Yeah, I haven't posted much in the last 30 days. Unlike a lot of blog authors, who blather on with apologies, make a weak post, then disappear from view, never to be heard from again -- I would rather say I've been busy. And working on a number of very special things. And I want to start sharing them with you.
Earlier today, I had a meeting with my wife and business partner, Kathy. I opined that we needed to start the publicity engine for Airventure, and that perhaps it would be helpful to start 'leaking' information on our upcoming aircraft and product announcements into the market and customer base. As no one drives by our workshop and takes spy photos (at least that I'm aware of), I have to be the one to let the information out. Very carefully, of course, so no one will suspect that I am the source of the information. So, this post is my first unofficial information leak.
Here is a photo of a work in progress: our 'UltraCub'. (That name selection is not final.) You do have to use some imagination to fill in the rear turtledeck with fabric and paint, and you have to imagine where the windows are (in the half moon shapes.)
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| Belite UltraCub ultralight airplane, work in progress |
It looks like it is going to be the perfect one man Cub. We'll have one at Oshkosh. More details then, including pricing and performance, and how it relates to the rest of our product line.
Notice the use of wood, which allows us to maintain low assembly costs and also easy three dimensional shapes. Our use of our ShopBot helps as well -- the upper turtledeck is constructed from CNC milled Baltic Birch formers, and all of the longerons are cut from amazing aircraft quality fir.
Some more photos of the construction:
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| Belite UltraCub? Ultralight Airplane, work in progress |
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| Detail of UltraCub assembly, lots of clamps... |
The lines on this plane are drop dead gorgeous. The main color is cub yellow, of course, but we're thinking of doing the back upper fuselage in some shade of black. Stay tuned.
There's lots more coming.
