The Lilienthal Bekas (Lilienthal Snipe in English, Лиленталь Х-32 Бекас in Russian) is a 2/3 seat, high wing single engine pusher

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 ...

from

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

. First flown in 1993, it has been produced in large numbers and in several variants.

Design and development

The Lilienthal Bekas is a pod and boom, multi-purpose,

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 with a high wing and low-set boom carrying a

T-tail A T-tail is an empennage wikt:configuration, configuration in which the tailplane of an aircraft is mounted to the top of the vertical stabilizer, fin. The arrangement looks like the capital letter T, hence the name. The T-tail differs fr ...

. The well glazed pod seats two in tandem and carries the constant chord wing at its top. The wing is braced to the lower fuselage by two pairs of cross braced struts and is fitted with

flap Flap may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Flap'' (film), a 1970 American film * Flap, a boss character in the arcade game '' Gaiapolis'' * Flap, a minor character in the film '' Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland'' Biology and h ...

s, which have a maximum deflection of 40°. A fixed, tricycle undercarriage with a castoring nosewheel is mounted on the pod. The engine is mounted at the rear top of the pod, behind the cabin; types in the 60-100 hp (45-75 kW) range may be fitted, most commonly

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 ...

two or four cylinder models such as the

Rotax 582 The Rotax 582 is a two-stroke cycle, two-stroke, two-cylinder, rotary intake valve, oil-in-fuel or oil injection pump, liquid-cooled, gear reduction-drive aircraft engine manufactured by Rotax, BRP-Rotax GmbH & Co. KG. It is for use in non-ce ...

or 912UL and 912ULS. The engine is cowled on some aircraft but not all. Much of the slim boom is occupied by a broad chord fin with a straight swept leading edge. On some aircraft, it is extended forwards with a fillet. The rudder hinge, also slightly swept, is at the end of the boom. The tailplane is of constant chord and braced to the end of the boom by a strut on each side. The aircraft has

JAR-VLA The Joint Aviation Requirements (JAR) were a set of common comprehensive and detailed aviation requirement issued by the Joint Aviation Authorities, intended to minimise Type Certification problems on joint ventures, and also to facilitate the expo ...

certification.

Operational history

The X-32 Bekas first flew in March 1993 and received its Ukrainian certification in 1995. The Rotax 582 and 912 variants were certified in 2003 and 2005 respectively. Between 2003 and 2006, the X-32 and X-34 were marketed by JAI ( Jordan Aerospace Industries) as the RumBird X-32 and GulfBird X-34. in India and South Asian countries, X-32 and X-34 are being marketed and produced by their Indian partners, Engenious Aerospace Ltd. http://engeniousaerospace.com/project/aircraft-x32/ By 2009, more than 400 X-32s had been sold.

Variants

''Data from Jane's All the World's Aircraft 2010/11'' ;X-32AT Bekas: Sports version, certified for limited aerobatics. ;X-32UT Bekas: Dual control trainer version. ;X-32CK Bekas: Agricultural version, which may be fitted with spray bars fed from tank replacing rear seat. ;X-32CX Bekas: Agricultural version for crop spraying ;X-32A Bekas: Ski undercarriage. ;X-32H Bekas: Float undercarriage. ;X-34 Bekas: Widened cabin for three, with the two passengers side-by-side on a rear bench seat; 500 mm greater span and either

Rotax 912 The Rotax 912 is a horizontally-opposed four-cylinder, naturally-aspirated, four-stroke aircraft engine with a reduction gearbox. It features liquid-cooled cylinder heads and air-cooled cylinders. Originally equipped with carburetors, la ...

S or

Rotax 914 The Rotax 914 is a turbo-charged, four-stroke, four-cylinder, horizontally opposed aircraft engine with air-cooled cylinders and water-cooled cylinder heads. It is designed and built by the Austrian company BRP-Powertrain, owned by Bombardier ...

engine.

Specifications (X-32)

References

External links

*{{Official website, http://www.lilienthal.com.ua/en
Engenious Aerospace
1990s Ukrainian aircraft Ultralight aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1993 High-wing aircraft Single-engined pusher aircraft