The Diehl AeroNautical XTC Hydrolight is an American

amphibious Amphibious means able to use either land or water. In particular it may refer to: Animals * Amphibian, a vertebrate animal of the class Amphibia (many of which live on land and breed in water) * Amphibious caterpillar * Amphibious fish, a fish ...

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 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 designed and produced by

Diehl AeroNautical Diehl may refer to: People Surname Arts *Arthur Diehl (1870–1929), English impressionist landscape artist *Carol Diehl, American artist, art critic and poet *Guy Diehl (born 1949), American painter *Gaston Diehl (1912–1999), French professor ...

in the 1980s.Cliche, Andre: ''Ultralight Aircraft Shopper's Guide'' 8th Edition, page E-46. Cybair Limited Publishing, 2001. The prototype first flew in March 1982, with production of kits commencing the following year.

Design and development

The XTC was the first amphibious flying boat to comply with 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, including the category's maximum empty weight of . The aircraft has a standard empty weight of . It features a cantilever mid-wing, a canard foreplane, dual vertical tails, a single-seat, open cockpit, re-positionable tricycle landing gear 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's hull is made from fiberglass, while the wing has a Kevlar-

epoxy Epoxy is the family of basic components or cured end products of epoxy resins. Epoxy resins, also known as polyepoxides, are a class of reactive prepolymers and polymers which contain epoxide groups. The epoxide functional group is also coll ...

spar with its flying surfaces covered in bonded Mylar. Its span wing is located behind the cockpit. Some aircraft were delivered with optional enclosed cockpits for all-weather flying. The landing gear repositions clear of the hull for water landings and is sprung on all three wheels. The nose wheel is steerable. The control system is three-axis, with the canard for pitch, twin rudders for yaw and spoilers for roll control. The XTC is very aerodynamically clean and produces a 14:1 glide ratio. Strongly built, the aircraft is rated for +8/-8 g. The standard engine supplied was the twin-cylinder, two-stroke, single ignition,

horizontally opposed A flat engine is a piston engine where the cylinders are located on either side of a central crankshaft. Flat engines are also known as horizontally opposed engines, however this is distinct from the less common opposed-piston engine design, wh ...

KFM 107 The KFM 107 is a two-cylinder, two-stroke, single ignition, horizontally opposed aircraft engine designed for ultralight aircraft and motor gliders.Cliche, Andre: ''Ultralight Aircraft Shopper's Guide'' 8th Edition, page G-5 Cybair Limited Publis ...

aircraft engine An aircraft engine, often referred to as an aero engine, is the power component of an aircraft propulsion system. Most aircraft engines are either piston engines or gas turbines, although a few have been rocket powered and in recent years many ...

of .

Operational history

In service many owners replaced the KFM 107 powerplant, as it left the aircraft underpowered, especially for water operations. Owners report that the XTC is pitch sensitive in flight.

Specifications (XTC)

References

{{reflist 1980s United States ultralight aircraft Homebuilt aircraft Single-engined pusher aircraft Amphibious aircraft Canard aircraft Mid-wing aircraft