The Glasair Sportsman 2+2 is a single-engine,

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 ...

, strut-braced, four seat

kit 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 ...

, developed by the

Glasair Aviation Glasair Aviation USA, LLC is a Chinese-owned aircraft manufacturer based in Arlington, Washington that produces the Glasair and Sportsman 2+2 line of homebuilt aircraft. More than 3000 Glasair kits have been delivered worldwide. History Tom ...

company.Vandermeullen, Richard: ''2012 Kit Aircraft Buyer's Guide'', Kitplanes, Volume 28, Number 12, December 2011, pages 55-56. Belvoir Publications. ISSN 0891-1851Tacke, Willi; Marino Boric; et al: ''World Directory of Light Aviation 2015-16'', page 109. Flying Pages Europe SARL, 2015.

Design and development

The Sportsman 2+2 was developed from the company's

Glastar The Glasair GlaStar (sometimes Glastar) is an American amateur-built aircraft that was designed by Tom Hamilton and produced by Stoddard-Hamilton Aircraft and later Glasair Aviation. It was first flown in 1994 and was superseded in production ...

aircraft, a smaller version. The company's 'Two weeks to taxi' program provides factory-assisted assembly, while providing the owner with training in using tools and

jigs The jig ( ga, port, gd, port-cruinn) is a form of lively folk dance in compound metre, as well as the accompanying dance tune. It is most associated with Irish music and dance. It first gained popularity in 16th-century Ireland and parts of ...

. This complies with the

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 ...

's 51% construction rule, allowing issuance of a Special Certificate of Airworthiness as an amateur-built aircraft. The aircraft can be fitted with

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 ...

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 can also be equipped with floats and amphibious floats or tundra tires. The aircraft is constructed with a fiberglass fuselage, or optionally from

carbon fiber Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers (Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon compo ...

, with all metal wings and horizontal stabilizer and elevator. The airplane is available with a

Lycoming IO-360 The Lycoming O-360 is a family of four-cylinder, direct-drive, horizontally opposed, air-cooled, piston aircraft engines. Engines in the O-360 series produce between 145 and 225 horsepower (109 to 168 kW), with the basic O-360 producing ...

engine or a Lycoming IO-390 engine with an optional

constant speed propeller In aeronautics, a variable-pitch propeller is a type of propeller (airscrew) with blades that can be rotated around their long axis to change the blade pitch. A controllable-pitch propeller is one where the pitch is controlled manually by the p ...

Variants

;Glasair Sportsman 2+2 Diesel :A Thielert Centurion 2.0s powered variant. ;Carbon Sportsman :A variant with the fuselage constructed of

rather than

fiberglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass ( Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass clo ...

. The weight savings of carbon fiber are negated by heavier duty cage, wing struts, and wing skins; both variants have the same empty weight, but the carbon variant gross weight is increased 150 lb.

Specifications (Sportsman 2+2)

References

External links

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Kitplanes Review: Sportsman in Transition
{{Glasair aircraft Homebuilt aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Sportsman High-wing aircraft