The Wings of Freedom Flitplane is an American single-seat, high-wing, single-engine ultralight aircraft that is available as a kit aircraft or as plans for amateur construction from Wings of Freedom of Hubbard, Ohio.[1][2][3][4]
| Flitplane | |
|---|---|
| Role | Ultralight aircraft |
| National origin | United States |
| Manufacturer | Wings of Freedom |
| Designer | Ed Fisher |
| First flight | 1995 |
| Introduction | 1995 |
| Status | Production ended (2019) |
| Number built | 50 (Dec 2011)[1] |
The Flitplane was designed as a low-cost aircraft with the look of an antique aircraft design for the US FAR 103 Ultralight Vehicles category with its maximum 254 lb (115 kg) empty weight requirement.[3][5]
In late 2019 the company website had been taken down and it is likely that production had ended.[6]
The Flitplane was designed in 1995 by Ed Fisher who also designed the Skylite ultralight and the Micro-Mong home-built aircraft. The design was acquired by Joe Naylor and Mark W. Klotz who formed Wings of Freedom Aviation Inc. in 1996 to develop the design and market it.[7]
Naylor and Klotz made many changes to the design but retained the antique look of the aircraft and its distinctive large triangular windshield.[2]
The Flitplane's fuselage is fabricated from a welded truss of 4130 steel tubing. The 27 ft (8.2 m) wings are of aluminum "ladder-type" construction, are strut-braced and utilize jury struts. The fuel tank is integrated into the wing centre-section. The wings and tail are covered in doped aircraft fabric. The engine is mounted in front of the high wing, above the cockpit. The original powerplant was a 35 hp (26 kW) Cuyuna 460 engine, with a 40 hp (30 kW) Rotax 447 optional. Later engine options added included the 28 hp (21 kW) Hirth F-33, the 45 hp (34 kW) Zanzottera MZ 201 and the Kawasaki 440 40 hp (30 kW) engine.[2][4]
The conventional landing gear is suspended using fibreglass axles. The tailwheel is steerable. The controls are conventional three-axis and include full-span ailerons. The large, flat-plate triangular windshield protects the pilot from the propeller blast and has distinctive cut-outs for the rudder pedals.[2][4]
The Flitplane is available as plans, a complete kit, partial kits or as a finished and ready-to-fly aircraft. The company claims that the aircraft can be built from the kit in 100 hours or 500 hours from plans.[2][5]
Data from Company website[4]
General characteristics
Performance
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
Wings Of Freedom aircraft | |
|---|---|
| Fixed wing aircraft |
|
