Challenger Ultralight Aircraft

In Moline, Illinois there is a company called Quad City Ultralight Aircraft Corp. that produces Challenger Ultralights. Their Challenger Ultralight aircraft kit arrives at your door needing simple assembly, covering and painting.

Challenger Ultralight – A single-seat ultralight with a 31.5 foot wingspan; it can cruise between 55 and 80 mph. It can also be put on floats to make it capable of landing on water.  It comes standard with the Rotax 277 (28 hp) engine but can be upgraded to the Rotax 477 (42 hp) engine. The build time is estimated between 40 and 60 hours.

Challenger II LSS (Light Sport Special) – This aircraft comes standard with a Rotax 503 (52hp) engine and can cruise at 95 mph @ 6000 rpm.

Challenger II – Two-seat long wing (41.5 ft wingspan) that cruises between 65 and 85 mph.  It comes with the Rotax 447 (42 hp) standard but can be upgraded to the Rotax 503 (48/52 hp) engine. The build time is estimated between 40 and 60 hours.

Challenger II Special – Two-place clipped wing (26 ft wingspan) with cruising speeds up to 95 mph. The Rotax 503 (52 hp) engine is standard.  Build time is estimated at 150 hours.

Challenger Special – Single-place clipped wing (26 ft wingspan) with cruising speeds up to 95 mph. The build time is estimated at 120 hours. You can either upgrade to the Rotax 502 engine or stay with the Rotax 477 that is standard.

Challenger 103 – This single-seat Challenger was designed to meet the FAR Part 103 requirements for an ultralight – it weighs under the 254 pound weight limit. It is powered by the Hirth F33 dual ignition engine and can usually be assembled in less than 100 hours making it an excellent aircraft for the first-timer.

The Challenger kits can be purchased in one complete kit or done as four sub-kits – tail, wings, fuselage and engine.  This company has been producing its line of Challenger aircrafts since 1983. They have strived to provide aircrafts that are inexpensive to purchase – less than $25,000 in most cases – and also inexpensive to operate as they use regular automobile gasoline and cost just $5 to $10 per hour to fly. The parts and service on these planes is also affordable. None of their aircraft require more than a Sport Pilot Permit, and the 103 does not even need that.

If building your Challenger ultralight from a kit seems daunting to you, you can locate a distributor that offers in-house builder assistance or will build it completely for you.  One such company is U-FLY-IT in DeLand, Florida.  You can purchase your kit through them, get assistance building it or have them build it, have them send it off for painting and even train you to fly it.  You can find information on their website at www.uflyit.com.

Whether you go with a Challenger aircraft or another one, it is critical that you get appropriate training. Challenger ultralights are a nice option for the beginner, but you still want to know how to fly it so your first flight is not your last!

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 20th, 2010 at 1:58 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.