Belite Test Hop on Independence Day!

I got up this morning at 6:00am hoping to fly the airplane. A quick look outside showed rain and storm clouds. But the good news was that it was supposed to clear out in an hour or two.

I met up with Terry Alley who has became a faithful advisor on this adventure at around 7:30 at Jabara (AAO) airport. The wind settled down to 11-12 knots nearly straight down the runway. We added 2.5 pounds of ballast to the nose, as the bird was a little tail heavy and slightly out of CG.

We're trying a different engine on the Belite demo plane -- a Compact Radial Engine MZ-34. I'm very impressed -- very smooth power, excellent throttle response, dead simple starting, electric start.

The takeoff roll was short, and I climbed up to what felt like 25 feet off the ground, and flew down the runway. Then I reduced power and settled in to a nice 3 point landing. The video is posted on youtube, search for Belite Aircraft and you'll find it.

This is fun!

Belite Rollout; Todd Tiahrt grins; Many new pictures

Too much happened today.

The day started at 6:00am with a photo shoot of the new plane, Belite 254. We had a photographer come in and shoot an amazing series of photos of the plane as the sun rose. The lighting and weather were spectacular and it just seemed the plane wanted to look good. Sunrise coloring made the oranges in our corporate paint scheme just *pop*. See the photos! I've also posted them on facebook under my username, jamespwiebe.

I added some more pictures which also show the carbon fiber structure of the wing as it went into covering several weeks ago.

We've posted the first good photos of the instrument panel. One of my fellow workers, Gene Stratton, gave it coat after coat to make the wood just shine. We want our demonstrator to look good, and we want people to have a warm feeling when they get in the plane. The wood is a perfect offset to the carbon fiber. BTW, we added a carbon fiber glare panel above the wood, and we added trim around the wood. It's looking really sharp.

This afternoon, our rollout ceremony was held at the Old Town Warren water fountains. Todd Tiahrt was our speaker. While we have no illusions of solving Wichita's laid off aircraft employee crisis, it was still a bright spot for Wichita. Lots of media coverage; two different TV stations ran pieces and I'll bet the paper will have a nice story in the morning. We'll see.

The highlight for me was asking Todd Tiahrt if he'd like to get in the plane, immediately after we'd rolled off the cover. Everyone was walking up and looking at the plane. Todd got in, and he just smiled like a child with a new shiny toy. Made my day. People kept asking questions.

We asked our pastor, Ben Staley, to pray for us. He did so. Thank you Ben!

One gentleman came up to me and said he'd come from England to see what we were doing. Really!?! Well, no, but he was really from England, and would be taking our story back there. He was fascinated.

Many of our friends joined us at Cafe Moderne for some snacks after the event. It was fun. It was good to sit down and relax.

Top 10 questions:

1) What's it cost? A: not yet announced.
2) How fast? A: 55 knots
3) How slow? A: 24 knots
4) Where made? A: in our facility in Wichita
5) Can I work for you? A: send me a resume, but not right now
6) Kit or Built? A: either way works for us.
7) Do I need a pilot's license: A: No. And no FAA airplane registration as well!
8) What should I have to fly it? A: A solo endorsement + additional instruction in a similar airplane.
9) How far does it go? A: about 200 miles.
10) What's it cost? A: back to Question #1.

If you want to catch more Belite news, please follow me on facebook as well.

Thanks!

James

Video of Belite Aircraft test hop

Below is a link to a Belite aircraft test hop.

The engine installed generates 23hp, but the prop is mispitched in this test, so the engine probably developed about 16hp. (Plus the density altitude was 4500 feet.)

After takeoff, the plane established positive climb and I chopped power shortly thereafter.

We'll expand the test flight envelope later this week.

The big rollout is tomorrow.

http://www.youtube.com/user/BeliteAircraft#play/search/0/9RtGcOGI0sQ

First Flight Belite Aircraft

On Thursday June 25, around 2:00 pm, the new Belite Aircraft had its first flight.

OK, the flight was just a short hop, just over the runway at Jabara airport (KAAO). Temperature was around 100 degrees, with a calculated density altitude of 4500 feet. HOT!

The flight demonstrated liftoff, verification of control effectiveness, power cut, and landing. As soon as the plane took off, it was easily demonstrating a nice climb rate. My plan for this flight did not allow for any pattern work, so I immediately chopped power and settled back to the runway.

Here are some specific details on this flight:

Empty Weight (no fuel): approximately 231.5 pounds includes 13 pounds ballast!!

As flown with fuel: approximately 240 pounds

This includes basic instrumentation, AND it includes approximately 12 pounds of metal ballast in the engine mount design. The plane is so light that we had a CG tail heavy problem. This will be resolved before Oshkosh by utilizing a heavier, more powerful engine.

Therefore, without ballast, weight would have been about 219.5 pounds. Not bad. This flying weight can be reduced further by removing the turtledeck, and even further by cutting corners in the fabric covering (EG, no UV protectant -0- BAD idea). Or by not installing the carpet. (which this plane has). Or by not installing the rear view windows (which this plane has). Or by not installing a wood instrument panel (which this plane has).

Our rollout next Tuesday will show the plane in "dress trim": with a nice cowl on it and a spiffed up engine/engine compartment. Our test flight was without a cowl.

Weight plan to Oshkosh:

We have 34 pounds to play with. (220 pounds effective current weight).

Swap out fuel tank for new fuel tank -- may save 2 pounds.
Swap out engine as we continue to test engines -- adds some weight depending on engine
Add cowl -- adds 3.5 pounds
Put in full panel and electrics, antennas -- estimated to add 9 to 12 pounds

Final Weight, with full panel, electrics, cowl, bigger engine -- about 245 pounds. (Legal limit is 253.9). Of course you can fly it as a home built experimental with any weight you want.

Hope you enjoy the picture as well.

BTW, for the weight calculations, I weigh 200 pounds, and I had about 5 pounds of additional radios & water bottles with me in the airplane.

We do have video of this, we'll try and post it on Monday evening.

Belite Avionics / Instrument Panel Coming Along

We've gotten a lot done in the last couple of weeks.

Engine installation; test run; aircraft weight; cg analysis.

One of the things I'm most pleased with is our panel.

It's a really cool little panel -- everything you need; a little steam; a little digital. A gizmo dock for a Garmin 496.

I'd really appreciate feedback on the layout. We can move a few things around before our rollout next week; we may cut another panel prior to Oshkosh.

Switches are as follows: magneto on/kill; momentary starter (left side).
The four switches are: avionics power; nav lights; landing light; extra switch.

The demo unit has a MicroAir transceiver and a Becker transponder.

Note the fuel gauge as well! :-)

I think I'll add a voltmeter as well.

This panel was cut from birch plywood and will be stained and finished in the next few days.

Interviewed by TV reporter; video on Belite posted

I was interviewed by KAKE TV yesterday on the Belite aircraft.

While the video is a little distilled, it still is a great overview.

The man at the rear is Dave Franson, our publicist.

Here's the story and video.

A picture of a wing for the upcoming Belite Aircraft

Here's a sneek peak of the new wing design for the Belite aircraft. Notice: carbon fiber spar tubes, carbon fiber ribs, carbon fiber false ribs. Also note plywood veneer (0.4mm) which is bonded on top of carbon fiber rib cap strips for purposes of bonding to ceconite covering. Some of the glue joints have been made (EG: rib to spar) while others haven't yet been made. (EG: front false ribs). The entire weight of everything you see here is less than 14 pounds. (Not counting sand bag and level. :-)

Also note the really cool wing work benches we made. The stripes are exactly 6 inches apart, and the entire work surface has been leveled.

The end ribs have a solid sheet of carbon fiber bonded to them, for appearance. They are beautiful and they are completely visible, even after the ceconite covering has been finished.

I will have a completed aircraft, along with a completed airframe/wing without covering on display at Airventure. Come take a look!!

Yes, We Did It...

Wichita, KS—June 1, 2009: Wichita, Kansas-based aviation enthusiast and entrepreneur James Wiebe and his wife, Kathy, have acquired the production rights to a previously designed aircraft, the Kitfox Lite, and formed a new business entity, Belite Aircraft, to market it. The airplane will incorporate stronger, lighter carbon fiber components that will allow it to easily meet Federal Aviation Regulation (FAR) Part 103 weight requirements.

The Wiebes, who previously developed and marketed digital forensic computer storage devices as the founders of Wichita-based enterprise, WiebeTech LLC, acquired the tooling, existing parts and manufacturing rights to the aircraft in March of 2009. As a condition of the transaction, they agreed to re-brand the airplane to prevent any confusion with the larger, two-place light sport Kitfox that shares many of the same design features but is owned by another company. Kitfox has recorded more than 4,500 kit sales since its introduction 25 years ago.

An instrument-rated pilot, James Wiebe has applied his creativity and experience to this new venture, developing a proprietary lightweight carbon fiber structure that he is incorporating into the modified airplane’s construction. By converting spars, ribs and struts from steel, wood or aluminum to carbon fiber, he has reduced the airplane’s empty weight to previously unattainable levels, well below the 254-pound limit specified in FAR Part 103 for this type of aircraft.

“This project, which combines my passions for flying and inventing, is exciting on several levels,” Wiebe noted. “From a business perspective, the development and application of our proprietary carbon fiber has lots of potential for other aircraft and in other markets. Its use in this aircraft provides the weight margin that will allow enthusiasts to build it and enjoy the fun of flying it safely and economically. Our proprietary carbon fiber process builds quickly, far faster than aluminum, wood or composite construction. We expect this aircraft to be a practical and popular choice among light sport aircraft,” he added.

Wiebe indicated that he plans to incorporate a number of additional modifications into the design that will further improve the airplane’s performance and versatility. He has reserved exhibit spaces 612 and 615 in the North Display area at the upcoming Experimental Aircraft Association AirVenture 2009 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin and expects to have an aircraft on display at the show. Additional announcements regarding availability and pricing are expected at that time.

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