Legal Eagle Ultralight

Sometimes people look around them at the variety of products on the market and decide that none of them is what they are wanting and just do not want to settle for something less than they want. That leaves just two options: go without or make something yourself.

The later is what Leonard Milholland decided to do when he just wasn’t satisfied with the ultralight aircrafts he found available. With the experience he obtained in the US Army Air Corp and a love of homebuilt aircraft, Leonard built a number of aircraft including a baby ace, a Kelly-D and a guppy.  Then in 1993 he started working on the Better Half VW engine conversion and later what he dubbed the Legal Eagle Ultralight. It could be that it was his intention when naming his craft that he chose “Legal” Eagle because it can be built in “legal” compliance with FAR Part 103 which defines ultralights.

Leonard has since sold thousands of plans of his conversion and through the years has improved its design – the current of which provides approximately 30 hp.

In 2003, Leonard rolled out his Double Eagle prototype. The Double Eagle comes in at 385 pounds dry weight, has a 10 gallon fuel tank, and seats two people. It has a full VW 1835cc engine modified to produce approximately 60 hp.  Although it does not meet the requirements for ultralight status under FAR Part 103, it can be flown under the Light Sport Aircraft Category. Additional specifications:

• Wings
  • Span – 28’ 3”
  • Area – 127 sf
  • Useful Load – 515 lb
  • Gross Weight – 900 lb
  • Fuselage – 18 ft

Recently Leonard was again challenged as people wanted to know if he could design an ultralight that would still be “legal” but would accommodate a larger pilot than the 225 lb weight limit of the Legal Eagle. He set to work on a wider seat design and additional wing area to support more weight. The Legal Eagel XL is 38 inches longer, 9 inches taller, 34 more inches of wingspan and 13 square feet more wing area. It can accommodate a 275 pound pilot yet still be flown by smaller pilots by adjusting the rudder pedals and seat during construction. The plans for his new Legal Eagle XL are now available for purchase.

Getting back to the Legal Eagle, let’s take a look at its specifications:

• Wings
  • Span – 23.4 ft
  • Area – 107 sf
  • Length – 13 feet
  • Seats – Single occupant only
  • Fuel Capacity – 5 gallons
  • Weight
    • Empty: 244 lbs.
    • Max Gross: 450 lbs.
    • Distances
      • Takeoff: 200 feet
      • Landing: 200 feet
      • Climb Rate – 400 fpm.
      • Stall – 25 mph
      • Build Time – Approximately 400 hours

If building an ultralight from plans is more of a challenge that you are looking for, if you look around you may be able to find one already built for sale. Additionally, John Bolding is offering kits, materials packages and welded fuselages.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 20th, 2010 at 2:01 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.