The American Aerolights Eagle is an American

ultralight aircraft Ultralight aviation (called microlight aviation in some countries) is the flying of lightweight, 1- or 2-seat fixed-wing aircraft. Some countries differentiate between weight-shift control and conventional three-axis control aircraft with ailer ...

that was produced by American Aerolights, introduced in 1975. The aircraft was supplied as a kit for amateur construction.Cliche, Andre: ''Ultralight Aircraft Shopper's Guide'' 8th Edition, page E-13. Cybair Limited Publishing, 2001. Different sources attribute the design to Larry Hair or Larry Newman.

Design and development

The Eagle was designed before the US

FAR 103 Ultralight Vehicles Ultralight aircraft in the United States are much smaller and lighter than ultralight aircraft as defined by all other countries. In the United States, ultralights are described as "ultralight vehicles" and not as aircraft. They are not requ ...

rules were introduced, but it fits into the category, including the category's maximum empty weight of . The Eagle 215B has a standard empty weight of . It features a cable-braced

high-wing A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing confi ...

, canard, a single-seat, open cockpit,

tricycle landing gear Tricycle gear is a type of aircraft undercarriage, or ''landing gear'', arranged in a tricycle fashion. The tricycle arrangement has a single nose wheel in the front, and two or more main wheels slightly aft of the center of gravity. Tricycle g ...

and a single engine in

pusher configuration In an aircraft with a pusher configuration (as opposed to a tractor configuration), the propeller(s) are mounted behind their respective engine(s). Since a pusher propeller is mounted behind the engine, the drive shaft is in compression in nor ...

. The aircraft is made from bolted-together

aluminum alloy An aluminium alloy (or aluminum alloy; see spelling differences) is an alloy in which aluminium (Al) is the predominant metal. The typical alloying elements are copper, magnesium, manganese, silicon, tin, nickel and zinc. There are two principal ...

tubing, with the flying surfaces covered in 4 oz

Dacron Polyethylene terephthalate (or poly(ethylene terephthalate), PET, PETE, or the obsolete PETP or PET-P), is the most common thermoplastic polymer resin of the polyester family and is used in fibres for clothing, containers for liquids and foods ...

sailcloth. Its span wing cable bracing from a single

kingpost A king post (or king-post or kingpost) is a central vertical post used in architectural or bridge designs, working in tension to support a beam below from a truss apex above (whereas a crown post, though visually similar, supports items above fro ...

. The wing incorporates downwards pointing

wing tip A wing tip (or wingtip) is the part of the wing that is most distant from the fuselage of a fixed-wing aircraft. Because the wing tip shape influences the size and drag of the wingtip vortices, tip design has produced a diversity of sha ...

rudders and a

trailing edge The trailing edge of an aerodynamic surface such as a wing is its rear edge, where the airflow separated by the leading edge meets.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 521. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997. ...

that was defined only by the sailcloth edge. This latter feature caused a number of fatal accidents due to sailcloth UV deterioration. Heavier weight sailcloth was substituted and finally a steel cable was used at the trailing edge. A fore and aft boom that acts as the wing keel also supports the canard surface. Different Eagle models used different control systems, gradually becoming more conventional over time. Assembly time from the kit is 75 hours. The Eagle was built in several models and in very large numbers. A two-seat version, the

Double Eagle A double eagle is a gold coin of the United States with a denomination of $20. (Its gold content of 0.9675 troy oz (30.0926 grams) was worth $20 at the 1849 official price of $20.67/oz.) The coins are 34 mm x 2 mm and are made from ...

was produced and used by the

Monterey Park, California Monterey Park is a city located in the western San Gabriel Valley region of Los Angeles County, California, United States, approximately from the Downtown Los Angeles civic center. The city's motto is "Pride in the past, Faith in the future". Mo ...

Police Department in 1981. The accidents from the trailing edge design resulted in a number of lawsuits that eventually drove the company out of business.

Variants

;Eagle 215B :First model, introduced in 1975. It has an unconventional control system, with pitch controlled by the canard surface, which is actuated by pilot weight shift fore and aft in the sling seat. A

side stick __NOTOC__ A side-stick or sidestick controller is an aircraft control stick that is located on the side console of the pilot, usually on the righthand side, or outboard on a two-seat flightdeck. Typically this is found in aircraft that are equip ...

deflects the wing tip rudders to create drag which causes yaw; the wing's dihedral effect then produces roll. Empty weight , gross weight ;Eagle XL :Later model with a more conventional control system. A stick controls the canard surface for pitch control and wing-mounted spoilers for roll control. The downwards-pointing wing tip rudders are retained and enlarged, but controlled by rudder pedals. ;

:Two seat model.

Aircraft on display

;Canada :

Saskatchewan Western Development Museum The Western Development Museum is a network of four museums in Saskatchewan, Canada preserving and recording the social and economic development of the province. The museum has branches in Moose Jaw, North Battleford, Saskatoon and Yorkton. Respe ...

Moose Jaw Moose Jaw is the fourth largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada. Lying on the Moose Jaw River in the south-central part of the province, it is situated on the Trans-Canada Highway, west of Regina. Residents of Moose Jaw are known as Moose Javians ...

, Eagle 215B ;United States of America :

Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, also called the Udvar-Hazy Center, is the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum (NASM)'s annex at Washington Dulles International Airport in the Chantilly area of Fairfax County, Virginia. It holds numerous ...

- Double Eagle ;Netherlands : Kampeerwereld Hendriks,

Ermelo, Netherlands Ermelo (, Dutch Low Saxon: ''Armelo'' or ''Armel'') is a municipality and town in the Netherlands; found within Gelderland province and the forest-rich Veluwe area. The population was . Etymology ''Ermelo'' comes from ''lo'', meaning "woods" M. ...

- Eagle CA 'PH-1M5' suspended from ceiling over the entrance.

Specifications (Eagle XL)

References

{{American Aerolights aircraft 1970s United States ultralight aircraft Homebuilt aircraft Single-engined pusher aircraft American Aerolights aircraft Canard aircraft