Sun, Apr 04, 2004
Six years in the making,
Ultralight Soaring Aviation is proud to announce completion of the
New Cumulus. A long-winged aircraft based on the original Cumulus
by US Aviation, New Cumulus sports an entirely new wing
construction. The older design was removed from the market in 1998
after a problem came to light.
"Our first task was redesigning the wing in such a way that nine
Cumulus kit builders could finish their construction and get in the
air," said Dave Ekstrom, president of Ultralight Soaring Aviation.
"When we completed this task, US Aviation sold us all design rights
to the remainder of the aircraft as well as other assets."
For the past three years, Ekstrom has been working diligently on
the New Cumulus. He assembled a team to assist him with evaluation
and redesign of the Cumulus. Concurrent with this effort, Ekstrom
obtained the inventory created by AeroDreams, a Tennessee company
that had contracted with US Aviation to design and manufacture the
Cumulus. The motorglider was completely redesigned by engineer, Jim
Collie, based on the Cloud Dancer that US Aviation has purchased
from Erwin Rodger, its designer.
New Cumulus is an ultralight motorglider with a 43-foot span
cantilevered wing. A partially-enclosed pod fuselage connects to a
cruciform tail via a 5-inch boom. New Cumulus can achieve about
20:1 glide with sink rate of 190 fpm. The light powered glider can
cruise between 40 and 65 mph and has a Vne of 90 mph. Ultralight
Soaring Aviation is projecting cost for the basic kit at $13,000
with Rotax 447. Numerous options will be available.
Ekstrom reports, "We have started production and are preparing
to ship the first three kits in the next few weeks. The third
production prototype Cumulus will be back in the air shortly and
may even fly to Lakeland, FL, this April. Whether flown to the
show or brought by trailer, Ultralight Soaring Aviation welcomes
interested pilots to find them in the ultralight area of the
show.
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