The Quad City Challenger is a family of one and two seats-in-

tandem Tandem, or in tandem, is an arrangement in which two or more animals, machines, or people are lined up one behind another, all facing in the same direction. ''Tandem'' can also be used more generally to refer to any group of persons or objects w ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 is designed and produced by Quad City Aircraft Corporation of

Moline, Illinois Moline ( ) is a city in Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. With a population of 42,985 in the 2020 census, it is the largest city in Rock Island County and the List of municipalities in Illinois, ninth-most populous in Illinois outside ...

. The Challenger was first introduced in 1983.Vandermeullen, Richard: ''2011 Kit Aircraft Buyer's Guide'', Kitplanes, Volume 28, Number 12, December 2011, page 66 Belvoir Publications. ISSN 0891-1851Challenger Advanced Ultralight & Light Sport Aircraft - National Ultralight Canada & Quad City U.S
/ref>Kitplanes Staff: ''2008 Kit Aircraft Directory'', page 67, Kitplanes Magazine December 2007 Volume 24, Number 12, Belvior Publications, Aviation Publishing Group LLC.

Design and development

The Challenger ultralight is a high wing, tricycle gear

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 ...

with a frame structure built from 6061-T6 aluminum alloy tubing fastened with aircraft grade AN bolts and

rivet A rivet is a permanent mechanical fastener. Before being installed, a rivet consists of a smooth cylinder (geometry), cylindrical shaft with a head on one end. The end opposite the head is called the ''tail''. On installation, the deformed e ...

s and covered with either presewn

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 or standard

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 engine is mounted in

and turns the

propeller A propeller (often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon a working flu ...

through a reduction drive that uses a cogged tooth rubber belt.Cliche, Andre: ''Ultralight Aircraft Shopper's Guide'' 8th Edition, pages B-11 & B-71. Cybair Limited Publishing, 2001. The kit can be purchased in 4 major sub-kits: the Tail Assembly, Fuselage, Wings, and Engine. The factory kit is supplied with the most difficult mechanical work already completed. This includes the primary

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 ...

framework along with the controls and the basic wing structures assembled at the factory. The kit builder is required to finish the smaller structural components, cover the aluminum frames with fabric, seal and paint the fabric and do the final assembly. The aircraft has the ability to soar with its motor switched off. The Challenger design has been criticized by reviewers for its landing gear, which is a rigid cable-braced type and is subject to being bent during hard landings. A number of after-market suppliers have designed steel gear legs as replacements for the stock landing gear in an attempt to rectify this problem. The improved factory-designed Light Sport Special (LSS) model incorporates revised landing gear to address this deficiency.Cliche, Andre: ''Ultralight Aircraft Shopper's Guide'' 8th Edition, pages B-75. Cybair Limited Publishing, 2001. Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12'', page 116. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ISSN 1368-485X In November 2018, the design was subject to a

Transportation Safety Board of Canada The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB, ), officially the Canadian Transportation Accident Investigation and Safety Board () is the agency of the Government of Canada responsible for advancing transportation safety in Canada. It is acc ...

Aviation Safety Advisory due to an accident on 30 July 2018 where a Challenger crashed and the pilot was killed. The investigation determined that the right front

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 ...

lower bracket had failed due to fatigue after only 402.2 hours in service. The bracket has a 500 hour component life and is subject to 50 hour periodic inspections. Examination of 22 other Challengers found eight that also had cracked brackets.

Variants

;Challenger I (Challenger UL) :Single seat, wingspan gives lower stall speed. Can be fitted with a variety of engines. Qualifies as a US "Experimental - Amateur-Built",

Light sport aircraft A light-sport aircraft (LSA), or light sport aircraft, is a category of small, lightweight aircraft that are simple to fly. LSAs tend to be heavier and more sophisticated than ultralight (aka "microlight") aircraft, but LSA restrictions on weigh ...

or with 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 ...

engine as a US FAR 103 ''Ultralight Vehicle'', 800 reported completed and flown by the fall of 2011. ;Challenger I Special :Single seat, wingspan gives faster roll rate. Engines

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 ...

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 ...

, 582 or

HKS 700E The HKS 700E is a twin-cylinder, horizontally opposed, four stroke, carburetted aircraft engine, designed for use on ultralight aircraft, powered parachutes and ultralight trikes. The engine is manufactured by HKS, a Japanese company noted for ...

. Qualifies as a US Experimental - Amateur-Built or

, 300 reported completed and flown by the fall of 2011. ;Challenger II :Two seats in tandem, wingspan provides more lift and lower stall speed. Can be equipped with floats. Engines

, 582 or

. Qualifies as a US Experimental - Amateur-Built or

, 2000 reported completed and flown by the fall of 2011. ;Challenger II Special :Two seats in tandem, wingspan gives faster roll rate. Engines

, 582 or

. Qualifies as a US Experimental - Amateur-Built or

, 350 reported completed and flown by the fall of 2011. ;Challenger II CW LSS :Two seats in tandem, . Engine

, 582 or

. This model incorporates many revisions to the basic Challenger design, including a larger and re-shaped vertical fin,

fiberglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) is a common type of fibre-reinforced plastic, fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened i ...

wing tips A wing tip (or wingtip) is the part of the wing that is most distant from the fuselage of a fixed-wing aircraft. Because the wing tip shape influences the size and drag of the wingtip vortices, tip design has produced a diversity of sha ...

and redesigned

landing gear Landing gear is the undercarriage of an aircraft or spacecraft that is used for taxiing, takeoff or landing. For aircraft, it is generally needed for all three of these. It was also formerly called ''alighting gear'' by some manufacturers, s ...

. Qualifies as a US

, 110 reported completed and flown by the fall of 2011.Tacke, Willi; Marino Boric; et al: ''World Directory of Light Aviation 2015-16'', page 121. Flying Pages Europe SARL, 2015. ;Challenger II LSS XL-65 :Two seats in tandem, . Engine

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 ...

. Qualifies as a US

, ten reported completed and flown by the fall of 2011.

Specifications (Challenger II)

References

External links

*{{Official website, http://www.challengeraircraft.com/ 1980s United States ultralight aircraft Light-sport aircraft Single-engined pusher aircraft High-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1983 Aircraft with fixed tricycle landing gear Single-engined piston aircraft

Design and development

Variants

Specifications (Challenger II)

See also

References

External links