Quicksilver is a line of single and two-place high wing, single-engine,

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 evolved from weight-shift

hang glider Hang gliding is an air sport or recreational activity in which a pilot flies a light, non-motorised foot-launched heavier-than-air aircraft called a hang glider. Most modern hang gliders are made of an aluminium alloy or composite frame covered ...

s including Bob Lovejoy's High Tailer. The earliest powered version, the Quicksilver C, was created as a self-launching hang glider, designed to allow pilots who lived in the flatlands to be able to self-launch without a hill. The design later evolved into an ultralight aircraft for powered cross-country flying.Cliche, 2001, page E-29 The aircraft line has been in production since the late 1970s and remains in production in 2018 by Quicksilver Aircraft of

Temecula, California Temecula (; es, Temécula, ; Luiseño: ''Temeekunga'') is a city in southwestern Riverside County, California, United States. The city had a population of 110,003 as of the 2020 census and was incorporated on December 1, 1989. The city is a t ...

.Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12'', page 116. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ISSN 1368-485X

Design and development

Founded by Dick Eipper,

Eipper Formance Quicksilver Aircraft is an American manufacturer of ultralight and light aircraft A light aircraft is an aircraft that has a maximum gross takeoff weight of or less.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 308 ...

began manufacturing the early Bob Lovejoy-designed Quicksilver ultralights in the late 1970s when hang gliding was very popular. The Quicksilver hang gliders differed from most hang gliders of that time period in that the Quicksilver had a rigid rectangular wing and a tail with a horizontal stabilizer and a rudder. At that time, the majority of hang gliders were simple

Rogallo wing The Rogallo wing is a flexible type of wing. In 1948, Francis Rogallo, a NASA engineer, and his wife Gertrude Rogallo, invented a self-inflating flexible wing they called the Parawing, also known after them as the "Rogallo Wing" and flexible wing ...

-type hang gliders. Eipper added a seat, wheels, and a small engine behind the wing of the hang glider, and the Quicksilver ultralight was born. This aircraft was controlled by pushing a bar forwards and backwards, and side to side, in the same way that hang gliders are controlled. This shifted the center of gravity of the aircraft and allowed the pilot to control the plane. Many pilots wanted an aircraft that was controlled with a stick and rudder, similar to the way "typical" light airplanes are controlled, so Eipper added rudder and elevator control surfaces to the Quicksilver ultralight, giving it two axes of control. This aircraft was called the Quicksilver MX. The high dihedral of the wings caused the plane to bank when the aircraft was turned with the rudder, but there was no direct means of controlling the

roll Roll or Rolls may refer to: Movement about the longitudinal axis * Roll angle (or roll rotation), one of the 3 angular degrees of freedom of any stiff body (for example a vehicle), describing motion about the longitudinal axis ** Roll (aviation), ...

axis of the airplane—the aircraft only rolled in response to the yaw axis. Pilots still wanted a true three-axis control ultralight, so Eipper added

spoileron In aeronautics, spoilerons (also known as spoiler ailerons or roll spoilers) are spoilers that can be used asymmetrically as flight control surfaces to provide roll control. Operation Spoilerons roll an aircraft by reducing the lift of the down ...

s. The spoilerons were only minimally effective, providing only a minimal amount of control over the roll axis. The next generation of MX had true

ailerons An aileron (French for "little wing" or "fin") is a hinged flight control surface usually forming part of the trailing edge of each wing of a fixed-wing aircraft. Ailerons are used in pairs to control the aircraft in Flight dynamics, roll (or ...

which gave the aircraft full roll authority. The single-seat Quicksilver MX not only complies 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, but was in fact the aircraft around which the rules were developed. The Quicksilver was the most popular ultralight aircraft design when the regulations were first drafted in the early 1980s.Cliche, 2001, page B-47 The Quicksilver MX evolved over the years. A two-seat model was added for training purposes, although the two-seater was not legally an ultralight. Eipper Formance changed their name to Eipper Aircraft and then Quicksilver Aircraft, and they are still in business, although they are not producing aircraft in the quantity that they were at the height of the ultralight craze in the mid 1980s. The current production MX Sports and Sprints are built from anodized

aluminum Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It has ...

tubing that is fastened together with bolts. The wings and tail are covered with pre-sewn

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 ...

envelopes. Reported construction times from the kit are 30–40 hours.

Operational history

In the summer of 1982, Peter Burgher modified a Quicksilver MX-1 with longer wings, larger fuel tanks, and modified carburetor jets flew from

Utica, Michigan Utica is a city in Macomb County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 4,757 at the 2010 census. History The city now known as Utica was platted by Joseph Stead in 1817, who preferred to call it "Harlow." Others referred to the cit ...

St. Petersburg, Florida St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the fifth-most populous city in Florida and the second-largest city in the Tampa Bay Area, after Tampa. It is the ...

on an endurance flight setting 56 world and national records.

Variants

Quicksilver MX II Sprint two seater photo 2

;Quicksilver C :The C model was the earliest powered version and consisted of the Quicksilver hang glider, including the weight-shift sling seat, with a

McCulloch MAC 101 The McCulloch MAC-101, also called the MC-101 and MC101, is a two-stroke, single cylinder engine that was designed and produced by McCulloch Motors Corporation for kart racing Kart racing or karting is a road racing variant of motorsport with ...

powerplant of , a V-belt reduction drive and a fuel tank. The rudder is deflected by movement of the sling seat to create a coordinated turn. The engine is mounted 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 ...

at the

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. ...

of the wing. There is no landing gear and the aircraft is foot-launched. ;Quicksilver E :An evolution of the C design the E is a new design which incorporates

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 ...

, including a fixed, non-steerable nosewheel, but no brakes. Some E models have been flown on floats. The standard engine is a

Cuyuna 215R The 2si 215 is a family of single-cylinder, fan-cooled, two-stroke, single ignition, aircraft engines that were designed for ultralight aircraft.Cuyuna Development Company: ''Cuyuna Engines'', Cuyuna Development Company, undated The basic engin ...

or a

Yamaha Yamaha may refer to: * Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services, established in 1887. The company is the largest shareholder of Yamaha Motor Company (below). ** Yamaha Music Foundation, an organization estab ...

go-cart A go-kart, also written as go-cart (often referred to as simply a kart), is a type of sports car, close wheeled car, open-wheel car or quadracycle. Go-karts come in all shapes and forms, from non-motorised models to high-performance racing ...

engine. The E maintains the use of a weight-shift sling seat acting on the rudder, although it also acts on the elevator through a

servo tab __NOTOC__ A servo tab is a small hinged device installed on an aircraft control surface to assist the movement of the control surfaces. Introduced by the German firm Flettner, servo tabs were formerly known as Flettner tabs. Servo tabs are not ...

attached to the seat to boost weight-shift control authority. ;Quicksilver MX Sprint :The Sprint is an evolution of the E model, with a fixed seat and three-axis controls and a steerable nosewheel. The Sprint features a cable-braced single surface wing and 2/3 span

aileron An aileron (French for "little wing" or "fin") is a hinged flight control surface usually forming part of the trailing edge of each wing of a fixed-wing aircraft. Ailerons are used in pairs to control the aircraft in roll (or movement around ...

s. The standard engine is the

Rotax 447 The Rotax 447 is a , inline 2-cylinder, two-stroke aircraft engine, built by BRP-Rotax GmbH & Co. KG of Austria for use in ultralight aircraft.Raisner, William: ''LEAF catlog'', pages 6-105. Leading Edge Airfoils, 1995. Design and development ...

which gives a cruise speed of .Downey, Julia: ''1999 Kit Aircraft Directory'', Kitplanes, Volume 15, Number 12, December 1998, pages 63-64. Primedia Publications. ISSN 0891-1851Purdy, Don: ''AeroCrafter - Homebuilt Aircraft Sourcebook'', page 229-230. BAI Communications. Downey, Julia: ''2008 Kit Aircraft Directory'', Kitplanes, Volume 24, Number 12, December 2007, page 53. Primedia Publications. ISSN 0891-1851Vandermeullen, Richard: ''2012 Kit Aircraft Buyer's Guide'', Kitplanes, Volume 28, Number 12, December 2011, page 67. Belvoir Publications. ISSN 0891-1851 ;Quicksilver MX Sport :The Sport is an evolution of the Sprint, with the addition of a double-surface wing. The standard engine is the

which, combined with the double surface wing, gives a cruise speed of .Tacke, Willi; Marino Boric; et al: ''World Directory of Light Aviation 2015-16''. Flying Pages Europe SARL, 2015. ;Quicksilver MX-2 Sprint :The MX-2 Sprint is a two-seat in side-by-side configuration ultralight trainer that features a cable-braced single surface wing. The standard engine is the

Rotax 503 The Rotax 503 is a , inline 2-cylinder, two-stroke aircraft engine, built by BRP-Rotax GmbH & Co. KG of Austria for use in ultralight aircraft.Raisner, William: ''LEAF catlog'', pages 6-105. Leading Edge Airfoils, 1995. As of 2011 the Ro ...

which gives a cruise speed of . The

Rotax 582 The Rotax 582 is a two-stroke, two-cylinder, rotary intake valve, oil-in-fuel or oil injection pump, liquid-cooled, gear reduction-drive aircraft engine manufactured by BRP-Rotax GmbH & Co. KG. It is for use in non-certified aircraft operating ...

engine of is optional.Cliche, 2001, page B-94 ;Quicksilver MXL-2 Sport :The MXL-2 Sport is a two-seat in side-by-side configuration ultralight trainer that features a cable-braced double surface wing. The standard engine is the

which, combined with the double surface wing, gives a cruise speed of . The

engine of is optional. ;Quicksilver Sport II :The Sport II is a two-seat in side-by-side configuration ultralight trainer that features a

strut A strut is a structural component commonly found in engineering, aeronautics, architecture and anatomy. Struts generally work by resisting longitudinal compression, but they may also serve in tension. Human anatomy Part of the functionality o ...

-braced double surface wing. The standard engine is the

which, combined with the double surface wing, gives a cruise speed of . The

engine of is optional. ;Quicksilver Sport 2S :Updated and developed version of the Sport II with a wider tailboom, 68" propeller, increased gross weight and the

engine of as standard. ;Quicksilver Sport 2SE :Version for the US

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 ...

category, introduced in 2014, with the

engine. The model is a

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...

approved special light-sport aircraft.

Specifications (Quicksilver MX Sport)

Comparable aircraft

* AmEagle American Eaglet *

Avid Champion The Avid Champion is an American single-seat, high-wing ultralight aircraft that was produced starting in 1998 as a kit by Avid Aircraft of Caldwell, Idaho, later Ennis, Montana.Cliche, Andre: ''Ultralight Aircraft Shopper's Guide'' 8th Edit ...

Birdman TL-1 __NOTOC__ The Birdman TL-1 was an extremely minimalist aircraft sold in kit form in the United States in the mid-1970s for US$1,395.

Chotia Weedhopper The Weedhopper is an American high-wing, tractor configuration, tricycle gear, two-axis control ultralight aircraft originally developed by John Chotia during the height of the 1970s ultralight boom and introduced in 1977. When it was in prod ...

Kolb Flyer The Kolb Flyer is an American single seat, high wing, strut-braced, twin-engine, pusher configuration, conventional landing gear-equipped ultralight aircraft that was produced in kit form by Kolb Aircraft of Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, and in ...

Milholland Legal Eagle The Milholland Legal Eagle is an American high wing, strut-braced, single engine, tractor configuration, conventional landing gear-equipped ultralight aircraft that is available as plans from Better Half VW of Brookshire, Texas, and also pro ...

Mitchell U-2 Superwing The Mitchell U-2 Superwing is an American tailless ultralight aircraft that was designed by Don Mitchell for amateur construction.Cliche, Andre: ''Ultralight Aircraft Shopper's Guide'' 8th Edition, page E-259. Cybair Limited Publishing, 20 ...

Pterodactyl Ascender The Pterodactyl Ascender is a family of United States, U.S. designed and built ultralight aircraft that were sold in kit form between 1979 and 1984 under Pterodactyl Limited and is currently being sold by DFE Ultralights. With a total ...

UFM Easy Riser The UFM Easy Riser is an American swept wing biplane hang glider that was first powered in 1975, becoming the first modern ultralight aircraft. The Easy Riser was still in production as an unpowered glider in 2002 by Ultralight Flying Machin ...

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 ...

Zenair Zipper The Zenair Zipper is a Canadian ultralight high-wing, single seat aircraft that was designed by Chris Heintz and produced by Zenair. The Zipper is a highly innovative design that strongly emphasizes portability over speed or carrying capacity ...

References

Bibliography

* Cliche, Andre: ''Ultralight Aircraft Shopper's Guide'' 8th Edition. Cybair Limited Publishing, 2001.

External links

* {{Quicksilver Aircraft 1970s United States ultralight aircraft Single-engined pusher aircraft