The Lambert Mission 106 is a conventionally laid out,

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 ...

ultralight 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 conventional three-axis control aircraft with aile ...

, seating two side-by-side. Designed in

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, there are ULM and LSA versions.Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12'', page 62. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ISSN 1368-485XTacke, Willi; Marino Boric; et al: ''World Directory of Light Aviation 2015-16'', page 65. Flying Pages Europe SARL, 2015.

Design and development

The first prototype of the M106 was built and flown in the

Slovak Republic Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's ...

around 2003. Its constant chord wing has twin tubular aluminium spars with wooden ribs and, like the rest of the aircraft, is fabric covered. The wing, with 2° of dihedral, carries pushrod-operated

Frise aileron An aileron (French for "little wing" or "fin") is a hinged flight control surface usually forming part of the trailing edge of each wing of a fixed-wing aircraft. Ailerons are used in pairs to control the aircraft in Flight dynamics, roll (or ...

s and manual flaps. On each side a pair of V-form

lift 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 of circular cross section brace the wing to the lower

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 ...

longeron In engineering, a longeron or stringer is a load-bearing component of a framework. The term is commonly used in connection with aircraft fuselages and automobile chassis. Longerons are used in conjunction with stringers to form structural fram ...

s, assisted by further

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 fuselage and

empennage The empennage ( or ), also known as the tail or tail assembly, is a structure at the rear of an aircraft that provides stability during flight, in a way similar to the feathers on an arrow.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third ed ...

have a steel alloy structure. The

fin A fin is a thin component or appendage attached to a larger body or structure. Fins typically function as foils that produce lift or thrust, or provide the ability to steer or stabilize motion while traveling in water, air, or other fluids. F ...

and

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, airship, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (usually air or water). On an airplane, the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw ...

are swept and the horizontal tail is placed slightly above the upper fuselage line; the fin and

tailplane A tailplane, also known as a horizontal stabilizer, is a small lift (force), lifting surface located on the tail (empennage) behind the main lifting surfaces of a fixed-wing aircraft as well as other non-fixed-wing aircraft such as helicopters ...

are wire braced together. The port

elevator An elevator (American English) or lift (Commonwealth English) is a machine that vertically transports people or freight between levels. They are typically powered by electric motors that drive traction cables and counterweight systems suc ...

carries a

trim tab Trim tabs are small surfaces connected to the trailing edge of a larger Flight control surfaces, control surface on a boat or aircraft, used to control the trim of the controls, i.e. to counteract hydro- or aerodynamic forces and stabilise the ...

. There is side-by-side seating for two under the wing

leading edge The leading edge is the part of the wing that first contacts the air;Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 305. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997. alternatively it is the foremost edge of an airfoil sectio ...

. After trials with

Rotax Rotax is the brand name for a range of internal combustion engines developed and manufactured by the Austrian company BRP-Rotax GmbH & Co KG (until 2016 BRP-Powertrain GmbH & Co. KG), in turn owned by the Canadian Bombardier Recreational Prod ...

and

Volkswagen Volkswagen (VW; )English: , . is a German automotive industry, automobile manufacturer based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Established in 1937 by German Labour Front, The German Labour Front, it was revitalized into the global brand it ...

engines, Lambert chose the Belgian 61 kW (82 hp)

ULPower UL260i The ULPower UL260i is a family of aircraft engines, produced by ULPower in Belgium. Design The UL260i series are all lightweight, four-cylinder, four-stroke, horizontally-opposed, air-cooled, direct drive engine designs that feature FADEC with ...

flat-four to power the M106. The development period also produced changes to the

undercarriage Undercarriage is the part of a moving vehicle that is underneath the main body of the vehicle. The term originally applied to this part of a horse-drawn carriage, and usage has since broadened to include: *The landing gear of an aircraft. *The ch ...

, which initially had V-strut main legs and half-axles. These were replaced with

cantilever A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is unsupported at one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a cantilev ...

spring

glass fiber Glass fiber ( or glass fibre) is a material consisting of numerous extremely fine fibers of glass. Glassmakers throughout history have experimented with glass fibers, but mass manufacture of glass fiber was only made possible with the inventio ...

legs. The standard M106 has a fixed

tailwheel undercarriage 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 ...

, though

tricycle 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 ...

is an option. The wheels may be faired. A

glass cockpit A glass cockpit is an aircraft cockpit that features an array of electronic (digital) flight instrument display device, displays, typically large liquid-crystal display, LCD screens, rather than traditional Analog device, analog dials and gauges ...

electronic flight instrument system In aviation, an electronic flight instrument system (EFIS) is a flight instrument display system in an aircraft cockpit that displays flight data electronically rather than electromechanically. An EFIS normally consists of a primary flight ...

is standard equipment. Production began in late 2005 with a batch of eight aircraft built in the Slovak Republic and assembled in Belgium. Belgian CAA certification was obtained in April 2006. The M106 is built to meet the European ULM maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) limits of 450 kg (992 lb) and is available only in flyaway form; the M108 variant is heavier, intended for areas which allow higher MTOWs, and may be kit built.

Operational history

Eight Mission 106s appeared on the European Civil aircraft registers in mid-2010 and one 108 is registered in the UK in 2012.

Variants

;Mission 106: MTOW of 450 kg (992 lb) to meet European ULM regulations. ;Mission 108: LSA compatible version, strengthened version with a maximum takeoff weight of ,

engine. Kits available, tricycle or tailwheel landing gear.

Specifications (Mission M106)

References

{{reflist, refs= {{cite book , title= Jane's All the World's Aircraft 2011-12, last= Jackson , first= Paul , year=2011, publisher=IHS Jane's, location= Coulsdon, Surrey, isbn=978-0-7106-2955-5, page=27 {{cite book , title=European registers handbook 2010 , last= Partington , first=Dave , year=2010, publisher= Air Britain (Historians) Ltd, isbn=978-0-85130-425-0 {{cite web , url=http://www.caa.co.uk/application.aspx?catid=60&pagetype=65&appid=1&mode=summary&aircrafttype=Mission, title=CAA - Mission , access-date=1 January 2012 2000s Belgian aircraft