by Shannon » Mon Oct 12, 2009 9:41 am
I think it was a mistake on the part of Ultraflight to make the elaborate full enclosure for the plane. Too much R&D energy was wasted for something not ideal for plane or the market. I'll add that the thing was a work of art. Hats off to the designers.
Ultraflight always paid close attention to added weight on the planes so the full enclosure (30-35lbs) was a real radical departure from the established rational. It was really too heavy for the 185 equipped planes and with JPX's it was over the line for US 103 regs. Looking back a more logical progression would have been development a lightweight fiberglass/lexan arrangement.
I think a little lightweight pod/screen of some sort to break the wind is really great to have. You get the majority of the wind directly off of you and actually pick up a small degree of performance. Rob Kerrs recumbent clear bike windshield was a novel idea. How unfortunate that Robs cobble together hangar collapsed under snow badly screwing up his plane and stopping further refinement/testing.
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