Belite Aircraft, Belite UltraCub ultralight part 103 ultralight aircraft, Sport Aviation Magazine. |
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Belite UltraCub part 103 ultralight aircraft |
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| To be successful in
the ultralight aircraft business you have to do a
number if things. First you
have to be very innovative, and second you have to
have your finger on the pulse of the market ready to change
and adapt as needed. If there is one individual for the past several years who has succeeded in both of these it has to be James Wiebe of Belite Aircraft. James purchased the design rights to a very successful single seat (fat) ultralight aircraft design several years ago. The problem was that the aircraft was too heavy a to be a true part 103 ultralight aircraft. James and his wife have worked diligently for the last couple of years to redesign the Belite UltraCub ultralight to make it a true part 103 ultralight aircraft. In order to do this he has had to change the construction techniques and materials used to build his plane. The construction has been changed from a 4130 chromoly steel welded fuselage to an all aluminum, CNC cut fuselage riveted together. By doing this James has reduced the construction cost and weight of the aircraft. Using CNC cut materials means that a builder does not need any special knowledge or skills to build a Belite Ultralight Aircraft, all that is needed is an air rivet gun! James indicates he has shipped about a dozen UltraCub cabins out this year, with customers reporting that after only a couple of weekends of work they are nearly finished construction. The 2nd thing that James has changed is the engine he uses to power the Belite UltraCub ultralight. While he has used a variety of engines to power his craft, he is now offering a half Volkswagen engine conversion made by Hummel engines. It is estimated that there are over 500 of these engines currently safely flying. Hummel engines is not the only supplier of the half Volkswagen conversion it is also available from Great Planes or can be built from plans. The twin cylinder engine produces 45 hp, weighs only 84 pounds and uses less than 2 gallons of fuel per hour! The Belite Aircraft powered by the half VW engine cruises along at 50 to 55 mph and climbs out at a comfortable 500 to 600 ft./m. It was interesting to talk to James about some of his interpretation of the rules for part 103 ultralights. It is his belief that if something is removable from a part 103 legal ultralight aircraft, such as a radio, and is not necessary for flight that it is not considered to be part of the weight. To this end James has designed his aircraft so that the instrument panel, and rear turtle deck, which are not necessary for flight can be easily removed or installed. With the purchase of CNC equipment James has been able to expand his line of products to include both straight floats and amphibious floats. According to James "customers wanted a good sturdy light aluminum float as well as an amphibious float." Using the same rivet together construction techniques as the Belite James is now offering factory built floats or float kits. Building the floats from a kit should take between 200 and 250 hours. The floats are rated for 620 pounds maximum, which means they can be used on any part 103 legal ultralight aircraft. In the near future James is looking at offering floats for to see aircraft of between 1000 and 1400 pounds. James Wiebe came computer industry, he has applied this knowledge to instrumentation used ultralight and experimental aircraft. His company now produces a line of light weight aircraft instruments including digital altimeters, airspeed indicators, VSI, turn coordinator, tachometer, oil temperature and oil pressure gauges, vertical speed, fuel gauges, and angle of attack are just a few of the gauges that he offers. For more information visit www.beliteaircraft.com |
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Belite UltraCub part 103 ultralight aircraft |
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Belite UltraCub part 103 ultralight aircraft |
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