AeroLites Bearcat explained

The AeroLites Bearcat is an American amateur-built aircraft, designed and produced by AeroLites, of Welsh, Louisiana and introduced in 1984. The aircraft is supplied as a kit for amateur construction.[1] [2] [3] [4]

Design and development

The Bearcat features a strut-braced parasol-wing, a single-seat open cockpit, fixed conventional landing gear and a single engine in tractor configuration.[1] [2] [3]

The aircraft fuselage is made from welded 4130 steel tubing with the wing constructed with an aluminum structure, with its flying surfaces covered in Dacron sailcloth. The ribs slide into pockets in the fabric. Its 301NaN1 span wing employs a Clark Y airfoil and has an area of 150square feet. Standard engines available are the 400NaN0 Rotax 447, the 500NaN0 Rotax 503 and the 640NaN0 Rotax 582 two-stroke powerplants. Equipment to convert the aircraft for aerial application is also available.[1] [2] [3] [5]

The manufacturer claims that the supplied kit takes 60–90 hours to assemble.[6]

Operational history

By 1998 the company had reported that nine Bearcats and two Ag Bearcats were flying.[3]

Variants

Bearcat
  • Base model[1] [3]
    Ag Bearcat
  • Model equipped as an agricultural aircraft, originally equipped with a 640NaN0 Rotax 532 engine.[1] [3] [4] [6]

    Notes and References

    1. Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12, page 91. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ISSN 1368-485X
    2. Tacke, Willi; Marino Boric; et al: World Directory of Light Aviation 2015-16, page 94. Flying Pages Europe SARL, 2015.
    3. Purdy, Don: AeroCrafter - Homebuilt Aircraft Sourcebook, Fifth Edition, page 100. BAI Communications, 15 July 1998.
    4. Web site: American airplanes: Ab - Ak . 31 December 2014 . Aerofiles . n.d. . dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20121205051134/http://aerofiles.com/_ab.html . 5 December 2012 .
    5. Web site: The Incomplete Guide to Airfoil Usage. 3 January 2012. Lednicer. David. 2010. https://archive.today/20130809234123/http://www.ae.illinois.edu/m-selig/ads/aircraft.html. 9 August 2013. dead. dmy-all.
    6. Web site: Bearcat & Ag Bearcat. 17 September 2012. AeroLites. n.d..

    This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "AeroLites Bearcat".

    Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.