.

A tractor and bailer attachment were ignominiously parked in the middle of a field nearby. The field offered a helpful place for an off-field landing, should the need arise. But Harley didn't need it, never had.

The plane turned itself towards the North; I just followed along on the controls. I was the guest. A row of cedar pines, very scruffy looking, protected the eastern side of our gliderport, and I was able to greet them and remind them of the presence of the orange and black airplane in which I comfortably sat. With no wind on the ground, they didn't wave branches to me, but we still saw each other, and we both knew of the special nature of the flight.

The northern field had been plowed; I ignored the horse ranch to the northeast of our field. The Harley knows that we don't like to fly low and slow over the horse ranches; I remember the story of (some other) ultralight flying over them and bucking a woman off a horse. The plane and I respect the horses. If we choose to fly over them, we seek a respectful altitude first.

A turn towards the runway, and then an overflight of a small group of people who have assembled to take a tour of the Belite facility. Ostensibly, I am flying as a demonstration for them, but really, Harley is flying as a demonstration for me.

Then a nice turn over the people, and then Harley scoots for a low pass besides some trees on the opposite side of the runway. Chasing rabbits -- imaginary, very large, very slow rabbits.

This plane was in our 'inventory' for about two years. I have no idea why. It was (and is) beautiful. Nobody wanted it, because it wasn't exactly what they wanted, or we wanted too much money, or something...

Except a few people did want it.

We sold this plane at least twice; one prospective owner changed his mind on buying it after sending in the deposit money.

Harley was down-hearted after hearing that news -- pretty much like the dog left perpetually out at night or the orphan rejected by potential parents, who maybe smiled at the child in a meaningful way, yet lied in their heart at the same time. Harley developed a sticking set of rings as a result, just like people with emotional pain who develop physical ailments. My shop manager, Gene, helped diagnose the ring problem and I happily ordered a new set of rings and gaskets from the engine hospital. No big deal. Harley was fixed.

One time, Harley had shown me how to do dead stick landings. I remembered that very well, and you can see it again by clicking on this old post.

Deadstick landing in Ultralight Aircraft

Harley also had suffered from a serious case of ugly cowl syndrome; we'd flown him without a cowl (a long time ago) and also with an aluminum 'bib cowl'. Although the bib cowl shined up nicely, Harley was always a little embarrased with the bib cowl. He wanted to be with our other airplanes, the ones with real fiberglass cowls and bumps where the pistons are supposed to be.

I went through a box of his child photos. I found one of Harley with his bib cowl.:

Utralight Aircraft with Aluminum Cowl

Back then, he had carbon fiber struts (long removed); spring landing gear (still work *awesome*); a full paint job; and a very nice basic panel. He was long on good manners, both on the ground and in the air, and always managed a smile.

I also found some photos of him playing in the sky:

Harley flying

Harley climbs

Utralight Aircraft in Right Turn

But I'm still flying as Harley's guest.

I ask Harley if I can land, and he agrees.

We turn together toward our grass strip. I crank in one notch of flaps, and reduce power. Harley comes in over fence. I add a second notch of flaps, and reduce power further.

Harley is just over the grass, with nose just high, and a moment later the wheels barely touch down. No bounce, no jostle. A moment later, we pull toward the tour group, and the demo flight is over. Harley sat proudly in the middle of a group of children and Big Brothers / Big Sisters of Sedgwick county, and he helped me answer question after question about ultralight aircraft and how we build them.

After helping Harley get back in the hangar for the night, I chocked one of his wheels and headed over to the assembly room to see how Harley was built.

Harley was left with wings extended, sitting in a hangar with Cessna 182's, gliders, and other Belite parts. He was very happy to be in the main hangar, and he was important, just as important as the Cessna 182.

Even more important to a gentleman who wanted to fly Harley and help them rediscover their mutual love for flying.

Tomorrow morning, Harley's new owner gets to sit in Harley for the first time. He has arrived from the east coast to see and take ownership of Harley.

Harley was sold for about $14,000. Harley was promotionally priced because we wanted to reduce our inventory of steel fuselage airplanes as we bring our larger and lighter aluminum fuselage production online.

BTW, Harley also has a new orange fiberglass cowl. The alumimum bib skin is gone.

From our Facebook:

Fun fact: Flying our Harley airplane will make you feel rugged and fearless, just like the motorcycle it is named after.

That wasn't true. But this is true:

Fun fact: Flying our Harley airplane will make you feel that flying is one of the greatest gifts and privileges that God gave us.

Aluminum skin for Aluminum Ultralight Aircraft

2011-09-19T19:42:00.000-05:00

The CNC cut aluminum skin for the top of the rear fuselage of our aluminum ultralight aircraft was ready to install today. The entire weight of the top skin is less than 1.5 pounds!

It didn't take long, and it was clecoed in place. It still needs quite a bit of work, but it is sure fun to look at.

The front compartment is for the fuel tank and baggage, and has a square cutout with radiused corners. The rear sections are cut out with ellipses to save weight.

Enjoy the picture of work in progress: (Sharp eyes may notice other interesting things in the room...)

Ultralight Aircraft for disabled pilot

2011-09-18T21:19:00.000-05:00

A Belite customer challenged us to improve cockpit access for our Belite ultralight aircraft; the customer has some challenges; especially with his legs. Getting in and out of our aircraft is a real challenge.

As a result, we were pleased to improve cockpit access by lowering the fuselage right side door height. We cut off the existing steel tube and welded a tube about 5 inches lower; with additional length on the tube to add strength.

Here's a photo: compare the near and far sides of the fuselage to see the difference in the steel structure. You can see that the nearer side has a lower entry level.

Aluminum Plane: Real Flight Data Graph

2011-09-07T14:03:00.000-05:00

One of the joys of this project is the performance of the product: the aluminum plane rocks.

Here is a "GPS Essentials" flight data chart from a recent flight in Aluminum Plane #1:


Belite Ultralight Aircraft Performance Graph

I marked two locations with yellow dots. The difference between these dots in time is about 3 minutes, and the altitude gain is (2070-1500) = 570 feet. This is a calculated climb rate of 225 feet per minute. With a forward airspeed of about 43 mph in the climb, the actual climb angle was about 5 degrees, and the deck angle was probably around 12 degrees. Climb rate was NOT maximum. (although it was probably close). I weigh 200 pounds, plus some gas on board of course, and density altitude was about 3300 feet at ground elevation.

All this with a tiny 28hp engine.

You can also see some two pass runs, demonstrating cruise speed. With the wind, ground speed averaged about 64mph and into the wind, ground speed was 47mph. The average is 55.5 mph, once again, with a 28hp Hirth F33 engine.

Fun, fun, fun!

- James