The Dart Skycycle is an American single-seat,
high wing
A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft
A fixed-wing aircraft is a heavier-than-air aircraft, such as an airplane, which is capable of flight using aerodynamic lift. Fixed-wing aircraft are distinct from rotary-wing aircraft (in which a r ...
,
strut-braced, single-engine,
conventional landing gear
Conventional landing gear, or tailwheel-type landing gear, is an aircraft Landing gear, undercarriage consisting of two main wheels forward of the Center of gravity of an aircraft, center of gravity and a small wheel or skid to support the tail ...
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 Robert Dart and produced by
Dart Aircraft of
Mayville, New York for
amateur construction.
[Cliche, Andre: ''Ultralight Aircraft Shopper's Guide'' 8th Edition, page B-53. Cybair Limited Publishing, 2001. ]
Design and development
Introduced in 1985, the Skycycle is a single-seater designed as an
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 ...
-compliant aircraft with an empty weight within that category's empty weight limit.
The aircraft has a
4130 steel tube frame
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 ...
and a wing constructed from
spruce
A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' ( ), a genus of about 40 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal ecosystem, boreal (taiga) regions of the Northern hemisphere. ''Picea'' ...
, all covered in
doped fabric. The landing gear is
bungee-suspended. The Skycycle can be built with an open cockpit or fully enclosed, allowing flying in cooler weather. The Skycycle was available as plans only or with some prefabricated components, such as the welded fuselage or assembled wings already completed. The standard engine specified was the
Rotax 277
The Rotax 277 is a , Single-cylinder engine, single-cylinder, two-stroke aircraft engine, that was built by Rotax, BRP-Rotax GmbH & Co. KG of Austria for use in ultralight aircraft.Raisner, William: ''LEAF catalog'', pages 6-105. Leading Edge ...
.
Reviewer Andre Cliche wrote: "The Skycycle is an ultralight-legal aircraft that resembles the average taildraggers of the 40s and 50s. It looks like a 'real airplane' and should satisfy the more conservative pilots who hesitate to fly 'colourful lawn chairs' as basic ultralights are sometimes called. It is a good all-around ultralight that is easy to fly and cheap to operate."
Specifications (Skycycle)
See also
References
{{Reflist
1980s United States ultralight aircraft
High-wing aircraft
Single-engined piston aircraft