The Blue Yonder EZ Flyer is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

-designed-and-built, tandem two-seat, open cockpit,

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 ...

, recreational and training aircraft provided as a completed aircraft or in kit form by

Blue Yonder Aviation Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB color model, RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB color model, RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between Violet (color), violet and cyan on the optical sp ...

.Hunt, Adam: ''Pilot Report: EZ Flyer'',

COPA Copa or COPA may refer to: COPA COPA may refer to: * Computer Operator Programming Assistant. trade of ITI * Child Online Protection Act, a former U.S. law to protect minors from certain material on the internet * Canadian Owners and Pilots Ass ...

Flight publication, page C-1, May 2001Cliche, Andre: ''Ultralight Aircraft Shopper's Guide'' 8th Edition, page B-19. Cybair Limited Publishing, 2001. Vandermeullen, Richard: ''2011 Kit Aircraft Buyer's Guide'', Kitplanes, Volume 28, Number 12, December 2011, page 46. Belvoir Publications. ISSN 0891-1851Purdy, Don: ''AeroCrafter - Homebuilt Aircraft Sourcebook, Fifth Edition'', pages 97 and 127. BAI Communications, 15 July 1998. It can be constructed in Canada as a basic ultra-light, an advanced ultra-light or

amateur-built aircraft Homebuilt aircraft, also known as amateur-built aircraft or kit planes, are constructed by persons for whom this is not a professional activity. These aircraft may be constructed from "scratch", from plans, or from assembly kits.Armstrong, Kenn ...

Development

The EZ Flyer was the first aircraft design of Wayne Winters of

Indus, Alberta Indus is a hamlet in southern Alberta, Canada under the jurisdiction of Rocky View County. It is home to the Bill Herron Arena Indus is located approximately 6.1 km (3.8 mi) east of the City of Calgary's eastern limits and 24 km ...

. In 1991 Winters set out to design a high performance kit plane that he intended to produce commercially. While considering the design parameters of that proposed aircraft he saw a picture of a Breezy homebuilt and decided instead to design a smaller and lighter aircraft inspired by the Breezy instead. Winter's own past experience flying

Ultraflight Lazair The UltraFlight Lazair is a family of Canadian designed and built twin-engine ultralight aircraft that were sold in kit form between 1979 and 1984. It was one of the first twin-engined ultralights. More Lazairs have been registered i ...

s provided the motivation for the design of a slow, easy to handle aircraft with an open cockpit. Winters designed a new open lattice, "N" girder

fuselage The fuselage (; from the French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an engine as well, although in some amphibious aircraft t ...

constructed from 4130 steel tube along with a new tail to be fitted with wings from the Merlin EZ. The aircraft retained the Junker's ailerons of the Merlin along with the Clark "Y" airfoil that produces docile handling characteristics. The wing also features the Merlin's leading edge "D" cell construction, with foam ribs. The prototype has two seats in tandem and is powered by a Rotax 503 two stroke engine of . The first prototype of the new design flew in October 1991 and was initially unnamed. Winters allowed several pilots to fly the new design and all remarked on its docile handling, its suitability as a trainer and the ease with which pilots mastered it. As a result, Winters initially named it ''Easy Flyer'' and later ''EZ Flyer'' (pronounced in the American way as "Eezee Flier"). The EZ Flyer can be equipped with a variety of powerplants, all mounted in pusher configuration: * Rotax 503 * Rotax 582 *

Rotax 912 The Rotax 912 is a horizontally-opposed four-cylinder, naturally aspirated, four-stroke aircraft engine with a reduction gearbox. It features liquid-cooled cylinder heads and air-cooled cylinders. Originally equipped with carburetors, late ...

Rotax 912S The Rotax 912 is a horizontally-opposed four-cylinder, naturally aspirated, four-stroke aircraft engine with a reduction gearbox. It features liquid-cooled cylinder heads and air-cooled cylinders. Originally equipped with carburetors, later ...

Operational history

The prototype proved robust and easy for students to learn to fly on and has been used since new as a trainer at the Blue Yonder Ultralight Flight School. By May 2001 the prototype had 2500 hours accumulated in student training and showed little signs of wear. Over 30 aircraft have been built for private owners and other flight schools. In November 2016 there were eight EZ Flyers registered in Canada and eight in the USA.

Operators

– flight school

Specifications (Rotax 582)

References

External links