Ultraflight Lazair
| Ultralight Lazair | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Type: | Microlight |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: |
UltraFlight Inc. |
| First flight: |
1978 |
| Commissioning: |
1979 |
| Production time: |
1979-1984 |
UltraFlight Lazair is a family of Canadian twin-engine ultralight aircraft that were sold as a kit between 1979 and 1984. The planes were one of the first twin-engine microlight aircraft. Lazairs are the most commonly registered microlights in Canada.
In 2019 Canada Post issued a stamp in honor of the Ultralight Lazair.
history
In 1977 Dale Kramer visited the EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh , where he saw the performance of the microlight aircraft presented. He then built an early version of the US Aviation Super Floater ultralight glider . The following year he took this plane to Oshkosh, where he met Ed Sweeney. Sweeney and Kramer equipped the Super Floater with two Sweeney motors. Later, Kramer designed a new aircraft for the two engines, eliminating the shortcomings he had discovered in the Super Floater.
He built the Lazair from scratch as a completely new aircraft and even went so far as to create his own wing profile . Kramer chose the name Lazair as an allusion to the successful laser boat class , as a contraction of the English expression "lazy air" due to the low cruising speed and as an allusion to " laissez-faire ".
Although Kramer completed most of the test flights, Peter Corley flew the Lazair on its maiden flight in November 1978. However, the flight performance was initially not as good as hoped. The engines were then relocated from their original position under the wings directly in front of the profile nose , which led to an improvement in performance. In March 1979, they presented the prototype at the Sun 'n Fun Aerospace Expo in Florida . There he won the award for the best do-it-yourself microlight. In the same year he also won this award at the EAA AirVenture. Orders for 33 copies were placed there and Kramer started series production.
construction
The Lazair I is a single-seat high - decker with an open cockpit , an inverted V-tail and two propeller engines in a tractor configuration . Since it was designed as an ultralight aircraft for low flight speeds, the fuselage consists of an open frame made of aluminum tubes that supports the cockpit, the nose wheel landing gear and the tail unit .
The wing is attached above the frame with additional, external reinforcement struts. It has a straight, tapered floor plan with a large extension . The profile is a construction by Dale Kramer. It has a hollow arch which gives the profile an S-shaped skeleton line. The angle of incidence decreases continuously from the wing root to the wing tip. The aircraft is also one of the first light aircraft to have winglets . With these characteristics, the aircraft shows optimal slow flight characteristics and a very good-natured stall behavior . The high elongation of the wings gives the Lazair a good glide behavior with a glide ratio of 12: 1 and can climb even with low thermals .
The structure of the wings consists of an aluminum nose , foam frames and a rear part made of aluminum tubes. The coverings of the first 50 Lazair kits are light-tight, polyurethane- impregnated nylon fabric . Later a translucent Mylar sheet was used. The covering is attached to the frame with single, double-sided adhesive tape . Since the Mylar film had a short lifespan due to UV damage, it was eventually replaced with more expensive Tedlar film.
For easy control, the pivot point of the control stick was placed above the pilot, so that the control stick hangs over the pilot. Conventional ailerons and a V-tail ensure controllability around all three axes. Although this configuration is common for conventional aircraft, it was unusual for an ultralight aircraft at the time . The ailerons and the V-tail are connected to each other, so that curves can be flown with the control stick alone. The V-tail acts as an elevator for movement around the transverse axis .
Kramer opted for two motors instead of one because he wanted to use two large chainsaw motors to get the total 11 horsepower (8 kW) power he believed was necessary to get his plane to fly with acceptable flight performance. He placed the engines as close together as possible to minimize yaw movements in the event of an engine failure. The Lazair was one of the first two-engine microlight aircraft, which greatly improved the reliability and safety of this class of aircraft.
Although the Lazair was made of conventional aviation materials, it had many innovative properties for an ultralight aircraft, such as the wing profile, winglets, the inverted V-tail, the covering made of transparent film and two motors.
Later models received many improvements and options such as two seats in tandem , more powerful engines, fuselage fairings and conventional control sticks.
production
The first prototype of the Lazair was built by Dale Kramer with the help of Peter Corley and made its maiden flight in 1978.
In 1979, Kramer founded UltraFlight Incorporated in his hometown of Port Colborne , Ontario to manufacture the Lazair. In 1981 the subsidiary UltraFlight Sales Ltd was founded to market the aircraft kits . Production ended in 1984. The company cited liability issues and the resulting costs as well as the lack of availability of insurance as the reason .
The Lazair has been sold widely in Canada and the United States , making it the best- selling Canadian aircraft design. Of all the variants, the Lazair Series II was built the most frequently.
Versions
- Series I.
The first Lazair kits were only marketed under the name Lazair, but were later named Series I after improved versions had been developed. It is worth noting that the aerodynamic design of the wings and tail unit was not changed in any way from the first prototype to the last kit produced .
The first model was a single-seater with a wingspan of 36.3 ft (11.1 m ) and two chainsaw motors with a rated output of 5.5 HP (4 kW ) and a displacement of 100 cc, the plastic propeller in tractor configuration directly drive. The main landing gear has 16 in (406 mm ) diameter wheels with a 26 in (1 m) track gauge which, when combined with the large span, means that rolling at wind speeds in excess of 7 mph (11 km / h ) an assistant is required to support the wings . Skids were attached to the V-tail.
- Series II
In response to customer requests to equip the Lazair with floats , the engines were replaced by Rotax 185 engines with 9.5 HP (7 kW), as the Pioneer engines do not have sufficient power. These single-cylinder engines were used extensively in fire pumps and had proven themselves there.
The same types of propellers are used as for the Series I. In order to be able to absorb the greater forces of the new engines, two propellers were mounted in front of each other instead of developing a new propeller, as UltraFlight had large quantities of the propellers in stock and could thus save a considerable amount. Since the Lazair was designed as a motor glider from the start , this configuration offered the additional advantage of lower air resistance compared to a conventional four-blade propeller. The minimally lower thrust was accepted.
During the production of the Series II, the runners at the rear were initially replaced by rigid and later by rotating tail wheels . Although flying in an open cockpit is a challenge in winter, snow runners have also been offered to replace the main landing gear. Furthermore, rudder pedals were introduced, which allowed side gliding and cross wind landings . The rudder control during the flight could either be coupled to the aileron or controlled via the pedals via a gearbox .
- Series III
The third series of single-seat Lazairs includes some improvements based on customer requests. This includes:
- Widening the track width of the main landing gear to 46 in (1,168 mm)
- Additional struts to improve the tolerance to negative g-forces
- conventional joystick
- Brake pedals
The Series III drive still consists of Rotax 185 engines . Motors from KFM with 25 HP (18 kW) or the JPX PUL 425 with 26 HP (19 kW) were also optionally available.
- elite
The Lazair Elite is a low-volume version with a reinforced frame, the wings of the Lazair II and an optional cockpit fairing. It is also suitable for heavier pilots.
- Lazair II
The Lazair II is a two-seater trainer with the seats next to each other. It was presented in 1983 and built around fifty times. The Lazair II is powered by two JPX PUL 425s with 26 HP (19 kW) each. The motors are mounted at a greater distance than in the single-seat versions, which leads to a different behavior in the event of a single-sided engine failure.
- Lazair SS EC
The S urveillance S pecial, which was developed for police operations , used the airframe of the Elite and the JPX-PUL-425KFM engines of the two-seater Lazair II with 25 HP (18 kW). The only built SS Lazair EC was the Police Station Monterey Park in California for surveillance flights during the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles used.
- Electric Lazair (eLazair)
In 2011, Dale Kramer presented an experimental, electric version of the Lazair with floats at the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh . The aircraft is powered by two Joby JM1 motors of a Jeti SPIN Pro 300 as control and two 16-cell batteries with four ampere hours and a voltage of 63 volts, which are housed in the wings . The machine won the Antique Ultralight Champion and Best Ultralight Amphibian awards in Oshkosh . The eLazair is an experimental project. A series production is planned.
The Lazair inspired many other aircraft designers to take advantage of the design features of their wings. For example, the wings of the Blue Yonder Merlin are based on the wing design of the Lazair.
use
Many Lazairs are still in operation in the 21st century. As with its introduction, it has been praised again and again for its flight characteristics and cruising speed.
In November 2007, a total of 460 Lazairs of all variants were still registered in Canada. In the USA, most of the Lazairs are flown as unregistered microlight aircraft according to FAR Part 103 . However, ten copies were registered as kit aircraft .
Incidents
- On November 15, 1983, a Lazair converted to four engines, the right outer engine failed due to an improperly installed fuel line at high speed over a lake near Elsinore , California at approximately 250 feet (76 m) . The aircraft then took a right turn, continuously lost altitude and finally hit the surface of the water with its nose first. The aircraft was destroyed and the 45-year-old pilot was killed.
- On May 26, 1984, a Lazair II flew too low on final approach at an airfield in Blitchton , Georgia , collided with a tree, and then fell from a height of approximately 40 ft (12 m). The 66-year-old pilot was killed on impact.
Technical data (Lazair Series II)
| Parameter | Data |
|---|---|
| crew | 1 |
| length | 13 ft (4 m ) |
| span | 36.3 ft (11 m ) |
| height | 6.3 ft (2 m ) |
| Wing area | 143 ft² (13.3 m² ) |
| payload | 240 lb (109 kg ) |
| Empty mass | 210 lb (95 kg) |
| Max. Takeoff mass | 450 lb (204 kg) |
| Cruising speed | 40 mph (64 km / h ) |
| Top speed | 55 mph (89 km / h) |
| Service ceiling | 11,000 ft (3,353 m) |
| Range | 135 mi (217 km ) |
| Engines | 2 × Rotax 185 , each 9.5 PS (7 kW ) |
Issued copies
- The Lazair SS EC is on display in the National Air and Space Museum in the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center at Washington Dulles International Airport .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Official Gazette of the United States Patent and Trademark office . tape 1042 , no. 2 , May 8, 1984 (English).
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Adam Hunt, Ruth Merkis-Hunt: Skeletal Remains . In: Kitplanes Magazine . September 2000, p. 64-70 (English).
- ↑ Details magazine No. 3. (PDF) Canada Post , March 2019, accessed February 15, 2020 .
- ^ A b c Dale Kramer: Remembering Peter Corley and the birth of the Lasair ultralight . In: free flight . April 2004, p. 4 (English, sac.ca ).
- ^ A b c Adam Hunt, Ruth Merkis-Hunt: est Flying Lazair No. 1 . In: Kitplanes Magazine . December 2000, p. 98-106 (English).
- ^ A b c John Partridge: Success on the Wing . In: The Financial Post Magazine . Maclean Hunter, Toronto Aug. 1, 1982, pp. 10–16 (English, bmapper.com [PDF]).
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j Andre Cliche: Ultralight Aircraft Shopper's Guide . 8th edition. Cybair Publishing Limited, 2001, ISBN 0-9680628-1-4 , pp. E-21 (English).
- ↑ a b Lazair: A Classic Ultralight Twin. UL Flyer, accessed February 15, 2020 .
- ^ A b Adam Hunt, Ruth Merkis-Hunt: Poised to Fly . In: Kitplanes Magazine . October 2000, p. 76-83 (English).
- ↑ a b c d Ultraflight Sales Lazair SS EC. (No longer available online.) National Air and Space Museum , 2000, archived from the original ; accessed on February 15, 2020 (English).
- ↑ Lazair.com. Lazair, accessed February 15, 2020 .
- ↑ a b c d An introduction to the Lazair. (No longer available online.) Lazair Force, archived from the original October 14, 2006 ; accessed on October 31, 2007 (English).
- ^ Dean Sigler: Dale Kramer and his electric Lazair . In: Kitplanes Magazine . tape 28 , no. 12 . Belvoir Publications, December 12, 2011, ISSN 0891-1851 , p. 31-35 (English).
- ↑ Adam Hunt: Merlin Magic . In: COPA Flight . Canadian Owners and Pilots Association, February 2005, p. C-1 (English).
- ↑ Kenneth Armstrong: Choosing Your Homebuilt - the one you will finish and fly! 2nd Edition. Butterfield Press, 1993, ISBN 0-932579-26-4 , pp. 195-201 (English).
- ^ Canadian Civil Aircraft Register. (No longer available online.) Transport Canada, Nov 1, 2007, archived from the original ; accessed on February 15, 2020 (English).
- ↑ FAA Registry Make / Model Inquiry Results. (No longer available online.) Federal Aviation Administration , archived from the original ; accessed on November 1, 2007 (English).
- ^ National Transportation Safety Board Aviation - Accident Final Report. Federal Aviation Administration , accessed February 19, 2020 .
- ^ National Transportation Safety Board Aviation - Accident Final Report. Federal Aviation Administration , accessed February 19, 2020 .