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| Ultralight aircraft in metallic burgundy with accent copper |
Q: What is a Belite UltraCubTM?
A: The
Belite UltraCub is a predominantly aluminum ultralight airplane manufactured in
kit and Ready To Fly form by Belite Aircraft.
It is available in several different configurations, with variations of instrumentation,
landinggear, assembly materials and engines.
All configurations evoke the classic look of a Piper J3 Cub, hence the
name, UltraCub. Some of the key
characteristics include:
- Removable
rear turtledeck; the plane may be flown either way.
- Legal
under FAR 103 (responsibility lies on the owner / operator)
- Precision
CNC cut aluminum parts in cabin and throughout assembly
- Folding
wings (must remove turtledeck)
- Large
wing area and flaperon area designed for low speed flight.
- Enormous
windshield and sunroof
- Multiple
storage compartments
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| UltraCub flies away |
Q:
What standard features and benefits does the Ready To Fly UltraCub have?
A: All
configurations include:
- CNC
cut aluminum parts throughout the entire airplane. We use a CNC computer automated bed
router for sheet metal and a four axis CNC robot for billet aluminum
pieces.
- Taildragger
configuration.
- Folding
wings. (must remove turtledeck). Easily and quickly fold!
- Standard
basic instruments: inclinometer, EGT/CHT, airspeed, AGL altimeter.
- 5”
tires and wheels.
- Rear
turtledeck, fully covered. (Higher
end configurations also cover the rear of the fuselage.)
- OracalTM
vinyl covering, with your choice of single color. Very beautiful finishes!
- Rear
steerable tailwheel with steel tail wheel spring.
- Aluminum
fuselage – riveted construction utilizing mainly 2024T3 longerons; also
7075 and 6061T6 aluminum in critical areas. Other alloys are also
used.
- Lightweight
6061T6 aluminum lift struts.
- 4130
Chromaloy steel landing gear “A” frames
- Polycarbonate
windshield and sunroof
- Enhanced
wing area (40” x 144”)
- Enhanced
flaperons (12” x 120”), reduces stall speed and improves roll control.
- Intermixed
aileron / flap controls, providing standard stick (aileron) and standard
flap (flap handle) control with 3 notches of flaps.
- Multiple
storage compartments under seat
- 5
gallon plastic fuel tank.
Q:
What does a Ready to Fly UltraCub cost?
A:
$15,995 + $2.50/mile delivery charge (one way) to any US destination. This configuration includes a 28HP Hirth 2
stroke engine. Other configurations are
also available with 4 stroke engines, carbon fiber options, and additional
instrumentation. If you want everything
in our option list, the price can hit $40,000. At that price, you should expect, and you will receive, a state of the art ultralight aircraft.
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| Final approach for UltraCub |
Q:
What does an UltraCub Kit
cost?
A:
$8,495 includes the TurtleDeck and everything firewall back except instruments,
paint, rivets, glue and the fuel tank.
Stiff link main gear are included.
Popular options include our spring main gear and our disc brake
assemblies. It also doesn’t include a
fuel tank, but we buy ours at Walmart for about $12, and you can too.
Q:
What type of construction is
used in the fuselage?
A: It
is straightforward aluminum construction. All of the cabin area and most
of the gussets have pre-drilled holes, and the rear fuselage is pre-aligned,
mostly pre-drilled and ready for you to start drilling and riveting. All
main cabin bulkhead formers and gussets are CNC cut and have many pre-drilled
pilot holes as well. The builder has to trim some of the cabin longerons
and members, but as these lengths are short, and all formers are square, the
resulting assembly process is easy and straightforward. Aluminum may be
cut with a carbide blade table saw, or a band saw, or a hack saw.
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| Cabin Assembly Detail |
Q:
What type of construction is used in
the wings?
A:
The wigs are build with aluminum spars and CNC cub Baltic birch ribs.
Everything slips together and is locked in place with Gorilla glue. Aluminum ribs are also available, as are
carbon fiber spars.
Q:
What type of construction is used in the
tail feathers?
A:
The purchaser may select between aerodynamic horizontal stabilizer/elevator or
pre-welded stabilizer/elevator. The pre-welded feathers simply need to be
covered. The aerodynamic feathers are easy to build and very
straightforward, like a big model airplane wing.
Q:
How is the structure covered?
A: We
use generic Dacron, glued and shrunk to the underlying wing or fuselage
structure, and riveted to the aluminum ribs. We use Stewart Systems glue for most other
fabric work, and we use Oracal vinyl (available in about 80 colors) for
covering over the shrunk fabric. Kit builders may use whatever system
they are comfortable with. We supply 30
yards of Dacron with each kit!
Q:
What does an UltraCub weigh?
A: As
built by Belite, with a reliable four stroke engine, and as described in this
document, it weighs 278 pounds. This is the maximum allowed by FAR Part
103. (Our configuration includes a parachute which is deployed by hand,
for which FAR Part 103 provides a 24 pound allowance.) The rear turtledeck is
not included in this weighing, as it is removable for flight. (The rear
turtledeck weighs about 7 pounds). Much lighter weights are possible by
using two stroke engines. We don’t weigh
anything required for flight; if assembled like our Sun N Fun demonstrator, the
airplane may be flown without the windshield, for instance. We even made our instrument panel easily
removable, and James has flown one of the UltraCubs without a main seat – he really
did it, just to prove a point.
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| Landing an UltraCub |
Q:
I see that your configuration
doesn’t include an engine cowl. How could I add one?
A: It
is available as an option for $350. We don’t weigh them as they are
removable for flight.
Q:
What other options are available?
A: There
are all kinds of options. Check our
price list for full details; we’re even offering amphibious floats. Carbon fiber, wheels, covering completeness,
paint on the aluminum, type of engine, type of parachute, instruments… Doors – really well designed doors. Too much to discuss here.
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| Belite Aircraft are available with emergency parachute. |
Q:
Are other instruments
available?
A: We
are happy to install any instrument manufactured by Belite Electronics, including
our Multi Function Display, our Turn Coordinators, fuel gauges, etc. We
do not install other instruments. We recommend you have other
installations (EG, radio) performed by your local instrument shop.
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| MultiFunction Instrument from Belite Electronics |
Q:
Does the four stroke engine
have electric start?
A:
It is available. It adds 10 pounds weight, and will work in high
end configurations.
Q:
What power does the 1/2VW four stroke
engine develop?
A: James
likes the 45HP variation with Nickasil cylinders. He runs it with a 58 x 22 propeller, which
derates it to about 38HP. That makes it
very much in line with the original Kitfox Lite, which had a 2 stroke engine of
slightly less horsepower. Fuel consumption
hasn’t been nailed down to the last drop, but James is hoping to get it below
1.5 GPH in low cruise.
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| 1/2 VW Engine on Belite UltraCub |
Q:
Who is the engine vendor?
A:
Scott Casler, Hummel Engines is our first choice for 1/2VW aircraft
engines. Scott makes a great engine and
stands behind his work. www.hummelengines.com
Q:
Will other 1/2VW four stroke engines work?
A:
Absolutely. We recommend at least 37HP. Great Plains is a good
source for plans for a complete kit. See: http://www.greatplainsas.com/schalfvw.html
And as of this writing, their 1/2VW kit is under $3400. Furthermore, an online build manual for 1/2VW
engines may be found here:
Q: What
about the motor mount for a Belite with the half V/W?
A:
We designed it, and it is
pretty small and sweet. It is welded out of 4130 steel.
Q:
What kind of gasoline does the
engine use?
A: 91
Octane auto gas. 100LL will also work just fine, but like any other aircraft
engine, pay attention to lead fouling in the spark plugs.
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| Happy Flying from James! |
