Of the Aeropup and its Pedigree
Barking up the Right Tree
Australian-born, the Aeropup is a remarkably robust, fully-customizable, go-anywhere, two-seat, STOL/LSA aircraft. The machineâs rugged, CNC-precision-manufactured chromium-alloy tubular-steel frame surrounds the occupant compartment, protecting those within after the fashion of a high-performance road-vehicleâs roll-cage.
The Aeropupâs rugged airframe may be paired with either a conventional (tailwheel) or tricycle (nosewheel) undercarriage, and is borne aloft by an innovative and efficient wing comprising three sparsâthe principal of which features a lattice-structure at once stronger and lighter than conventional hollow spars. Whatâs more, to facilitate ease of transport and storage, the Aeropupâs wings are user-foldable.
To the subject of thrust, the Aeropup airframe accommodates a number of contemporary engine makes and models in the 65 to 130-horsepower rangeâthe most popular of which are UL Powerâs UL350, Rotaxâs 582 and 912 mills, Jabiruâs 2200, Volkswagenâs 2276, D-Motorâs (LF-26), and Aeromomentumâs AM13.
By virtue of its sheer toughness, favorable power-to-weight ratio, and the agile and precise control afforded by its large wing and empennage control-surfaces, the Aeropup makes for splendid backcountry flying. Those seeking to make for the worldâs truly remote regions may provision their Aeropups with an optional float package.
The Aeropupâs 1,300-pound (LSA) and 1,650-pound (non-LSA) maximum gross weights include the aircraftâs 540-pound empty weight and 24-gallon (145-pound) fuel capacity. Payload for the two iterations is a simple matter of rudimentary mathematics.
Operators may reasonably expect their Aeropups to manage a 130-knot Vne, a cruise speed of one-hundred-knots, and a wonderfully-docile, 36-know Vso stall-speed. Though range and endurance vary with engine installation, Aeropupâs literature claims five-to-eight hours and 570-statute-miles respectively.
True to its designersâ claims of ruggedness, the Aeropup is rated to G-loads of plus-four and negative-three.
By kit aircraft standards, the Aeropup is a relatively easy airplane to build, with start-to-finish construction times averaging five-hundred man-hours. Furthermore, Aeropup kits are currently available for the remarkable introductory price of only $18,000. Total build costs range from $50,000 to $55,000. Once complete, the Aeropupâs estimated hourly operating-cost is a miserly $25.
In an age of $430,000 Cessna 172s and $250,000 home-built LSA aircraft, the notion of an $18,000 kit and a completed and flyable $55,000 airplane is contemporaneously refreshing and necessary. Flying has never been an inexpensive undertaking, but it ought not be the sole province of the wealthy. By designing and bringing to market an aircraft within the monetary and temporal purviews of the more modestly-monied, the Aeropupâs makers ensure the dream of flight remans attainable to humankindâs working contingent, and help keep patent an important conduit to tomorrowâs airliner flight-decks.
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