Please note: James' blog has moved to a Wordpress site. To access it, please visit http://jameswiebe.wordpress.com/. All posts have been transferred to the new site, and all new posts will only be accessible via Wordpress. Thank you for your interest!
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
"The Standard Pilot Blog"TM The Chipper and Radiant Blog for Experimental and Ultralight (Part 103) Aircraft (c) 2010 thru (c) 2020 by James Wiebe.
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Monday, January 9, 2012
Gorgeous Skies; First Flight; Video
Please note: James' blog has moved to a Wordpress site. To access it, please visit http://jameswiebe.wordpress.com/. All posts have been transferred to the new site, and all new posts will only be accessible via Wordpress. Thank you for your interest!
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.
-- James Wiebe, EAA 2011 August Raspet recipient
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
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Top 12 Things you can see in test flight video of ultralight aircraft
Please note: James' blog has moved to a Wordpress site. To access it, please visit http://jameswiebe.wordpress.com/. All posts have been transferred to the new site, and all new posts will only be accessible via Wordpress. Thank you for your interest!
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.
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.
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Streamlined Struts produce zippy performance!
Please note: James' blog has moved to a Wordpress site. To access it, please visit http://jameswiebe.wordpress.com/. All posts have been transferred to the new site, and all new posts will only be accessible via Wordpress. Thank you for your interest!
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
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
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