Sport Aviation - Belite Aircraft

Birth
of the Belite
BY TIM KERN
JAMES WIEBE, EAA 859932, worked at Cessna as an intern in 1978, joined a
flying club, and earned his private pilot certificate. Since then, he has logged
some 1,800 flight hours in general aviation aircraft while developing a reputation as an entrepreneur in the computer industry. As founder and
president/CEO of Newer Technology, he led that company to annual sales of
more than $60 million; later he founded WiebeTech, a significant provider
of storage devices for personal computers.
54 Sport Aviation July 2010
PHOTOGRAPHY BY CRAIG SOOTER
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A
fter selling WiebeTech, James turned his entrepreneurial enthusiasm toward his passion for aviation. In early 2009 he
bought the tooling for the Kitfox Lite and, following an extensive
weight-reduction program, relaunched the aircraft as the Belite
series of legal FAR Part 103 ultralights.
WHY ULTRALIGHTS?
As James notes, “When light-sport opened up, people expected
‘cheap’ two-seat airplanes. That’s not happening….” With more than
100 light-sport aircraft designs covering the higher end of the price
bracket, James sensed an opportunity for those on a restricted budget who don’t want to fly anywhere in particular; they just want to
experience the joy of flight.
He came to the conclusion that FAR Part 103 ultralighting is still
the best answer to the question of low-cost flying, and also holds
great appeal to the free spirit in aviation. Here, under minimal
restrictions and with virtually no supervision, nearly anyone can fly.
You can build your own ultralight, power it with your own engines
(as many as you want), and fly it with no medical restrictions. You
don’t have to build 51 percent; manufacturers don’t need to conform
to federal aviation regulations (FARs) or ASTM standards.
But James did figure that a modern ultralight must exhibit handling similar to a “real” airplane, particularly as the new sport-pilot
rules had effectively killed traditional methods of ultralight training.
This would make one’s first solo a less foreign experience after
receiving training in a small two-place airplane.
KITFOX ON A DIET
When James purchased the Kitfox Lite tooling, he also acquired a
well-used Kitfox Lite airframe to use as the test bed for an aggressive
weight-reduction program. His goal was to drop at least 40 pounds
from the used “fat ultralight.”
PART 103 ALIVE AND KICKING
STILL THE BEST OPTION FOR AFFORDABLE FLYING
Industry gurus are sensing an upturn in interest in ultralights following the
upheaval precipitated by the introduction of the new sport pilot rules in
2004. The market has been preserved through some lean years by dedicated
trike and powered parachute manufacturers, plus a few fixed-wing
stalwarts: Challenger, CGS, Hummel, Quicksilver, Fisher, and Kolb,
among others.
New players such as Belite are helping create a sense of positive
momentum in the ultralight segment, Randy Schlitter of RANS is said to be
working on a new design, and the emergence of electric powerplants seems
to hold significant prospects for future growth. Following pioneering work
by Randall Fishman with his ElectraFlyer, Tom Peghiny flew his electricpowered Flightstar e-Spyder just about every day at Oshkosh last year. If the
FAA allows equivalent “fuel” weight for additional batteries (the 5-gallon
rule effectively allows for 30 pounds in Part 103, why not allow 30 pounds
more of batteries?) then—even using current battery technology—potential
flight times of an hour or more would become realistic.
56 Sport Aviation July 2010
James Wiebe compares the carbon fiber rib with the original
wood wing rib
Big chunks of weight reduction were
found by changing the powerplant; the original weighed some 90 pounds and was so
heavy that more weight had been added to
the tail to keep the center of gravity in range.
Other weight reduction came incrementally.
James attacked the steel lift struts, wheels
and brakes, and especially the wings, which
weighed some 62 pounds total with their
aluminum spars and plywood ribs. Even the
fabric on the old machine was heavy.
After a redesign of the wing, including
carbon-fiber spars and ribs, a total of 12
pounds was gone. The steel lift struts gave
way to carbon fiber—3 pounds saved. The
steel tail wheel spring, too, became composite; though a larger tail wheel used up the
weight saved there. Grove 4-inch wheels and
hydraulic (but still heel-operated) brakes
replaced the larger mechanical units. The
new fabric, from Stewart Systems, weighs 3
to 5 pounds less than the original and is used
sparingly. The original aluminum firewall is
now carbon fiber, as is the seat bottom. The
seat cushion is dropped in per pilot preference and not a permanent part of the aircraft
or its official weight. The elevator and its
pushrod are made of carbon fiber as well.
With all those modifications, the Belite
254 was born.
OPTIONS
With the basic Belite design in place, James
started giving people options. Although
ultralight pilots don’t need a tailwheel
endorsement, many pilots are more comfortable with a nose wheel. For these folks,
James developed a tri-gear version he calls
the Belite Trike. Its full-castering nose
wheel allows a remarkable turning radius
through differential braking when taxiing or
when parking.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY GENE STRATTON
AIRCRAFT DATA
HOW PART 103 IS LESS RESTRICTIVE THAN LSA:
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Owners can make any modifications (within the overall rule) to
their machines.
There are no airworthiness certificates, equipment lists, operating or
maintenance handbooks, or annual inspections.
There are no pilot or mechanic requirements, restrictions, or certificates.
There are no restrictions on the number or type of engines; number
or type of wings; type of fuel or endurance; type of landing gear;
propeller(s) and their operation; or maximum altitudes flown (while
respecting airspace rules).
There is no pilot or flight-training requirement, though training is
highly recommended.
There is no medical requirement whatsoever. (A denied or lost medical
does not ground the Part 103 pilot.)
The responsibility for operating under Part 103 rests solely with the
operator of the vehicle (not the manufacturer, the flight instructor, or
anyone else), and such responsibility does not end with the completion of
the flight. (In other words, if you get caught later, you’re still in trouble!)
Then for the “high performance” crowd there’s the Superlite, a
short takeoff and landing (STOL) machine with the Hirth two-cylinder engine; on average it leaves the ground at the 100-foot mark and
climbs at (a claimed) 1,000 feet per minute. The Superlite uses the
same fuselage and wing as the Belite 254 but sports about 2 square
feet more wing area to accommodate larger flaperons, and it features
more carbon fiber to keep it light. Depending on the weight of the
pilot, the Superlite has a power-to-weight ratio somewhere between
a P-51 Mustang and a P-55 Baron!
With Part 103 limiting an ultralight to a top speed of 55 knots (63
mph) the 50-hp Hirth could cause the machine to exceed the limit,
so James restricts its ultra-light output to 38 hp. Owners who choose
to build the Superlite as an experimental amateur-built aircraft and
fly it with a pilot certificate can avail themselves of all the power, run
the empty weight up to 300 pounds, and turn a 60-by-36 prop.
All three versions of the Belite are offered in factory-new and
kit form.
In all of the models he offers, James left some weight for avionics,
and then made sure they were ultra light, too, by developing his own
line. With a nod back to his technology roots, James recently began
offering an ingenious and innovative range of solid state avionics
under the name Patch Flyer that weigh just 1/2 ounce each.
In less than two years since entering the marketplace, James has
accomplished a great deal toward his quest for a light-weight and
low-cost ultralight—and his Belite range may just be the answer that
many pilots are looking for.
AIRCRAFT MAKE & MODEL: Belite 254, Belite Trike, or Superlite
CERTIFICATION: FAR Part 103; also amateur-built experimental
LENGTH: 16 feet, 5 inches (all models)
WINGSPAN: 25 feet, 2 inches (all models)
HEIGHT: 5 feet, 2 inches (all models)
MAXIMUM GROSS WEIGHT: 550 pounds (all models)
EMPTY WEIGHT: varies from 225 pounds to 278 pounds, depending on engine
selection and optional equipment. Maximum empty weight is 278 pounds.
FUEL CAPACITY: 5 gallons
SEATS: 1
POWERPLANT OPTIONS (ALL USE REDRIVES):
HIRTH F23 50HP
PROPELLER: 60 x 38
CRUISE: 62 mph
HIRTH F33 28HP
PROPELLER: 60 x 27
CRUISE: 52 mph
COMPACT RADIAL ENGINES MZ-201 45HP
PROPELLER: 60 x 34
CRUISE: 62 mph
POWER LOADING: 11 pounds per HP
WING LOADING: 5.5 pounds per square foot (at max gross weight)
EQUIPPED FOR: VFR Day
VNE 80 MPH
VSO 28 MPH
VX 45 MPH
VY 50 MPH
PRICE:
BELITE 254: starting at $24,995
BELITE TRIKE: starting at $26,995
SUPERLITE: starting at $28,655
Quick-build kits start at less than $12,000
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
BELITE AIRCRAFT
3450 N. Rock Road #210
Wichita, KS 67226
www.BeliteAircraft.com
316-253-6746
To read more about James Wiebe’s Kitfox Lite weight-reduction program visit
www.SportAviation.org. James also maintains an informative and entertaining blog
“We Be James” at jameswiebe.blogspot.com.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JIM KOEPNICK
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