The Concept Composites MD03 Transat is a French amphibious
flying boat
A flying boat is a type of fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in that a flying boat's fuselage is purpose-designed for floatation and contains a hull, while floatplanes rely on fusela ...
ultralight
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 ...
and
light-sport aircraft
A light-sport aircraft (LSA), or light sport aircraft, is a fairly new category of small, lightweight aircraft that are simple to fly. LSAs tend to be heavier and more sophisticated than ultralight (aka "microlight") aircraft, but LSA restrictio ...
that was designed and produced by
Concept Composites of
Pouancé
Pouancé () is a former commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France. On 15 December 2016, it was merged into the new commune Ombrée d'Anjou. It is located on the border of 4 French departements: Maine-et-Loire, Mayenne in the nort ...
. The aircraft is supplied as a complete ready-to-fly-aircraft.
[Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12'', page 38. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ISSN 1368-485X][Tacke, Willi; Marino Boric; et al: ''World Directory of Light Aviation 2015-16'', page 40. Flying Pages Europe SARL, 2015. ]
Design and development
The Transat was designed to comply with both French microlight and US light-sport aircraft rules. It features a
biplane
A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...
layout with two seats in
side-by-side configuration
Tandem, or in tandem, is an arrangement in which a team of machines, animals or people are lined up one behind another, all facing in the same direction.
The original use of the term in English was in ''tandem harness'', which is used for two ...
within an enclosed cockpit, fixed
conventional landing gear
Conventional landing gear, or tailwheel-type landing gear, is an aircraft undercarriage consisting of two main wheels forward of the center of gravity and a small wheel or skid to support the tail.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Term ...
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
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 ...
is made from composites, with its flying surfaces covered in
doped aircraft fabric
Aircraft fabric covering is a term used for both the material used and the process of covering aircraft open structures. It is also used for reinforcing closed plywood structures. The de Havilland Mosquito is an example of this technique, as are ...
. Its span wing has an area of . The standard powerplant is a
BMW 1100RS fuel injected
Fuel injection is the introduction of fuel in an internal combustion engine, most commonly automotive engines, by the means of an injector. This article focuses on fuel injection in reciprocating piston and Wankel rotary engines.
All compr ...
,
four-stroke
A four-stroke (also four-cycle) engine is an internal combustion (IC) engine in which the piston completes four separate strokes while turning the crankshaft. A stroke refers to the full travel of the piston along the cylinder, in either directio ...
engine. The landing gear is retracted electrically, with a back-up manual system. The Transat is advertised as the only amphibious microlight that can take-off from water at maximum gross weight in under 15 seconds.
Specifications (MD03 Transat)
See also
*
AAC SeaStar
References
External links
{{Commons category, Concept Composites MD03 Transat
2000s French ultralight aircraft
Light-sport aircraft
Single-engined pusher aircraft