The Adams CA-2 is a single seat, low-wing,
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
ultralight aircraft that was designed by Frank Griffith of
Corning Aircraft around 1992 and was available as plans for
amateur construction until 1999. In 1999,
Hummel Aviation of
Bryan, Ohio
Bryan is a city in, and the county seat of, Williams County, Ohio, United States. It is located in the state's northwestern corner, southwest of Toledo. The population was 8,729 at the 2020 census.
History
Bryan was platted in 1840 by John ...
began offering the design.
[Cliche, Andre: ''Ultralight Aircraft Shopper's Guide'' 8th Edition, page B-10. Cybair Limited Publishing, 2001. ][Downey, Julia: ''1999 Plans Aircraft Directory'', Kitplanes, Volume 16, Number 1, January 1999, page 60. Primedia Publications. ISSN 0891-1851][Downey, Julia: ''2003 Plans Aircraft Directory'', Kitplanes, Volume 20, Number 1, January 2003, page 22. Primedia Publications. ISSN 0891-1851][Purdy, Don: ''AeroCrafter - Homebuilt Aircraft Sourcebook'', page 179. BAI Communications. ] Although the design was well received, plans were no longer listed as being available from Hummel Aviation as of 2007.
In 2011,
Adams Aeronautics Company of
Dallas, Georgia
Dallas is a city in, and the county seat of, Paulding County, Georgia, United States. The estimated population, as of 2010, was 11,544. Dallas is a northwestern exurb of Atlanta, located approximately from the downtown area. It was named for ...
, took over sales and support of the CA-2 design.
Development
The design goals of the CA-2 described a plans-built aircraft for the US
FAR 103 ''Ultralight Vehicles'' category, including a maximum empty weight. The CA-2 was also intended to be one of the lowest cost ways of obtaining an ultralight aircraft. These goals were met and the resulting aircraft has an empty weight of , when equipped with a
Rotax 277
The Rotax 277 is a , single-cylinder, two-stroke aircraft engine, that was built by BRP-Rotax GmbH & Co. KG of Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Euro ...
engine. At the time it entered the market, the
airframe construction cost was estimated to be
US$
The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
1600 and the total completion cost US$5000–6000. The price for the plans, consisting of 40 sheets of 11"X17" (28 X 43 cm), was US$150 in 2011.
The CA-2 requires about 600 hours to build. The airframe is of all-metal construction using 2024-T3
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 ha ...
sheet,
extruded
Extrusion is a process used to create objects of a fixed cross-sectional profile by pushing material through a die of the desired cross-section. Its two main advantages over other manufacturing processes are its ability to create very complex c ...
angles and tubing, fastened primarily with
stainless steel pop rivets. Construction requires normal hand tools, plus a small bending brake and a tube bender.
The
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 aircraf ...
and wings are of
monocoque
Monocoque ( ), also called structural skin, is a structural system in which loads are supported by an object's external skin, in a manner similar to an egg shell. The word ''monocoque'' is a French term for "single shell".
First used for boats, ...
stressed skin construction. The wings include
plain flaps and
differential ailerons and are stressed to +4.4 and -2.2
g. The wings are removable by withdrawing three bolts. The control surfaces are made from aluminum tubing, are
fabric covered and actuated by pushrods.
The landing gear is of
conventional configuration with a steerable tailwheel linked to the rudder.
The prototype was powered by a Rotax 277. Heavier engines can be installed, although the aircraft will not then meet the US FAR 103 weight requirements as an ultralight aircraft. Other engines used include 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
...
,
Rotax 377
The Rotax 377 is a , twin-cylinder, two-stroke aircraft engine, that was 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.
Development
The Ro ...
,
1/2 VW
The Volkswagen air-cooled engine is an air-cooled, gasoline-fuelled, boxer engine with four horizontally opposed cast-iron cylinders, cast aluminum alloy cylinder heads and pistons, magnesium-alloy crankcase, and forged steel crankshaft and con ...
and the
Hirth F-33
The Hirth F-33 is a single cylinder, two stroke, carburetted aircraft engine designed for use on ultralight aircraft, including powered paragliders and ultralight trikes. the engine is noted for its extremely light base weight of . It is ma ...
.
Specifications (CA-2)
See also
References
External links
*
{{Hummel Aircraft
1990s United States ultralight aircraft
Hummel Aviation aircraft