The Kappa 77 KP-2U Sova, later produced as the Jihlavan KP-2U Skyleader and most recently as the Jihlavan Skyleader, is a two-seat civil utility aircraft designed in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

and available in kit form for

home building Home construction or residential construction is the process of constructing a house, apartment building, or similar residential building generally referred to as a ' home' when giving consideration to the people who might now or someday reside ...

. It is a conventional

low-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 ...

monoplane 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 ...

featuring all-metal construction and

tricycle undercarriage 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 ge ...

Design and development

Jihlavan Aircraft built the Kappa Sova for Kappa 77 from 1997 to 2004 and obtained marketing rights in 2005 when Kappa became insolvent. They became a subsidiary of

Skyleader Aircraft Skyleader a.s. is a Chinese-owned aircraft manufacturer based in Jihlava, Czech Republic. The company specializes in the design and manufacture of ultralight aircraft in the form of ready-to-fly aircraft in the Fédération Aéronautique Inter ...

in 2008 when the type was redesignated Jihlavan Skyleader. It is an all-metal design apart from a

carbon fibre 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 ...

cockpit frame. It has two-

spar SPAR, originally DESPAR, styled as DE SPAR, is a Dutch multinational that provides branding, supplies and support services for independently owned and operated food retail stores. It was founded in the Netherlands in 1932, by Adriaan van Well, ...

tapered wings with 6° of dihedral, electrically operated

Fowler flaps A flap is a high-lift device used to reduce the stalling speed of an aircraft wing at a given weight. Flaps are usually mounted on the wing trailing edges of a fixed-wing aircraft. Flaps are used to reduce the take-off distance and the landing ...

and upturned Küchemann tips. The

fin A fin is a thin component or appendage attached to a larger body or structure. Fins typically function as foils that produce lift or thrust, or provide the ability to steer or stabilize motion while traveling in water, air, or other fluids. Fin ...

and

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (generally aircraft, air or watercraft, water). On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to ...

are swept. The straight tapered

tailplane A tailplane, also known as a horizontal stabiliser, is a small lifting surface located on the tail (empennage) behind the main lifting surfaces of a fixed-wing aircraft as well as other non-fixed-wing aircraft such as helicopters and gyroplane ...

is set on top of 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 aircraft t ...

, the port

elevator An elevator or lift is a wire rope, cable-assisted, hydraulic cylinder-assisted, or roller-track assisted machine that vertically transports people or freight between floors, levels, or deck (building), decks of a building, watercraft, ...

carrying a

trim tab Trim tabs are small surfaces connected to the trailing edge of a larger control surface on a boat or aircraft, used to control the trim of the controls, i.e. to counteract hydro- or aerodynamic forces and stabilise the boat or aircraft in a pa ...

. The

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

n company ACS started producing the Skyleader 600 at the state owned TEREM-Letets aircraft factory in

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...

in July 2015 under a licence agreement. The original Sova/Skyleader 150 has staggered side-by-side configuration seating with the starboard seat 200 mm (8 in) aft of the other, but a widened fuselage allows the Skyleader 200 to have true side-by-side seating. The earlier version has a forward-hinged canopy with fixed rear transparencies; the Skyleader 200 has a single-piece canopy. Both these variants normally have an electrically actuated

with a steerable nosewheel, though a fixed version is an option and is standard on the later Skyleader 500 and 600 variants. The standard engine for the 150/200 variants is a 60 kW (80 hp)

Rotax 912UL The Rotax 912 is a horizontally-opposed four-cylinder, naturally aspirated, four-stroke aircraft engine with a reduction gearbox. It features liquid-cooled cylinder heads and air-cooled cylinders. Originally equipped with carburetors, late ...

, though the more powerful

Rotax 912ULS The Rotax 912 is a horizontally-opposed four-cylinder, naturally aspirated, four-stroke aircraft engine with a reduction gearbox. It features liquid-cooled cylinder heads and air-cooled cylinders. Originally equipped with carburetors, late ...

Rotax 914 The Rotax 914 is a turbo-charged, four-stroke, four-cylinder, horizontally opposed aircraft engine with air-cooled cylinders and water-cooled cylinder heads. It is designed and built by the Austrian company BRP-Powertrain, owned by Bombardier R ...

can be fitted, all driving a choice of two-blade propellers. The 500/600 variants can also use the

Rotax 912 UL The Rotax 912 is a horizontally-opposed four-cylinder, naturally aspirated, four-stroke aircraft engine with a reduction gearbox. It features liquid-cooled cylinder heads and air-cooled cylinders. Originally equipped with carburetors, later ...

Rotax 912S The Rotax 912 is a horizontally-opposed four-cylinder, naturally aspirated, four-stroke aircraft engine with a reduction gearbox. It features liquid-cooled cylinder heads and air-cooled cylinders. Originally equipped with carburetors, later ...

; the

Jabiru 2200 The Jabiru 2200 is a lightweight naturally aspirated, pushrod four-stroke, flat four, air-cooled aircraft engine produced by Jabiru Aircraft. Design and development The conventional direct-drive engine is fitted with an alternator, silencers, ...

or 3300 engines may also be fitted. The Skyleader 500/600 variants have three-blade propellers. The Kappa 77 KP-2U Sova first flew on 26 May 1996 and the KP-5 Rapid 500 (later the Skyleader 500) in December 2003. Czech certification was achieved in September 1997 and March 2004 respectively. The Skyleader is produced in both kit and flyaway form.

Operational history

Over 210 had been sold by November 2010. 145 Sovas and 12 Skyleaders appear on the civil registers of European countries, Russia excepted, in mid-2010.

Variants (Jihlavan)

''Data from'' Jane's All the World's Aircraft 2011/12 ;Skyleader 100 :Single-seat variant, with optional rectangular or trapezoidal wing planform and powered by a

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 ...

two-stroke A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a Thermodynamic power cycle, power cycle with two strokes (up and down movements) of the piston during one power cycle, this power cycle being comple ...

engine. Was expected to be marketed starting in 2011 as a kit or complete aircraft.Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12'', page 76. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ISSN 1368-485XTacke, Willi; Marino Boric; et al: ''World Directory of Light Aviation 2015-16'', pages 80-81. Flying Pages Europe SARL, 2015. ;KP-2U Skyleader 150 :Originally called the Kappa 77 KP-2U Sova. Staggered side-by-side seating. ;KP-2 Skyleader 200 :Introduced 1996, with widened cockpit to for more elbow room with side-by-side seating. It features retractable landing gear. ;Rapid 200FC: One-off hydrogen-powered via fuel cell and electric motor Skyleader 150 conversion, first flight 20 May 2010. ;KP-5 Skyleader 500: S-LSA version, originally the KP-5 Rapid 500. FAA approved July 2005. ;Skyleader 400 :

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 ...

version with a gull-winged canopy and re-designed engine cowling, introduced as a "mid-line model". The 400 is also available a purely

electric aircraft An electric aircraft is an aircraft powered by electricity. Electric aircraft are seen as a way to reduce the environmental effects of aviation, providing zero emissions and quieter flights. Electricity may be supplied by a variety of methods, ...

, powered by an 80 kW electric motor and 145 amp-hour battery pack. ;Skyleader 600 :Light sport model introduced at

AERO Friedrichshafen AERO Friedrichshafen is a trade show dedicated to European general aviation. It is held yearly in April on the shores of Lake Constance at the exhibition center of Friedrichshafen, Germany right next to Friedrichshafen Airport Friedrichshaf ...

in 2010. It features a wider cockpit, revised wingtips and greater fuel capacity. Engines available include the

, the

and the turbocharged

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 ...

powerplants.

Accidents and incidents

In May 2016 a Skyleader 500 crashed in

Rhoadesville, Virginia Rhoadesville is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Orange County, Virginia, United States. Rhoadesville is east-northeast of Orange. Rhoadesville has a post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, killing the two occupants of the aircraft. The

Galaxy Rescue Systems A galaxy is a system of stars, stellar remnants, interstellar gas, dust, dark matter, bound together by gravity. The word is derived from the Greek ' (), literally 'milky', a reference to the Milky Way galaxy that contains the Solar System ...

ballistic parachute A ballistic parachute, ballistic reserve parachute, or emergency ballistic reserve parachute, is a parachute ejected from its casing by a small explosion, much like that used in an ejection seat. The advantage of the ballistic parachute over a co ...

had been deployed, but the single front riser failed, leading to the parachute failure. The aircraft had been practicing slow flight and stalls and most likely entered a spin, from which the parachute was deployed. The aircraft was over maximum weight at the time of the accident. The GRS parachute model had never been tested in the air on this aircraft design and had only been ground tested once. A new double front riser system is now in use.

Specifications (KP-2U Sova)

References

External links

* for the Skyleader 100
Picture of PH-3D7, a Dutch Kappa KP-2UR Sova
{{Aero Adventure aircraft Aircraft manufactured in the Czech Republic and Czechoslovakia Single-engined tractor aircraft Low-wing aircraft 1990s Czech and Czechoslovakian ultralight aircraft Homebuilt aircraft Skyleader aircraft Electric aircraft