GRAHAM WARWICK / WASHINGTON DC
Meanwhile Venture two-seater design is relaunched with improved landing gear
One new and one not-so-new kitplane have entered the amateur-built marketplace. BedeAmerica Aerosport is taking orders for the affordable single-seat BD-17 Nugget, while the Questair Venture two-seater has been resurrected by new company NuVenture.
The BD-17 is designed for rapid assembly at builder assistance centres run by BedeAmerica's dealers. The goal is to allow an owner to build the aircraft in five 8h days, says veteran designer Jim Bede. The kit costs $27,750 complete with a 45kW (60hp) HKS engine, or $18,900 without. Medina, Ohio-based BedeAmerica will also offer the fixed-gear aircraft with an 60kW Jabiru engine, providing a cruise speed of 140kt (260km/h) compared to less than 130ktof the HKS.
To overcome problems encountered with several other kitplanes, where manufacturers have failed to complete delivery of partial kits, leaving buyers unable to finish their aircraft, BedeAmerica plans to provide all unique or difficult-to-obtain parts in the first package. If necessary, says Bede, buyers can then source the parts needed to complete the aircraft elsewhere.
The Venture kitplane has a chequered history - manufacture ended in 1990 after Questair went bankrupt. Of almost 100 kits delivered, only 35 have been completed, says Alan Tolle, president of NuVenture, the Fresno, California-based firm which acquired rights to the design.
NuVenture has relaunched the retractable-gear aircraft as a $49,500 kit. Including new Teledyne Continental IO-550 engine, avionics, interior and paint, the Venture will cost around $100,000, says Tolle.
The firm is also working on a fast-build kit, costing around $65,000, which will reduce assembly time from 4,000h to around 1,000h. Improved landing gear designed to overcome runway handling problems is being made available to existing and new kit buyers.
In another kitplane development, Canadian Light Aircraft Sales &Services has introduced a range of kits based on the BushCaddy design first flown in 1994. These include the original two-place, ultralight R80, available as a fast-build kit or fully assembled aircraft; the four-place, short-field L164; and the R120 Voyageur, which is convertible between tricycle and tailwheel landing gear in a few hours.
Source: Flight International
