Ground Handling

Long time readers of the blog are certainly aware of the incident last summer in the Flint Hills, where the right main landing gear axle snapped off after an unfortunate encounter with a pothole in the prairie; resulting in unfortunate (but relatively minor) damage to the maiden ship of the Belite fleet.

I sat on the ground for a period of hours, whilst working on email catchup and generally wondering when help would show up.  (It was hot, I had no water, but I had a cellphone, a Spot, and a good internet connection on my computer.)

That particular aircraft was equipped with solid tie rods on the landing gear.  No bungees, no springs, no nothing, so there was no shock absorber in the landing gear.

Very recently, we've started to offer a solution which improves ground handling over bumps considerably: spring steel landing gear.  Take a look at this pic:

Now this is an improvement.!  The first time I taxiied our aircraft with this landing gear, I felt like I had changed from a 1920's vintage model T to a car with a real suspension and shocks.  All the bumps smoothed out.  Amazing!  Cool!  Fun!  Driving an ultralight on the ground no longer felt like a bumpfest.

Above is a closeup photo of a mud splattered shock absorber spring.  Works like a charm.

We're offering them as optional equipment on our aircraft:  installed:  $200. 

Builders can add them simply by buying a pair of springs, available from MSC, for about $9 apiece.

Would it have made a difference while taxiing in the flint hills?

This product improvement is available on our award winning Belite Superlite ultralight aircraft, or with any of our other Part 103 aircraft.  You can purchase our aircraft as kits or as fully assembled, ready to fly.   See our aircraft at www.beliteaircraft.com, or read more about ultralight aircraft at my blog.

Used Kitfox Lite for Sale! --- SOLD! July 2, 2010

NOTE FROM JAMES:  IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR AN ULTRALIGHT AIRPLANE, WE HAVE SEVERAL FOR SALE.  GIVE JAMES A CALL 316 393 5477 -- and now the original post continues...

We now interrupt this blog for an important announcement:  Our original Kitfox Lite is now for sale.  Yes, this IS a Kitfox Lite.  I originally bought this as a used airplane a couple of years ago, and it was very helpful to us as we developed our Belite 254.  But we don't need it any longer.

The aircraft in question was temporarily turned into a Belite 254 (through the addition of carbon fiber wings) and was featured on the cover of EAA's Sport Pilot magazine.

We have returned it to its original Kitfox Lite wings, which we saved, and we have basically given the plane a frame off restoration to new condition.

Contest: Belite giving away Avionics Panel with 8 instruments

We're giving away a complete instrument panel!:  you get eight instruments and a panel to mount them on.  This includes a G meter, Airspeed Indicator, AGL altimeter, Battery Condition Meter, CHT/EGT with probes, Fuel Gauge with Fuel sender, Inclinometer, Turn Rate gyro AND metal panel to mount them on.

To enter, click here.

The contest is over when we pick the winner at Oshkosh 2010.  You do not need to be present to win.

Thorough Belite Superlite Review Published!

We have obtained the right to republish the flight review on the Belite Superlite, written by Scott Severen in Light Sport and Ultralight Flying magazine.  The Superlite is our FAR Part 103 ultralight, and provides superlative performance, while consuming 3.4 gallons per hour of gasoline.  It is available in prices ranging from $28,500+ (assembled and flying), depending on options.  All configurations include the Hirth 50HP engine, which looks like an aircraft engine, and includes dual ignition.  For the money, this is the highest performance small aircraft in the country.

This extensive review covers the flight characteristics of our Superlite plane, along with an excellent description of our assembly facility.
 
Please enjoy the reading and pictures, which you may find here in PDF form.  Alternatively, read the 'text only' version after clicking on this alternative text only link:

My thanks to Scott for writing such a thorough article.