Custom Flight North Star
| North Star | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Role | Amateur-built aircraft |
| National origin | Canada |
| Manufacturer | Custom Flight |
| Designer | Morgan Williams |
| Status | In production (2012) |
| Number built | 24 (2014) |
| Unit cost |
US$60,000 (kit, 2011) |
| Developed from | Piper PA-18 Super Cub |
| Variants | Custom Flight Lite Star |
The Custom Flight North Star is a Canadian amateur-built aircraft, designed by Morgan Williams and produced by Custom Flight of Tiny, Ontario. The aircraft is based on the Piper PA-18 Super Cub and is supplied as a kit for amateur construction.[1][2]
Design and development
The North Star features a strut-braced high-wing, a single-seat, a two-seats-in-tandem enclosed cockpit that is 29 in (74 cm) wide, fixed conventional landing gear and a single engine in tractor configuration.[1]
The aircraft fuselage is made from welded 4130 steel tubing, with the wing constructed from aluminum sheet and all surfaces covered in doped aircraft fabric. Its 36.3 ft (11.1 m) span wing employs a USA 35B airfoil, has an area of 190.7 sq ft (17.72 m2) and mounts flaps. The wing is supported by "V"-struts and jury struts. The aircraft's recommended engine power range is 150 to 180 hp (112 to 134 kW) and standard engines used include the 150 hp (112 kW) Lycoming O-320 four-stroke powerplant. Construction time from the supplied kit is 1200 hours. The aircraft can be mounted on wheels, floats or skis.[1]
Operational history
By December 2011 the company indicated that 20 examples had been completed and flown. By December 2014 11 examples had been registered with Transport Canada and 13 in the United States with the Federal Aviation Administration.[1][3][4]
Specifications (North Star)
Data from Kitplanes[1]
General characteristics
- Crew: one
- Capacity: one passenger
- Length: 22 ft 6 in (6.86 m)
- Wingspan: 36 ft 4 in (11.07 m)
- Wing area: 190.7 sq ft (17.72 m2)
- Empty weight: 1,170 lb (531 kg)
- Gross weight: 2,350 lb (1,066 kg)
- Fuel capacity: 52 U.S. gallons (200 L; 43 imp gal)
- Powerplant: 1 × Lycoming O-320 four cylinder, air-cooled, four stroke aircraft engine, 150 hp (110 kW)
- Propellers: 2-bladed fixed pitch propeller
Performance
- Cruise speed: 115 mph (100 kn; 185 km/h)
- Stall speed: 25 mph (22 kn; 40 km/h)
- Range: 690 mi (600 nmi; 1,110 km)
- Rate of climb: 1,100 ft/min (5.6 m/s)
- Wing loading: 12.3 lb/sq ft (60 kg/m2)
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Vandermeullen, Richard: 2012 Kit Aircraft Buyer's Guide, Kitplanes, Volume 28, Number 12, December 2011, page 50. Belvoir Publications. ISSN 0891-1851
- ↑ Purdy, Don: AeroCrafter - Homebuilt Aircraft Sourcebook, Fifth Edition, page 144. BAI Communications, 15 July 1998. ISBN 0-9636409-4-1
- ↑ Transport Canada (28 December 2014). "Canadian Civil Aircraft Register". Retrieved 28 December 2014.
- ↑ Federal Aviation Administration (28 December 2014). "Make / Model Inquiry Results". Retrieved 28 December 2014.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Custom Flight North Star. |
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