The Goat first flew on 1 February 2003. The aircraft was designed as a monoplane development of the biplane Bug. Like the Bug it is intended to be an inexpensive and easy-to-fly three-axis-controlled aircraft similar to a primary glider, although the designer terms it an airchair. The Goat has an empty weight of under 1550NaN0 and so qualifies to be flown under the United States FAR 103 Ultralight Vehicles regulations and does not require registration or a pilot license. The aircraft is made available as technical drawings, not plans, to allow potential builders to study them. Sandlin makes his computer assisted design drawings available free of charge as downloads in .dxf, .dwf and .gif formats and has explicitly released them to the public domain. The Goat 1 drawings consist of 71 sheets. The designer considers his aviation activities a hobby only.
The aircraft is predominately made from bolted-together aluminium tube and covered with heat-shrunk Dacron fabric. The wing ribs are made from fiberglass, graphite rod and epoxy resin over Styrofoam. It has a 361NaN1 span wing supported by lift struts and jury struts or, alternatively, cable bracing. Controls are conventional three axis, with the ailerons and elevator controlled by a center stick and rudder controlled by pedals. The landing gear is a fixed monowheel gear. The pilot sits on an open cockpit seat without a windshield and is secured with a four-point harness. The aircraft is designed to be car-top transportable and can be assembled by one person.
The Goat is designed to be launched by aerotow behind an ultralight aircraft, auto-tow, winch-launch or by rolling it down a slope. It is flown for soaring and is not recommended for aerobatics.
One Goat was flown on a cross-country flight of more than 600NaN0 that exceeded 130000NaN0.
