Fantasy Air Allegro Explained

The Fantasy Air Allegro is a Czech two seat, high wing, tricycle gear, single engine monoplane light-sport aircraft or microlight originally designed and built by Fantasy Air and later produced in the United States by Allegro LSA.[1] [2] [3]

Development

The Allegro has a strut-braced wing constructed from aluminum, with fibreglass wingtips. The 2000 and 2007 variants have a 10:1 aspect ratio wing that tapers outboard of the flaps, while the shorter-winged SW model has non-tapered wings. The wings are equipped with three position electrically-actuated flaps with positions for 0, 15 and 48 degrees for cruising flight, take-off and landing respectively on the 2000 model and -4.5, 15 and 48 degrees on the 2007 model. The ailerons are of a differential design. The airfoil is an SM 701.[4]

The fuselage is constructed from Kevlar-reinforced fibreglass with steel tube reinforcement in the cockpit area. The seating is for pilot and passenger in side-by-side configuration, sharing a centre-mounted control stick. The landing gear is of tricycle configuration, with curved main gear legs made from fibreglass and a nosewheel mounted on steel tubes with rubber puck shock absorbing. There is also a shock-absorbing tail skid mounted under the fin. While the fin is fibreglass the horizontal stabilizer, elevator and adjustable trim tab mounted as a T-tail are all aluminum.

The standard 550NaN0 fuel tank is mounted under the floor, with wings tanks optional, bringing total capacity to 950NaN0.

Engines available for the 2000 include the 1000NaN0 Rotax 912ULS, 800NaN0 Rotax 912UL and the 640NaN0 Rotax 582. The 2007 model offers only the Rotax 912UL and ULS. A glider-towing kit is optional which allows towing gliders up to 5000NaN0 gross weight.

The design of the Allegro 2000 model has been praised for its aesthetic appeal, good cockpit visibility, light controls, operating economics and value, wide speed range, range and payload as well as enjoyable flight characteristics. It has been criticized for its poor ergonomic accommodation for taller pilots and also for poor control harmony, with the elevator controls much lighter than the ailerons, which are in turn much lighter than the rudder pedals.

The aircraft can be flown under the microlight/ultralight regulations of several countries as well as the USA FAA Light-sport Aircraft rules. In Canada the aircraft can be registered as a Basic Ultralight or Advanced Ultralight.

Variants

Cora
  • Original variant first flown in 1995
    Allegro 2000
  • Production variant with tapered-wings and gross weight of 11480NaN0
    Allegro 2000F
  • Floatplane variant, with provisions for Full Lotus inflatable floats
    Allegro SW
  • European microlight variant with 3.62NaN2 shorter rectangular wings to save weight and gross weight limited to 4540NaN0. The SW model has a cruise speed that is 60NaN0 slower than the taper-winged models with the same power.
    Allegro 2007
  • Improved variant with redesigned doors, 31NaN1 more headroom, wing dihedral increased to improve the aircraft's handling qualities and gross weight increased to 13200NaN0, the maximum in the US LSA category.[5]
    Allegro LSA
  • Light-sport aircraft variant built in the United States by AllegroLSA of Sanford, North Carolina. This model incorporates a taller cockpit, along with aerodynamic improvements that reduce the amount of rudder needed in a turn. Fuel capacity was increased to [6] [7]
    Allegro F
  • Floatplane version made in the USA by B-Bar-D Aviation.[6] [7]

    Notes and References

    1. Hunt, Adam: Flying the Fantasy Air Allegro 2000, COPA Flight, October 2005
    2. Web site: LSA Update -- Allegro Moves To Oregon; New Online Tool Helps Shoppers. 2009-12-26. Grady . Mary . July 2009.
    3. Web site: Allegro. 2009-12-26. X-Air Australia. n.d.. https://web.archive.org/web/20091006144811/http://www.mcp.com.au/allegro/index.html. 2009-10-06. dead.
    4. Web site: Allegro 2007 Model Specifications. 2009-12-15. XAir Australia. 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20091007041917/http://www.mcp.com.au/allegro/specifications.html. 2009-10-07. dead.
    5. Web site: Fantasy Air Back on Track. 2009-12-26. Niles. Russ . January 2008.
    6. Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12, page 32. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ISSN 1368-485X
    7. Tacke, Willi; Marino Boric; et al: World Directory of Light Aviation 2015-16, page 33 and 67. Flying Pages Europe SARL, 2015.

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