Belite Introduces "Water in Fuel" detection technology

Today we introduced our newer technology which alerts aircraft operators to the presence of water in their gasoline.  Unlike so many announcements on April 1 (April Fool's Day), this announcement is real.  No joke.  The announcement had been timed to the time slot given to us by Sun N Fun for our news conference earlier today. 

BTW, if you are looking for the Sun N Fun damaged airplane photos, just keep scrolling down the blog.

To follow Belite's news announcements, subscribe here.

To be first to know of what's happening with James, follow his tweets:  @jameswiebe on twitter.  James tweeted several times as the extent of the damage at SNF unfolded yesterday.

The text of our announcement is as follows:

BELITE ELECTRONICS INTRODUCES WATER DETECTION TECHNOLOGY

                                                                                                  

Wichita, KS --  04-01-11 -- Belite Electronics announces a new, patent pending technology that is capable of detecting water in the fuel tank or fuel line. Belite is an innovator in ultralight flight technology, designing both aircraft and lightweight avionics.

Through the use of a small probe, the new technology discriminates between water and fuel and provides an alarm signal to the aircraft operator when water is detected.

“While doing research on fuel level probes that were pertinent to our avionics, I stumbled across a newer technology that would help solve a decades old safety problem,” said James Wiebe, CEO of Belite Enterprises LLC.

“The presence of water in fuel has caused many significant accidents in aviation history,” Wiebe said, “and the use of auto fuel with ethanol content continues to exacerbate this problem because water will precipitate (settle) out of ethanol blended fuel as temperature drops, for instance, overnight.

“Aircraft manufacturers have worked on resolving water contamination issues over the years by providing multiple sump points and by industry wide pilot training and education.  Even so, the opportunity for accidents and anxiety caused by water contamination in fuel continues,” Wiebe continued.

The new technology provides a warning signal which may be used in simple applications to trigger a alarm on the instrument panel.  In more sophisticated applications, Wiebe noted that the warning signal might be used to drive automatic tank switching so that water is not fed to the engine.

“We believe this technology can be integrated into aircraft systems by aircraft manufacturers to provide pilots with warnings that water is present or in route to the engine from the fuel tank. Water detection probes may be placed, for example, at low points in fuel tanks, or inline (between the fuel tank and the fuel selector or in the engine compartment).

Belite is licensing this technology to OEMs, and will also offer simple water detection probes and warning displays for experimental aircraft.

Price points have not yet been set.  Usage and inquiries from non-aviation markets are invited.  Interested parties may contact James Wiebe at Belite Enterprises:  316-253-6746 or james@beliteaircraft.com.

# # # #

3rd Set of Damage Photos at Sun N Fun

(c) 2011 James Wiebe

I have posted FOUR sets of damage photos at Sun N Fun.  This is one of the four sets.

The links for all four damage photo sets, including this one, are:

http://jameswiebe.blogspot.com/2011/03/horrible-damage-at-snf.html

http://jameswiebe.blogspot.com/2011/03/more-snf-damage-photos.html


http://jameswiebe.blogspot.com/2011/03/3rd-set-of-damage-photos-at-sun-n-fun.html


http://jameswiebe.blogspot.com/2011/04/4th-set-of-damage-photos-from-sun-n-fun.html


You can follow James on Twitter:  @jamespwiebe
You can subscribe to Belite Aircraft here.
You can see some pretty cool takeoff and other videos on Belite's youtube channel.

You can see Belite's Flickr photos here.
These pictures may be reprinted by crediting James Wiebe and linking to this blog.

Lots of long faces.

'I spent six years building this plane.'  -- overheard comment, damaged aircraft owner?

At the Aircam booth.

Gloom in skies.  Gloom in faces.  Even the planes have painful expressions.

More SNF Damage Photos

I have posted FOUR sets of damage photos at Sun N Fun.  This is one of the four sets.

The links for all four damage photo sets, including this one, are:

http://jameswiebe.blogspot.com/2011/03/horrible-damage-at-snf.html

http://jameswiebe.blogspot.com/2011/03/more-snf-damage-photos.html


http://jameswiebe.blogspot.com/2011/03/3rd-set-of-damage-photos-at-sun-n-fun.html


http://jameswiebe.blogspot.com/2011/04/4th-set-of-damage-photos-from-sun-n-fun.html


You can follow James on Twitter:  @jamespwiebe
You can subscribe to Belite Aircraft here.
You can see some pretty cool takeoff and other videos on Belite's youtube channel.

You can see Belite's Flickr photos here.

(c) 2011 James Wiebe.  Please feel free to reprint these pictures.  Just provide a credit to me (James Wiebe) and a link to this blog.  Thanks!

Horrible Damage At SNF

I have posted FOUR sets of damage photos at Sun N Fun.  This is one of the four sets.

The links for all four damage photo sets, including this one, are:

http://jameswiebe.blogspot.com/2011/03/horrible-damage-at-snf.html

http://jameswiebe.blogspot.com/2011/03/more-snf-damage-photos.html


http://jameswiebe.blogspot.com/2011/03/3rd-set-of-damage-photos-at-sun-n-fun.html


http://jameswiebe.blogspot.com/2011/04/4th-set-of-damage-photos-from-sun-n-fun.html


You can follow James on Twitter:  @jamespwiebe
You can subscribe to Belite Aircraft here.
You can see some pretty cool takeoff and other videos on Belite's youtube channel.

You can see Belite's Flickr photos here.
You may reprint these photos as long as you credit   James Wiebe  and provide a link to this blog

(c) James Wiebe

Hawker Beechcraft

New Dual Display Instruments

New Instruments and avionics for Ultralight Aircraft and Experimental Aircraft from Belite Aircraft / Belite Electronics.  More details later this week.  Now on sale.  Dual Display.  For instance, VSI+ASI with digital Pressure Altitude Out in one 2.25 inch instrument.  Bezels are CNC cut from Polycarbonate.  Instrument panels are also cut on our new equipment.  Gorgeous.  Featherweight.  Inexpensive.  State of the Art (an overused term).

Belite Ultralight Aircraft On Sale

Our Belite SuperLite Dragon is on sale during Sun N Fun!

$31,500 -- During Sun N Fun, this plane is offered for $7,000 discount.

This is the same plane that is on the April 2011 cover of Kitplanes Magazine!

Interested? Give us a call or drop us an email.  First come, first serve.

Fuel Tank Installation in Ultralight Aircraft

We've been using aluminum fuel tanks in our Belite for quite a while.  A challenge has been how to mount them.  After some experimentation, we've come up with the following technique for the lightest possible mounting technique.

We weld some two stubs on each side of the rear fuselage, which the tank will snug up and into.  The tank is then secured with lightweight stainless steel straps, with a small amount of rubber tubing acting as a chafe strip on each stud.  Hopefully all of this is clear by looking at the following pictures:

Rear View of Aluminum Fuel Tank in Ultralight Aircraft

View of Fuel tank from within cockpit (seat back removed)

Middle clamp around tank

Aluminum Fuel Tank in Ultralight Aircraft

It all works well and is very strong.  Three stainless steel straps, chafe bushings, and steel studs provide a lightweight fuel tank mount.

closeups of 4 stroke engine on Belite ultralight aircraft

I leave for Sun N Fun tomorrow - Sunday.  If you want to follow my show twitters, please find me on Twitter, you can find me on twitter, search for (and subscribe to):  jamespwiebe.  I will be tweeting every day with what's going on, when I'm flying, what we have announced, etc.  Fun!!

If you want our news releases and information updates by email, you can sign up here.

Belite Ultralight Aircraft (Tricycle Gear) with 4 Stroke Motor

We are now flying a Belite Trike with a 4 stroke engine.  You can see it at Sun N Fun!  Here's some more closeup pics of the Verner Motors 4 stroke engine, mounted on our Belite Ultralight Aircraft. 

Working so hard, with something to show for it (a 4 stroke engine too)

I'll be 'twittering' during Sun N Fun.  If you want daily ultralight aircraft info, sign up for my twitter feeds.  I'm jamespwiebe on twitter.

Also, you'll get our news releases by subscribing on our website.

We've been getting ready for Sun N Fun, and we're excited:  In addition to a ton of new avionics, and a major avionics announcement, we'll have a Belite Trike with a 4 stroke engine installed up front.  Yes, a tricycle gear ultralight aircraft with a reliable, quiet, fuel efficient four stroke!

Here's some photos of the 4 Stroke Belite Trike, taken during a test flight.  I've posted some further comments below the pics.

4 Stroke Ultralight Aircraft

Rolling into a crosswind at takeoff!

The photos were all taken by Gene Stratton, and they look superb.  The airplane (and attention to detail which we put into it) are also superb.  The paint job looks nearly liquid.

Here's some questions and answers:

1)  What kind of engine is it?  It's a two cylinder water cooled 4 stroke. It's from Verner Motors in Czechoslovakia, and it's a JCV 360.  I'll talk more about the engine in a future post, soon.

2)  What type of aircraft is it?  Why, it's a Belite Trike, featuring our new enhanced wingspan (26' 2") and enhanced wing area, thus improving climb and stall speed.  The paint job is Stewart Systems Cub Yellow, and it looks absolutely marvelous.  Please come see it at Sun N Fun!

3)  Is it available as a kit, or assembled, RTF?  Yes, both ways! 

4)  Is it quiet?  YES!

5)  Can it meet ultralight weight?  YES!  You have to build it with our carbon fiber spars and other weight saving options, but it will legally meet weight.

6)  Can it be built at a taildragger?  YES!  In fact, we had our sister aircraft featured on the front cover of Kitplanes in the April 2011 issue.

Here's a closeup of the engine.  You can see the water cooler and the oil cooler is hidden below.  I'll have more photos of the engine installation in a future post.

And yes, it will have a nice cowl on it at Sun N Fun.

See you at Sun N Fun!

White Paint sparkles on Belite Ultralight Aircraft

I needed to take some pics from the airplane today.  The weather cooperated as temperatures hit the high 70's while the strong morning winds quieted down to a comfortable crosswind by mid afternoon.

The reliable Hirth started on the second or third pull, and I was soon airborne, flying in our Superlite Dragon.


Gene had pulled Joe's new plane out of the hangar, and as I passed over the top, I just thought it was one of the nicest views of the top side of a Belite that I'd ever seen.  So I started snapping pics.


Here's a nice one, looking nearly straight down.

Belite Ultralight Aircraft

The pictured aircraft has painted Insignia White using Stewart Systems products.

Belite Makes Significant Investment in CNC and Shop Automation Equipment

We've recently received several new pieces of equipment which we are using to improve our product and enhance our ability to build state of the art ultralight aircraft, such as our FAR Part 103 Belite 254.

We recently installed our new Roland DGA MDA 540 4-axis prototype milling machine.  This incredible machine can take a chunk of just about anything that's solid and convert it into a part.  It loves lexan, plastic, wood, and aluminum.

I happen to be working on many new avionics designs (to be introduced at Sun N Fun) and, as part of that project, I needed to turn a new bezel concept from idea to reality in less than 24 hours.

The new machine performed wonderfully, turning a solid block of Lexan into a bezel.  Here's a photo of the machined Lexan block:

After cutting the part out and painting it, the new bezel design looks like this:

The conversation with the SolidWorks designer started at 9:00am, the new part was out of the machine by 7:00pm.  (The joys of being in a small, nimble company with good design tools and equipment available!)

We've also purchased a ShopBot CNC router for large flat pieces.  New computer equipment and software (EG SolidWorks) complete the company upgrades.  The ShopBot isn't running yet, but will be in the near future.

Comments on Ultralight Aircraft from a Kitplanes reader...

Here are some unfiltered comments on our ultalight aircraft that I received via email earlier today.  This person had read the recent cover article on "Kitplanes" on Belite:

"I hope you are getting some good results from the article. Way back when, I was also on of those guys that looked at ultralights with distain. 

... I still think the KitFox Light was a delightful plane to fly even when compared to many non ultralight planes. 

To say the BeLite is a nice flying for an ultralight does not do it justice. It simply handles like a good airplane should, regardless of the weight. 

The only problem with the BeLite is if someone gets hooked on ultralights because of it, and then tries to fly one of the “lawn chair” type machines, it will scare them to death."

Belite manufactures Part 103 compliant ultralight aircraft.

Kit Getting Ready to Leave...

This Belite kit is getting ready to leave our workshop.  This is a tack welded fuselage, aluminum spars and ribs, flaperons, and all kinds of fittings, hardware, and goodies.  This one is scheduled to ship in a couple of weeks.  The next available kit shipment slot is in April.