The Ultravia Pelican is the name given to two series of high-wing, single-engine,

tractor configuration In aviation, a tractor configuration is a propeller-driven fixed-wing aircraft with its engine mounted with the propeller in front, so that the aircraft is "pulled" through the air. This is the usual configuration; the pusher configuration ...

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 were designed by Jean Rene Lepage and produced in kit form for amateur construction by Ultravia Aero International of

Mascouche Mascouche (; ) is an off-island suburb of Montreal, in southern Quebec, Canada. The city is located on the Mascouche River within the Les Moulins Regional County Municipality and has a population of 51,183, ranking 20th among Quebec municipali ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

and later

Gatineau Gatineau ( ; ) is a city in southwestern Quebec, Canada. It is located on the northern bank of the Ottawa River, directly across from Ottawa, Ontario. Gatineau is the largest city in the Outaouais administrative region of Quebec and is also p ...

, Quebec.Cliche, Andre: ''Ultralight Aircraft Shopper's Guide'' 8th Edition, page E-28. Cybair Limited Publishing, 2001. Purdy, Don: ''AeroCrafter - Homebuilt Aircraft Sourcebook'', page 279. BAI Communications. Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12'', pages 81 and 124. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011.

Design and development

The first Le Pelican was designed as a single-seat aircraft powered by a two-cylinder

Briggs & Stratton Briggs & Stratton Corporation is an American manufacturer of small engines with headquarters in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. Engine production averages 10 million units per year as of April 2015. The company reports that it has 13 large faciliti ...

four-stroke lawnmower engine. It was designed in the early 1980s and greatly resembles the

Aeronca C-2 The Aeronca C-2 is an American light monoplane designed by Jean A. Roche and built by Aeronca Aircraft. Development Roche Monoplane Jean A. Roche was a U.S. Army engineer at McCook Field airfield in Dayton, Ohio. Roche developed an aircraft ...

of 1929. The original Le Pelican airframe is constructed from

aluminum Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...

tubing, using

gusset In sewing, a gusset is a triangular or rhomboidal piece of textiles, fabric inserted into a seam to add breadth or reduce stress from tight-fitting clothing. Gussets were used at the shoulders, underarms, and hems of traditional shirts and chemi ...

s and

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

s. The wing consists of a "D" cell with foam and aluminum ribs. All flying surfaces are covered in 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 very first Pelicans had wire-bracing for the wing and spoilers for roll control. These were replaced with strut-bracing and one-third span

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 roll (or movement aroun ...

s. The enclosed cabin, designed for Quebec winters included

Lexan Polycarbonates (PC) are a group of thermoplastic polymers containing carbonate groups in their chemical structures. Polycarbonates used in engineering are strong, tough materials, and some grades are optically transparent. They are easily wor ...

doors. The Pelican's conventional landing gear consists of a

fibreglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass ( Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass c ...

rod for the main gear, with a tailskid, replaced on later models by a steerable tailwheel. The original Le Pelican was replaced in production by the single-seat Super Pelican which has taller landing gear and a Half VW engine of . The single-seat Le Pelican production ran from 1983 to 1985, with about 100 kits delivered. Due to demand for two-seaters Lepage designed a new "clean-sheet" aircraft in 1984, which retained the same name as the earlier single-seater. The two-seat Pelican Club and its derivatives were built in large numbers, with more than 700 flying by 2003. The original Pelican Club has a fibreglass

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 aluminum frame wings with

aircraft fabric covering 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 were later made all-metal and this model became the Pelican PL. The PL was available from the factory equipped with a

Rotax 912ULS 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, ...

or a

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 ...

turbocharged engine. Options included

tricycle A tricycle, sometimes abbreviated to trike, is a Human-powered transport, human-powered (or gasoline or electric motor powered or assisted, or gravity powered) Three-wheeler, three-wheeled vehicle. Some tricycles, such as cycle rickshaws (for pa ...

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 ...

. The Pelican was initially produced in kit form by Ultravia of Mascouche, Quebec. The company later relocated to

, Quebec. The single-seat Le Pelican series was produced from 1983–85 and the two-seat Pelican series was built from 1985 until Ultravia went out of business in 2006. In 1994, the

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

ian company Aerodesign certified and produced a new version of the Pelican PL and the Pelican Club, designated the Aerodesign AD2000 Pegasus under the

National Civil Aviation Agency of Brazil The National Civil Aviation Agency (, ANAC), is the Brazilian civil aviation authority, created in 2005. It is headquartered in the Edifício Parque Cidade Corporate in Brasília. A part of the Brazilian Secretariat of Civil Aviation, the agency ...

H.03 program, although the approval is currently listed as "cancelled". In 1997 the company marketed this model as the Aerodesign Pegasus. In 1999 this model was listed as eligible to be sold as a kit in Australia by the Australian Ultralight Federation. Since 2001 the Brazilian company Flyer Indústria Aeronáutica has assembled and produced several other aircraft designs based on the Pelican, as the Pelican 500BR, Kolb SS and the F600NG. Ultravia signed The New Kolb Aircraft Company as US distributor for the Pelican Sport 600 model in 2003. Kolb displayed the aircraft at

Sun 'n Fun Sun ’n Fun Aerospace Expo (officially styled SUN 'n FUN) is a nonprofit organization in Lakeland, Florida dedicated to the promotion of aviation education. It is best known for the annual week-long fly-in and airshow at Lakeland Linder Intern ...

and

AirVenture EAA AirVenture Oshkosh (formerly the EAA Annual Convention and Fly-In), or just Oshkosh, is an annual air show and gathering of aviation enthusiasts held each summer at the Wittman Regional Airport and adjacent Pioneer Airport in Oshkosh, Wiscon ...

between 2003 and 2005. Ultravia pursued certification of the Pelican Tutor model under CAR 523 VLA, with the National Research Council conducting the test flying under contract, but Ultravia went out of business before completing certification. In 2006 Kolb purchased the assets of the bankrupt Ultravia and developed the aircraft, in partnership with Flyer Indústria Aeronáutica of

into the ''Kolb Flyer Super Sport'', based on pilot feedback gathered. The two-seat Kolb Flyer SS design was put into production in 2008. The Flyer SS's fuselage is built from

carbon fibre Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers ( Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon comp ...

and weighs , while the wing is made from 6061-T6 and 2024-T3 aluminum. Power is provided by a Rotax 912ULS aircraft engine, giving a cruise speed of . In about 2007 Kolb sold the rights to produce the Pelican line to Ballard Sport Aircraft of

Sherbrooke, Quebec Sherbrooke ( , ) is a city in southern Quebec, Canada. It is at the confluence of the Saint-François and Magog rivers in the heart of the Estrie administrative region. Sherbrooke is also the name of a territory equivalent to a regional count ...

, who presently manufacturer kits and ready-to-fly

advanced ultralight The Canadian Aviation Regulations define two types of ultralight aircraft: basic ultra-light aeroplane (BULA), and advanced ultra-light aeroplane (AULA). Definition Regulation of ultra-light aircraft in Canada is covered by the Canadian A ...

aircraft.Vandermeullen, Richard: ''2011 Kit Aircraft Buyer's Guide'', Kitplanes, Volume 28, Number 12, December 2011, page 44. Belvoir Publications.

Variants

;Le Pelican :Original single-seat model, powered by a two-cylinder Briggs and Stratton four-stroke lawnmower engine and featuring low landing gear. ;Super Pelican :Improved single-seat model with higher main landing gear and powered by a Half VW engine. ;Pelican Club :Two-seat side-by-side model with fabric covered wing introduced in 1985. ;Pelican PL :Two-seat side-by-side model powered by a

and introduced in 1991. The PL could be built as a

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 ...

aircraft, with optional skis, floats or amphibious floats available. Gross weight .Downey, Julia: ''1999 Kit Aircraft Directory'', Kitplanes, Volume 15, Number 12, December 1998, page 73. Primedia Publications. Downey, Julia: ''2001 Kit Aircraft Directory'', Kitplanes, Volume 17, Number 12, December 2000, page 58. KitPlanes Acquisition Company. Downey, Julia: ''2002 Kit Aircraft Directory'', Kitplanes, Volume 18, Number 12, December 2001, page 71. KitPlanes Acquisition Company. Newby-Gonzalez, Tori: ''Kit Aircraft Directory 2004'', Kitplanes, Volume 20, Number 12, December 2003, page 81. Aviation Publishing Group. ;Pelican Sport :Development of the PL with a new longer span wing and a higher lift

airfoil An airfoil (American English) or aerofoil (British English) is a streamlined body that is capable of generating significantly more Lift (force), lift than Drag (physics), drag. Wings, sails and propeller blades are examples of airfoils. Foil (fl ...

, introduced in 1998. Wing includes an STOL kit with drooping ailerons. Gross weight for the Canadian

category. ;Pelican Sport 600 :Development of the Pelican Sport with a gross weight for the US

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 ...

category. As of April 2017, the design does not appear on the

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is a Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government agency within the United States Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Transportation that regulates civil aviation in t ...

's list of approved special light-sport aircraft.Tacke, Willi; Marino Boric; et al: ''World Directory of Light Aviation 2015-16'', pages 34, 84 and 101. Flying Pages Europe SARL, 2015. ;Pelican Tutor :Proposed certified version, certification was never completed. ;Flyer Super Sport (Flyer SS) :Redesigned and developed version of the Sport 600, introduced in July 2008 and produced until about 2016 by New Kolb Aircraft as a light-sport category aircraft. ;Pelican AULA 600 :Factory-assembled model for the Canadian

AULA Aula may refer to: *Avola, a city in Sicily (''Àula'' in Sicilian) *Aula, Eritrea, a village in western Eritrea *Aula (river) Aula is a river of Hesse, Germany. The 22.6-km Aula is a 22.6 km long tributary of the Fulda, joining it in Niederau ...

category. ;Aerodesign Pegasus :Brazilian redesigned version, cruising at , with a stall speed of , MTOW , aluminium wings and composite fuselage and tail. ;Flyer F600NG :A lightened version of the Pelican 500BR and Kolb SS, developed by Flyer Aircraft to fit the new Brazilian LSA regulations.

Specifications (Le Pelican)

Ultravia Pelican Club Amateur-built C-GTDZ 03

References

External links

*
Ultravia archives
on

Archive.org The Internet Archive is an American non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including websites, software applic ...

{{Uncertified aircraft developed in Canada

Pelican Pelicans (genus ''Pelecanus'') are a genus of large water birds that make up the family Pelecanidae. They are characterized by a long beak and a large throat pouch used for catching prey and draining water from the scooped-up contents before ...

1980s Canadian ultralight aircraft Single-engined piston aircraft High-wing aircraft Aircraft with fixed conventional landing gear Aircraft with fixed tricycle landing gear Single-engined tractor aircraft

Design and development

Variants

Specifications (Le Pelican)

See also

References

External links