First Flight, Circa 1970; Cessna Aircraft teaches me to fly; more.

A reminder:  this work is (c) 2010 by James Wiebe.  Reproduction is prohibited.  You may link to this blog or this posting.

Chapter 1:  First Flight

I grew up in Hillsboro, KS -- a town of about 3000 people in Marion County, Kansas.

Having lost my father before my fourth birthday, I have treasured experiences which I was given by other male figures in my youthful years.

I attended Parkview Mennonite Brethren Church in Hillsboro.  There was a man there, by the name of Dave Breese.  He was large man -- not necessarily in girth, but certainly in height, and also certainly in stature within that Church.  He was an 'evangelist', a radio speaker, an author, and -- a pilot.  I remember an odd characteristic of Dave Breese:  he attended our Church, but he was not a member.  Odd.  I don't quite know how to explain it.

As it pertains to flying, I do not remember how the invitation was made, but I do know that one Sunday afternoon, probably when I was 12 years old, he offered to give me a ride in his twin engine airplane.  This was an opportunity nearly on the level with Red Ryder BB guns.  An airplane ride.

I am positive that afternoon was a sunny day with bright white cumulus clouds.  A perfect flying day.

I do remember being in the airplane as he started each engine -- and I remember my anxiety that the engines wouldn't start.  But they did.

In those days, the Hillsboro airport was a grass strip.  In later years, it was paved; it suffered a fatal aircraft accident; (hence it's name, Alfred Schroeder field, honoring one of the dead) and I flew often from it.
 

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.

The weight of gasoline for aircraft use isn't necessarily what you think it is.

Please pass this post on to anyone who is flying with autogas in their airplane -- it will open their eyes as to the true weight of the gasoline!

I've been calculating the weight of gasoline as 6 pounds per gallon ever since I was a 19 year old newbie pilot.  

That's a critical number, used by several hundred thousand pilots frequently as they calculate weight and balance on their aircraft.  WikiAnswers is a little more precise and shows it as 6.02 pounds per gallon.

However, the bigger surprise for me has come to my attention as I've started to fly ultralights.  I don't often use 100LL anymore, having switched to 91 octane premium car gas.  I'm flying with car gas.  So, here's the pertinent question:

A message to Russia...

Привет Мир,

Я заметил некоторые звенья, входящие из России. Я нуждаюсь в российском дистрибьютере для моего самолета. Если любой может помочь, пожалуйста пошлите мне английский ответ на:

james  a t  beliteaircraft.com

Спасибо!

Джеймс

Belite Trike gets a nose job; then it flies.

The Belite Trike finally gets its nose cowl.

I arrived at the airport at around 11am this morning. I asked Gene to give me a hand with the installation of a new fiberglass cowl on our redesigned Belite Trike. Gene disappeared from the hangar and reappeared a couple of minutes later with a tray of nuts and bolts, along with some tools. We got to work.

This was the first time we'd put a cowling on the Trike; I was eager to see the results. I was curious as to the aerodynamic improvement (if any) along with the aesthetic improvement.

It took us about 90 minutes, but we had the cowl fitted and looking very sharp.  We had to make some minor cutouts on the cowl for the carb and for electric starter motor.  A couple of support rods still need to be welded into place, and Gene and Ken, our expert welder, would get that done while I ran some other errands.

Returning later in the afternoon, the Trike was sitting, ready, begging to fly.  But first, it had to sit still for photos.

Bunny Hops & Flying POV

I received a call from my daughter earlier today. She's currently a counselor at Camp Quaker Haven and it was the first time I'd heard her voice since she left last week.  She's also our 'corporate cinematographer', and has produced almost all of the videos that Belite has posted on Youtube.

"Hey Dad," she said. "Did you know that I posted another Belite video before I left Wichita?"

No, I didn't know that.

It's great having a cinematographer in the family!  More video to show people what we are doing.

I had taken quite a bit of video, shot from my Point Of View, while flying the Superlite several weeks ago. It does a great job of showing the world flying by while piloting an agile single seat airplane. You can see it here:

Also, we shot some video of our Trike a few weeks ago.  It's just a series of bunny hops, mostly up and down the runway, but it shows the gentle landing characteristics of the Trike. 

(A little off topic:  I flew both of these planes earlier today, in Kansas strong winds.  They handled the wind with no difficulty).

Anyway, here's the video of the Trike doing bunny hops.

The Trike has free castering nosewheel steering.  You turn the airplane by applying either left or right heel brake.  I'm reminded of when I first flew a Grumman Cheetah back in 1978 or 1979:  ground handling works basically the same.

Pictures that nearly got away

Here's some photos that nearly got away...

Benton Airport



My friend Terry Alley's Kitfox Lite



The Kansas country side passes below. Trees and a creek; farmland too.



Someone took this photo of me at Sebring in January. I'm in a Belite Superlite.



A nice in flight photo of a Belite.



Jabara airport, in a photo from last year.



And a wounded Belite, injured in a taxiing accident. (Stupid hole in the ground.) (Stupid pilot for taxiing over hole in the ground.)

Belite manufactures FAR part 103 kits, airplanes, and featherweight avionics.

www.beliteaircraft.com