Steve Ashby Wednesday, July 31, 2024

Badland Ultralight Grows a Nose Wheel

A phenom in the ultralight world, the Badland made news at last year’s AirVenture by rolling out its single cylinder 460cc, 39 hp Thumper engine married to its sturdy chrome molly airframe. This year, Badland unveils two major developments, a nosewheel and carbon fiber ribs. The Badland nosewheel design is an homage to the Vans […]

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Steve Ashby Tuesday, July 30, 2024

Wapsi Aero Debuts Multifunction Display at AirVenture

If you are piloting an ultralight or light plane VFR, you really don’t need an artificial horizon or a heading indicator. But you do need airspeed and altitude, and it’d be nice to have that available in a compact, clear, modern package. Even better, you’d like to make sure everything is happy in the power […]

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Steve Ashby Monday, July 29, 2024

Dragonfly Rancher Gets New Life in Florida

There is a two place tandem high wing light plane that looks a little like a single engine AirCam that has been knocking around for over a decade in, of all places, the hang gliding community. This sturdy craft, the Dragonfly Rancher, has been used to tow hang gliders to altitude without the necessity of […]

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Steve Ashby Friday, July 26, 2024

Blackshape Prime Veloce: Speeding at Mach 2 Standing Still

There are a lot of sexy looking airplanes displayed at AirVenture, but a sure front runner for sleekest looking plane around is the Prime Veloce all-composite, two-place tandem retractable sport plane from Monopoli, Italy. This little speedster is powered by a Rotax 915 iS and is listed as capable of a 170 knot cruise speed.  […]

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Steve Ashby Sunday, July 21, 2024

Forty-Year-Old Ultralight Still Flying At AirVenture

At the 1993 EAA annual convention (long before they called it AirVenture) a young dreamer walked the ultralight grounds with hopes of someday building and flying an ultralight aircraft. On row 1 in front of the Ultralight Barn, Mike Ostrander spotted a well worn Quicksilver MX with a for sale sign. A short negotiation later, […]

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Steve Ashby Wednesday, July 10, 2024

Look Out — A Hybrid Merlin is Coming!

First introduced in Europe in 2013, the all aluminum single seat enclosed cabin Merlin LSA has sported a variety of engines, including a Rotax 582, a specially built four stroke V-twin and even an electric motor. In fact, the Merlin airframe has served as a test bed for all kinds of propulsion and aerodynamic innovations. […]

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