The Fisher FP-202 Koala is a Canadian single-seat high wing,

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 ...

, single engined light

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 ...

designed for construction by amateur builders. The aircraft was inspired by the design of the

Piper J-3 Cub The Piper J-3 Cub is an American light aircraft that was built between 1938 and 1947 by Piper Aircraft. The aircraft has a simple, lightweight design which gives it good low-speed handling properties and short-field performance. The Cub is Pi ...

and outwardly resembles that design.Vandermeullen, Richard: ''2012 Kit Aircraft Buyer's Guide'', Kitplanes, Volume 28, Number 12, December 2011, page 53. Belvoir Publications. ISSN 0891-1851Downey, Julia: ''Kit Aircraft Directory 2005'', Kitplanes, Volume 21, Number 12, December 2004, page 57. Belvoir Publications. ISSN 0891-1851Purdy, Don: ''AeroCrafter - Homebuilt Aircraft Sourcebook'', page 160. BAI Communications. Kitplanes Staff: ''1999 Kit Aircraft Directory'', Kitplanes, Volume 15, Number 12, December 1998, page 47. Primedia Publications. IPM 0462012Cliche, Andre: ''Ultralight Aircraft Shopper's Guide'' 8th Edition, page B-21 Cybair Limited Publishing, 2001.

Fisher Flying Products Fisher Flying Products is a Canadian aircraft manufacturer that produces kits for a wide line of light aircraft. The company's kits all feature wooden construction with aircraft fabric covering. Many of the designs are reproductions of classic ...

was originally based in

Edgeley, North Dakota Edgeley is a city in LaMoure County, North Dakota, LaMoure County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 585 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History Edgeley was founded in 1886 by Richard Sykes (rugby union), Richard Syk ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

but the company is now located in

Dorchester, Ontario Dorchester is a town in Ontario whose name first applied to the township and honours Sir Guy Carleton, Lord Dorchester (1724-1808). The name was changed from Dorchester Station on May 3, 1961. Dorchester is the residential and commercial core ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Development

The FP-202 was designed by Fisher Aircraft in the

in 1981 and was intended to meet the requirements of the US FAR 103 ''Ultralight Vehicles'' category, including that category's maximum empty weight. It is also a 51% approved kit for the US

homebuilt 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 ...

category. The design goal was to provide ultralight pilots with an aircraft that looked like and flew like the classic Piper Cub, without the regulation that goes with owning a

type certified A type certificate signifies the airworthiness of a particular category of aircraft, according to its manufacturing design (''type design''). Certification confirms that the aircraft of a new type intended for serial production is in compliance w ...

aircraft. The FP-202 can achieve an empty weight of when equipped with a lightweight, two-stroke engine, such as 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 ...

. The construction of the FP-202 is unusual for aircraft in its class. The aircraft's structure is entirely made from

wood Wood is a structural tissue/material found as xylem in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulosic fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin t ...

, with the wooden

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 ...

built from wood strips arranged in a

geodesic In geometry, a geodesic () is a curve representing in some sense the locally shortest path ( arc) between two points in a surface, or more generally in a Riemannian manifold. The term also has meaning in any differentiable manifold with a conn ...

form, resulting in a very strong and light aircraft with redundant load paths. Like the Cub, both the wings and fuselage on the Koala are covered with doped

aircraft fabric Aircraft fabric covering is a term used for both the material used and the process of covering aircraft open structures. It is also used for reinforcing closed plywood structures. The de Havilland Mosquito is an example of this technique, as are ...

. The wings are

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 ...

-braced and utilize

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 landing gear is bungee suspended and the tail wheel is steerable. Brakes are optional. The company claims it would take an average amateur builder 250–500 hours to build the FP-202. Fisher FP-202 Koala D-MKOA front

Specifications (FP-202 Koala)

References

External links

* {{Uncertified aircraft developed in Canada 1980s United States ultralight aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1981 High-wing aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft FP-202 Single-engined piston aircraft Aircraft with fixed conventional landing gear

Development

Specifications (FP-202 Koala)

See also

References

External links