The Worldwide Ultralite Spitfire is an American
ultralight aircraft
Ultralight aviation (called microlight aviation in some countries) is the flying of lightweight, 1- or 2-seat fixed-wing aircraft. Some countries differentiate between weight-shift control and Aircraft flight control system, conventional three-a ...
that was designed by Fred Bell and manufactured by
Worldwide Ultralite Industries and later by Don Ecker and
Air Magic Ultralights of
Houston, Texas
Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
. The aircraft was supplied as a kit for
amateur construction.
[Purdy, Don: ''AeroCrafter - Homebuilt Aircraft Sourcebook, Fifth Edition'', page 103. BAI Communications, 15 July 1998. ][Cliche, Andre: ''Ultralight Aircraft Shopper's Guide'' 8th Edition, page E-33 and 37. Cybair Limited Publishing, 2001. ]
Design and development
The Spitfire is a derivative of the
Phantom X1 that was created by former
Phantom Aeronautics employee Fred Bell, who also designed the
Bell Sidewinder
The Bell Sidewinder is an American ultralight aircraft, supplied as a kit for Homebuilt aircraft, amateur construction.Cliche, Andre: ''Ultralight Aircraft Shopper's Guide'' 8th Edition, page E-33 and 37. Cybair Limited Publishing, 2001.
Desi ...
. The Spitfire was designed to comply with the US
FAR 103 Ultralight Vehicles
Ultralight aircraft exist outside of the United States. In most countries, ultralights are a class of aircraft. A completely different legal concept is valid within the USA. The FAA makes explicitly clear that ultralight vehicles are not air ...
rules, including the category's maximum empty weight of . The aircraft has a standard empty weight of . It features a
strut-braced
In aeronautics, bracing comprises additional structural members which stiffen the functional airframe to give it rigidity and strength under load. Bracing may be applied both internally and externally, and may take the form of struts, which act in ...
high-wing
A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple wings.
A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing config ...
, a single-seat, open cockpit,
tricycle landing gear
Tricycle gear is a type of aircraft undercarriage, or ''landing gear'', that is arranged in a tricycle fashion. The tricycle arrangement has one or more nose wheels in a single front undercarriage and two or more main wheels slightly aft of th ...
and a single engine in
tractor configuration
In aviation, a tractor configuration is a propeller-driven fixed-wing aircraft with its engine mounted with the propeller in front, so that the aircraft is "pulled" through the air. This is the usual configuration; the pusher configuration ...
.
The aircraft is made from bolted-together
aluminum
Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...
tubing, with the flying surfaces covered in
Dacron
Polyethylene terephthalate (or poly(ethylene terephthalate), PET, PETE, or the obsolete PETP or PET-P), is the most common thermoplastic polymer resin of the polyester family and is used in fibres for clothing, containers for liquids and foods ...
sailcloth. The Spitfire differs from the X1 in having
flaps, struts in place of
cable-bracing, a
centre stick
A centre stick (or center stick in the United States), or simply control stick, is an aircraft cockpit arrangement where the control column (or joystick) is located in the center of the cockpit either between the pilot's legs or between the pil ...
and a cog-belt reduction drive. Its span wing is supported by "V" struts and
jury strut
In aeronautics, bracing comprises additional structural members which stiffen the functional airframe to give it rigidity and strength under load. Bracing may be applied both internally and externally, and may take the form of struts, which act in ...
s. The pilot is accommodated on an open seat, partially enclosed by a
fibreglass
Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass ( Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass c ...
fairing with a windshield. The standard engine initially provided was the
Kawasaki 440
The Kawasaki 440, also called the T/A 440, is a Japanese twin-cylinder, in-line, two-stroke engine that was designed for snowmobiles and produced by Kawasaki Heavy Industries until the early 1980s.Cliche, Andre: ''Ultralight Aircraft Shopper's ...
snowmobile
A snowmobile, also known as a snowmachine (chiefly Alaskan), motor sled (chiefly Canadian), motor sledge, skimobile, snow scooter, or simply a sled is a motorized vehicle designed for winter travel and recreation on snow.
Their engines normally ...
powerplant of .
The design pushes the empty weight limits set by FAR 103 and thus has to be built carefully and cannot be fitted with options if it is to be legally flown in this category.
A two-seat version in
side-by-side configuration
Tandem, or in tandem, is an arrangement in which two or more animals, machines, or people are lined up one behind another, all facing in the same direction. ''Tandem'' can also be used more generally to refer to any group of persons or objects w ...
was also produced by Air Magic Ultralights. Powered by a
Rotax 503
The Rotax 503 is a , inline 2-cylinder, two-stroke engine, two-stroke aircraft engine, built by Rotax, BRP-Rotax GmbH & Co. KG of Austria for use in ultralight aircraft.Raisner, William: ''LEAF catalog'', pp. 6-105. Leading Edge Airfoils, 1 ...
two-stroke
A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a power cycle with two strokes of the piston, one up and one down, in one revolution of the crankshaft in contrast to a four-stroke engine which re ...
powerplant of , it has a gross weight of .
Variants
;Spitfire
:Single seat version powered by a
Rotax 447
The Rotax 447 is a , inline 2-cylinder, two-stroke aircraft engine, built by BRP-Rotax GmbH & Co. KG of Austria for use in ultralight aircraft.Raisner, William: ''LEAF catalog'', pages 6-105. Leading Edge Airfoils, 1995.
Design and developme ...
engine. It was offered in ''Ultralight'' and ''Super Sport'' configurations, with the latter having a larger engine, more instruments, sprung steel landing gear, an auxiliary fuel tank and
wheel pants
An aircraft fairing is a structure whose primary function is to produce a smooth outline and reduce drag.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, Third Edition'', page 206. Aviation Supplies & Academics Inc, Newcastle Washington, 1997. ...
.
;Spitfire II
:Two seats in
side-by-side configuration
Tandem, or in tandem, is an arrangement in which two or more animals, machines, or people are lined up one behind another, all facing in the same direction. ''Tandem'' can also be used more generally to refer to any group of persons or objects w ...
version powered by a
Rotax 503
The Rotax 503 is a , inline 2-cylinder, two-stroke engine, two-stroke aircraft engine, built by Rotax, BRP-Rotax GmbH & Co. KG of Austria for use in ultralight aircraft.Raisner, William: ''LEAF catalog'', pp. 6-105. Leading Edge Airfoils, 1 ...
engine. It was offered in an ''Elite'' configuration that included bucket seats, a larger engine and a fuel tank.
Specifications (Spitfire)
See also
References
External links
Photo of Spitfire in flight{{Worldwide Ultralite aircraft
1980s United States ultralight aircraft
Homebuilt aircraft
Single-engined tractor aircraft
Worldwide Ultralite aircraft