I was asked for more construction details on my STOL ultralight. The fuselage is built from aluminum sheet, angle, and honeycomb aluminum. I did a rough sketch in CAD and then have converted that idea into a small airplane. This project has been ongoing from early 2022 until now. I'm passing the 3 year mark on building this plane.
The vision is to end up with a very light, tough STOL airplane (competitive with any STOL airplane) using every technology trick in my repertoire. This includes 3D printed nylon, reinforced with carbon fiber and kevlar; honeycomb aluminum, carbon fiber molded parts, carbon fiber spars, redesigned airfoil with droop ailerons and fowler flaps, and more. It pays visual and aerodynamic homage to my famous "Chipper 2" design but has no parts in common. This is a clean sheet design.
I would not be happy unless it ended up looking evocative of a J3 cub.
Specs: Wingspan -- about 30'
Wing area -- about 120 sf
Gross weight -- 750 lbs
Seats: One
Engine: HKS700 (65hp) or Rotax 582
Cruising speed: ~~ 100 mph
Fuel: 15 gallons in 3 tanks
Duration: about 4 hours
Enjoy the pics! -- James
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