TYPE: Single-seat ultralight/kitbuilt.
PROGRAMME: Introduced in 1998. First kit delivered in May 1999 and flown in September 1999. Company aims to produce one aircraft per year to evaluate production methods and develop kit manual; remainder of production is of kit version.
CURRENT VERSIONS: Sapphire LSA: Available as factory-built version meeting Australian CAO 95 Pt 25 certification standards, or as kitbuilt to CAO 95 Pt 10. Three kits available: Basic, comprising main airframe components; Intermediate, with control systems completed; and Advanced, including engine, propeller and instruments. All kits qualify for 51 per cent amateur-built kit regulations.
Sapphire Scenic: Proposed two-seat version under development will have MTOW of 500 kg (1,102 lb), 94 kt (174 km/h; 108 mph) cruise. Cost approximately A$35.000, plus tax (2002).
CUSTOMERS: First kit sold May 1999. Total of 42 flying by January 2003, including two factory-built.
COSTS: Factory-built flyaway A$35,266; Basic kit A$16,390; Intermediate kit A$23,650; Advanced kit A$29,414, all including tax (2003). Operating cost around A$24 per hour.
DESIGN FEATURES: Pod-and-boom fuselage with strut-braced shoulder-mounted wings; open cockpit with large windscreen. Baggage box, volume 25 litres (0.88 cu ft), in fuselage pod.
FLYING CONTROLS: Conventional and manual. Ailerons and trimmable all-flying tailplane operated by pushrods; rudder spring-coupled to tailwheel; quarter-span flaps; deflections 5° up (for fast cruising) and 20 and 40° down.
STRUCTURE: Mostly composites; GFRP fuselage pod reinforced with internal bulkheads; aluminium tailboom; wings of GFRP with foam ribs; fin is of GFRP; horizontal tail and rudder of aluminium tube with fabric covering. Wings and horizontal tail detach for storage or transport; quoted disassembly/assembly times 10 minutes and 5 minutes respectively.
LANDING GEAR: Tailwheel type; fixed. One-piece laminated GFRP main legs. Mainwheel size 11-4.00x5. Cableoperated brakes. Wheel fairings optional. At least one nosewheel-equipped Sapphire conversion exists.
POWER PLANT: One 29.5 kW (39.6 hp) Rotax 447 UL-1V or 34.0 kW (45.6 hp) Rotax 503 UL-1 V two-cylinder twostroke, driving a Sweetapple two- or three-blade wooden pusher propeller via 2.24:1 reduction gearing. Integral fuel tanks in wings, standard capacity 38 litres (10.0 US gallons; 8.4 Imp gallons), optional 58 litres (15.3 US gallons; 12.8 Imp gallons).
EQUIPMENT: Fully enclosed canopy and strut fairings optional.
| DIMENSIONS, EXTERNAL : | |
| Wing span | 8.84 m (29 ft 0 in) |
| Length overal | 5.00 m (16 ft 4¾ in) |
| Height overall | 1.25 m (4 ft 1¼ in) |
| Propeller diameter | 1.27 m (4 ft 2 in) |
| DIMENSIONS, INTERNAL : | |
| Cabin max width | 0.61 m ( 2 ft 0 in) |
| AREAS : | |
| Wings, gross | 9.13 m² (98.3 sq ft) |
| WEIGHTS AND LOADINGS : | |
| Weight empty | 158 kg (348 lb) |
| Max T-O weight | 350 kg (771 lb) |
| PERFORMANCE : | |
| Never-exceed speed (VNE ) | 98 kt (181 km/h; 112 mph) |
| Cruising speed at 75% power: | |
| - without fairings | 75 kt (139 km/h; 86 mph) |
| - with fairings: two-blade propeller | 75 to 85 kt (139 to 157 km/h; 86 to 98 mph) |
| - three-blade propeller | 87 to 89 kt (161 to 165 km/h; 100 to 102 mph) |
| Stalling speed: power on | 34 kt (63 km/h; 40 mph) |
| power off | 36 kt (67 km/h; 42 mph) |
| Max rate of climb at S/L | 305 m (1,000 ft)/min |
| Service ceiling | 3,660 m (12,000 ft) |
| T-O run | 55 m (180 ft) |
| Landing run | 100 m (330 ft) |
| Range | 328 n miles (607 km; 377 miles) |
| Endurance | 3 h 30 min |
| g limits | +8/-4 |
Photo: Andrei Bezmylov
