Cloudster, all wood ultralight aircraft kit, from Simplex Aeroplanes

Ultralight Aircraft Magazine -
The Cloudster is a very simple design that is among the easiest of wood ultralights to build AND fly. The Cloudster is designed to fly behind a 28-35 hp engine. Depending on your engine selection, you’ll find that the airplane gets off the ground in about 75 feet, lifting off at about 30 mph. 

With a 30 hp Kawasaki 340 engine it’s not uncommon to see a climb out speed of 40 mph at 900 feet per minute, with cruise coming in at around 55-60 mph at 5300 rpms.

Visibility is outstanding and landings are a snap with the aluminum, one piece gear. The airplane has no nasty habits and a 26 mph power on stall give the pilot a safe, secure feeling. In the sky the airplane exhibits very little adverse yaw. 

The pilot will find very responsive controls, with a nice balanced feel, and not any mushy sensations.
The Cloudster was designed to fly on low power and for those who enjoy low and slow morning flying at minimum cost. The profile fuselage and narrow cowling provide a clean aerodynamic appeal. With ample wing area and parallel struts, the Cloudster is the ideal first-time builder’s ultralight.

The major components of the plane are all wood with metal struts and fittings. The plane is available as plans only, full kit or as sub component kits. The airplanes construction is very similar to that of a wood model aircraft, and can be built by anyone using standard hand tools, in an area as small as a 1 car garage and take 250-450 hours to complete depending on skills, tooling, and work habit. 

A fast and experienced builder could do it in 250 hours. A typical breakdown may be 40 hours on the fuselage, 10 hours on the landing gear and rigging, 100 hours on the wings, 30 hours on the tail feathers, 20 hours on engine installation and break-in, and 50 hours on covering and painting.

The design uses conventional gear with 3 axis controls. The pilots legs going up the side of the fuselage to the rudder pedals, making it a a true open cockpit flying machine. The feel is much the same as riding a motorcycle in the air!

Cloudster Specs:
Dihedral: 1 1/2 deg
Angle of Incidence: 2 1/2 deg
Airfoil: NACA 4414 (modified clark Y – 14%)
Chord: 56″
Tail Span: 7′
Total Length: 16.5′
Wingspan: 30′ 2″ or 31′ (depending on the wing tips)
Wing Area: 138.6 sq/ft
Wing Loading: 3.6 lbs/sq. ft @ 500 lbs gross
Fuselage Depth: 10″
Fuselage Width: 9 1/2″
Horsepower: 28-35 hp
Fuel Capacity: 2.5 to 5 gallons
Range: Varies with engine and fuel tank selection
Cruise: 55-60 mph
Calculated Stall Speed: 24 mph (w/ 180 lb pilot)
Actual Stall Speed: 23 – 25 mph
Climb: 500 – 900 ft/min (depending on engine)
Ceiling: 10,000 ft
Takeoff Distance: 175 ft
Landing Distance: 200 ft
Gross Weight: 500 lbs
Maximum Loads +4/-2 G’s
Empty weight (Kawasaki 340): 245 lbs
Empty weight (1/2 VW): 254 lbs
Construction Materials: Wood/metal/fabric
Build time: 300-500 hrs est.
http://simplexaero.com/

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