The Aero-Works Aerolite 103 is an American single seat, high-wing,

pusher configuration In aeronautical and naval engineering, pusher configuration is the term used to describe a drivetrain of air- or watercraft with propulsion device(s) after the engine(s). This is in contrast to the more conventional tractor configuration, wh ...

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 ...

, designed by Terry Raber and introduced by Aero-Works, Inc, of

Millersburg, Ohio Millersburg is a village in Holmes County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Located south of Cleveland, it is in the heart of Ohio's Amish Country and is part of a large regional tourism industry. The population was 3,151 at the 2020 ...

, in 1997. The aircraft's model number indicates that it was designed to comply with the

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is a Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government agency within the United States Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Transportation that regulates civil aviation in t ...

FAR 103 ultralight rules.Cliche, Andre: ''Ultralight Aircraft Shopper's Guide'' 8th Edition, page B-2. Cybair Limited Publishing, 2001. Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12'', page 16. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ISSN 1368-485XPurdy, Don: ''AeroCrafter - Homebuilt Aircraft Sourcebook, Fifth Edition'', page 343. BAI Communications, 15 July 1998. Production of the aircraft ended in 2005 when the manufacturer went out of business. The rights to the design were purchased by its original designer, the aircraft updated with an improved aluminum fuel tank and put back into production in 2013 by U-Fly-It Light Sport Aircraft, LLC of

DeLand, Florida DeLand is a city in and the county seat of Volusia County, Florida, United States. The city sits approximately north of the central business district of Orlando, and approximately west of the central business district of Daytona Beach. It is ...

.Tacke, Willi; Marino Boric; et al: ''World Directory of Light Aviation 2015-16'', page 86. Flying Pages Europe SARL, 2015.

Development

The aircraft was designed to meet the requirements of FAR 103 ''Ultralight Vehicles'', including maximum empty weight. The builder-achieved empty weights vary from to , with being typical. To remain under the FAR 103 empty weight requires the use of a light-weight engine, such as the

2si 460 The 2si 460 is a family of in-line twin-cylinder, two-stroke, single ignition, aircraft engines that were designed for ultralight aircraft.Cliche, Andre: ''Ultralight Aircraft Shopper's Guide'' 8th Edition, page G-2 Cybair Limited Publishing, 20 ...

-F35 or the

Hirth F-33 The Hirth F-33 is a Single cylinder engine, single cylinder, two stroke, carburetor, carburetted aircraft engine designed for use on ultralight aircraft, including Powered paragliding, powered paragliders and ultralight trikes. the engine is n ...

Design

The Aerolite 103 features a high wing with half-span flaps that are extended by use of an overhead bellcrank to a maximum of 40 degrees. The flight controls are three-axis and are actuated by a wheel mounted on a control column via flexible push-pull cables and conventional rudder pedals connected to the rudder by cables. The engine throttle is a

twistgrip A twistgrip is a handle that can be twisted to operate a control. It is commonly found as a motorcycle's right handlebar grip to control the throttle, but is sometimes found elsewhere, such as on a bicycle as a gearshift, and in helicopters. Hi ...

type and incorporates a brake lever to operate the non-differential mechanical drum brakes installed on the main wheels of the

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 ...

. The aircraft has conventional nose wheel steering connected to the rudder pedals. The main landing gear utilizes sprung-tubes for suspension and absorbing landing loads. There is a fourth small caster-wheel under the tail, because when the pilot's seat is unoccupied the aircraft rests on its tail, due to the aircraft's empty

center of gravity In physics, the center of mass of a distribution of mass in space (sometimes referred to as the barycenter or balance point) is the unique point at any given time where the weighted relative position of the distributed mass sums to zero. For ...

. The Aerolite 103 is sold as an assembly

kit aircraft Homebuilt aircraft, also known as amateur-built aircraft or kit planes, are constructed by persons for whom this is not a professional activity. These aircraft may be constructed from "scratch", from plans, or from assembly kits.Armstrong, Kenn ...

. The kit includes an illustrated assembly manual and pre-built

fuselage The fuselage (; from the French language, French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds Aircrew, crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an Aircraft engine, engine as wel ...

, wings, control surfaces,

jury struts 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 ...

and

strut A strut is a structural component commonly found in engineering, aeronautics, architecture and anatomy. Struts generally work by resisting longitudinal compression, but they may also serve in tension. A stay is sometimes used as a synonym for ...

s. The wings are covered by the builder with pre-sewn

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 ...

envelopes. The company estimates the time to complete the airframe at 60–80 hours. The kit does not include powerplant, propeller or instruments. When the aircraft was first introduced, the standard engine was the 2si 460-F35, with the

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 ...

optional. In 2009 the standard recommended engine was the Rotax 447, with the

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 ...

single carburettor engine optional. In 2021 an

electric aircraft An electric aircraft is an aircraft powered by electricity. Electric aircraft are seen as a way to reduce the environmental effects of aviation, providing zero emissions and quieter flights. Electricity may be supplied by a variety of methods, ...

option was added as the manufacturer offered a complete electric drivetrain and up to four batteries as an alternative to gasoline powerplants. Aerobatics and spins are prohibited.

Operational history

Since its introduction the Aerolite 103 has won many awards, including: *

AirVenture EAA AirVenture Oshkosh (formerly the EAA Annual Convention and Fly-In), or just Oshkosh, is an annual air show and gathering of aviation enthusiasts held each summer at the Wittman Regional Airport and adjacent Pioneer Airport in Oshkosh, Wiscon ...

1997 - Grand Champion Ultralight *

Sun 'n Fun Sun ’n Fun Aerospace Expo (officially styled SUN 'n FUN) is a nonprofit organization in Lakeland, Florida dedicated to the promotion of aviation education. It is best known for the annual week-long fly-in and airshow at Lakeland Linder Intern ...

1998 - Best Commercial Design *AirVenture 1998 - Reserve Grand Champion Ultralight *Sun 'n Fun 1999 - Grand Champion Ultralight *AirVenture 1999 - Grand Champion Ultralight In December 2004 the company reported that 150 aircraft were flying, the majority as unregistered US ultralights. In July 2009 there were 12 Aerolite 103s registered as experimental amateur-builts in the USA.

Accidents

On 15 September 2019, former NASCAR driver

Mike Stefanik Michael Paul Stefanik (May 20, 1958 – September 15, 2019) was an American professional stock car racing driver. He competed mainly in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, but also made appearances in the Busch Grand National series and the Cra ...

was killed in the crash of an Aerolite 103 at Riconn Airport near

Greene, Rhode Island Greene is an unincorporated village and census-designated place in the western part of the town of Coventry, Rhode Island. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 888. It is east of the Connecticut border and the same distance north o ...

Specifications (Aerolite 103 with Rotax 447)

References

External links

{{Commons category
U Fly It official pageAerolite 103 website archives
on

Archive.org The Internet Archive is an American non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including websites, software applic ...

1990s United States ultralight aircraft Electric aircraft Aircraft with fixed tricycle landing gear High-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1996