Thursday, April 5, 2012

John K Moody: Father of Ultralights

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!


One of the most enjoyable experiences at Sun N Fun 2012 was sharing some time with John K Moody, "the Father of Ultralights".

We talked for a while about all kinds of things:  what day he made his first powered flight; how an article in Popular Science propelled him to fame; how he started to sell them; how he made money in ultralights; how the old 20/20 news piece destroyed (unfairly) the ultralight industry... Now he is pleased to attend Sun N Fun and exhibit a trio of old ultralights, including an "Easy Riser".  It weighs only 120 pounds and flies beautifully on a Hirth engine of around 13 horsepower.

The Easy Riser used weight shift for pitch (climb/descend) control, and had a 'rudder' on each wingtip, controlled by a twist handle for each wrist.  The throttle for this bird had a mouth (YES, mouth!) mounted kill switch.  So if you wanted to kill the engine, just bite down.  John says he got shocked by this arrangement.

I took a bunch of photos of this amazing early ultralight.  Later in the day, John came by our booth and looked at a Belite ultralight aircraft.  Here's photos of the ultralight aircraft 'Easy Riser', built by John K Moody:

Easy Riser Ultralight Aircraft

Easy Riser Ultralight Aircraft

Easy Riser Ultralight Aircraft

Easy Riser Ultralight Aircraft

Easy Riser Ultralight Airplane

Easy Riser Ultralight Airplane

John K Moody, Father of Ultralights, with James Wiebe

Easy Riser Ultralight Airplane

Gross and Ugly Half VW Engine on eBay, NO RESERVE

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!


Hi!

ebay listing for this item is HERE.

If that doesn't work, here is the link spelled out:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-2-VW-engine-/300692097512?pt=Motors_Aviation_Parts_Gear&hash=item4602a549e8&vxp=mtr

I have five or six engine projects hanging around the shop which I have no interest in pursuing.  I also have a bunch of airplane 'junk' which I think will be quite valuable to the right people.  SO, it's time for some spring cleaning at Belite.  Over the next four weeks, I will be offering all of the engines and 'junk' on eBay.  Every auction will be without reserve!

Each auction will have individual terms and conditions.  Read each auction carefully.  If you are not interested, please pass the info on to your EAA chapter or friends. 

For this first auction, I am offering a slightly used half VW engine which I purchased nearly 3 years ago.  This engine is not appropriate for use on a Belite, because it only develops around 20 horsepower (?).  But it is a good engine for someone.  It is loaded with goodies and parts.  I was told it had 20 or 30 hours on it.  It is painted the most ugly shade of green I've ever seen.  It looks like Volkswagen got in an argument with John Deere, and very bad things happened (to the paint, not the engine).

1/2 VW engine for sale






The bore and stroke is 69 x 84mm.  It is a Type I engine.

One of my employees is a VW engine expert, and he tore it down and rebuilt it.  We've never started it, but it clearly will run.  Everything on the insides looked fine.  He mentioned one of the pushrod tubes needed to be replaced, I'll find out what he was talking about and post it on the eBay listing.

More info on the engine:

a.  Mikuni carbs
b.  VW/GM HEI (ignition)
c.  1/2VW case
d.  .050 over (crank bearing)
e.  1/2VW heads
f.  1992 Sentra ring gear, 11" diameter, 104 tooth
g.  Subaru starter
h.  Nippon-Denso alternator
i.  machined prop hub
k.  foam air filters are NOT INCLUDED - we stole them for another project

1.  We will charge a $50 for crating.  This is on top of the winning bid, unless you pick it up.

2.  If you pick it up (or if you live in Kansas), we MUST CHARGE Kansas sales tax.

3.  Shipping will be by quote via your requested carrier.  Do not assume anything.  Get a quote from Kathy before you win the auction.

4.  Crated weight is 170 pounds.

5.  You MUST, MUST, MUST pay for your winning bid within 24 hours of auction close.  As this is without reserve, if you do not pay, we WILL, WILL, WILL, contact the next bidder and inform them that they have won the auction.  No excuses.

6.  The ONLY accepted payment method is PAYPAL.  If you do not have a PAYPAL account, you may not bid.

7.  This engine is offered AS IS, WITHOUT WARRANTY or REPRESENTATION OF USE of any kind.

8.  We expect the eBay auction will go live sometime on Friday, April 6 at the latest.  I will add the link back here when that happens.

9.  The bidding starts at $25.  :-)  Including crating, that would be $75.

10.  We reserve the right to reject any bid or bidder.

11.  Good luck bidding!  May the odds be ever in your favor!

1/2vw engine for sale

1/2vw engine for sale

1/2vw engine for sale

1/2vw engine for sale

1/2vw engine for sale

1/2vw engine for sale

1/2vw engine for sale

1/2vw engine for sale

1/2vw engine for sale

1/2vw engine for sale

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Belite Ultralight Aircraft For Sale

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!


This aluminum ultralight airplane is available for April delivery from Belite.  It has been finished with a gorgeous cub yellow paint job.  There is no finer ultralight aircraft made by anyone! 

Taildragger Ultralight Airplane from Belite, in Cub Yellow, for sale
It still needs three days assembly work for us to finish it.  It also is ready to accept any engine, and is a legal ultralight under FAR Part 103.  It is offered with a Belite Electronics panel, with AGL, ASI, EGT/CHT, and Inclinometer.

I checked weight on it yesterday, and what you see weighs 165 pounds.  It will take about 20 pounds of material to finish it (not counting engine/mount/prop).  So any engine / prop combination of around 69 pounds or less will work.  (For this plane to be ready to fly, we need to install the interior control cables, gas tank, windshield, flying wires on the tail feathers, etc...)

This means the F33 28HP engine will work great (just like our WoW plane or the MythBusters plane).  With the F33, we would have plenty of weight allowance to put a top cowl on the rear fuselage, and make it look quite 'cub-like'.  Just a thought...

With the Hirth F33 engine, this aircraft is offered at $25,900.

Here is the 'as-configured' info

Base aircraft with aluminum fuselage ...  $16,500
Metal priming ...  $1,000
Disc brakes ... $700
Spring gear ... $400
Lightweight Lift Strut (2024T3) ... $400
Complete fabric and paint ... $6,900
     Total .... $25,900   FAF Wichita

(Electric Start / Battery / Cowling are included)

Front view of Belite Ultralight Airplane for sale
Straight on front view of Belite Ultralight Aircraft for sale
Quartering view of Belite Ultralight Airplane for sales

End view of Belite Ultralight airplane for sale
View of wing and flaperon on Belite Ultralight Aircraft for sale
Tail Feathers on Belite Ultralight Airplane for sale
Underside of Belite Ultralight Aircraft for sale, note disc brakes and spring gear
Cabin interior, note metal priming, on Belite Ultralight Aircraft for sale
This airplane would also be phenomenal with the MZ-201 45HP engine ($2900 swap), but you would also probably need to add a ballistic parachute ($3300) to make legal weight. 

Call or email us with your questions.  (316) 253-6746  or info@beliteaircraft.com

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Incredible paint job on new Belite

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!


I've just loaded about 30 hi res pics to Flickr of a new customer airplane.  You can see them on our Flickr channel, here.

This is such a nice plane!

Turqoise Belite Ultralight Airplane
It was built with nearly every option -- from a nice instrument panel to a big 50HP Hirth.  It has carbon fiber spars, an aerodynamic tail, a rescue chute, and much more.

It meets Part 103, weighing in at 275.4 pounds.  (Limit is 278.)

Here's a front on view, showing off the engine:

Front view of Belite Ultralight Airplane, with 50HP Hirth

And here's how Belite Electronics look, in the panel.

Instrument panel in Belite ultralight airplane



This plane even has strobes and position lights:

Strobe and Nav lights on Belite ultralight airplane
The interior pilot seat looks very sharp.  We haven't yet put the carpet on the floor, but that's coming too.

Interior of Belite ultralight airplane

There are many, many more photos showing all kinds of details of this airplane on Flickr.  Have a look.  Let me know what you think.