The Minibat was designed by Haig as a motor glider, but without self-launching capabilities, instead the aircraft is launched by aerotow, winch launching or auto-tow. The small chainsaw engine provides enough power to ensure a positive rate of climb and prevent land-outs, but not enough power for launching. The design goal was a glider with slightly greater performance than the Schweizer 1-26.
The Minibat is constructed predominantly from foam and fiberglass and features a monowheel landing gear. The engine is mounted in the rear fuselage in pusher configuration, with the propeller mounted unconventionally between the fuselage and the rudder. Wingtip extensions are available which increase the wingspan to 32.71NaN1 and raise the aircraft's glide ratio from 23:1 with the standard 251NaN1 wings to 30:1.
In March 2011 there were ten Minibats registered with the Federal Aviation Administration in the USA.[4]
