Early Bird JN-4 Jenny C-GCLU instrument panel 04

Leading Edge Air Foils LLC (formerly Leading Edge Air Foils, Inc.), usually called LEAF, is an American

aircraft part An aircraft part is an article or component approved for installation on a type-certificated aircraft. Approval for these parts is derived from the jurisdictions of the countries that an aircraft is based. In the United States, the Federal Aviatio ...

s supplier based in

Lyons, Wisconsin Lyons is a town in Walworth County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 3,648 at the 2020 census. The unincorporated communities of Lyons and Springfield are located within the town. History It was originally created as Hudson by ...

. It is a US

limited liability company A limited liability company (LLC for short) is the US-specific form of a private limited company. It is a business structure that can combine the pass-through taxation of a partnership or sole proprietorship with the limited liability of a ...

.Purdy, Don: ''AeroCrafter - Homebuilt Aircraft Sourcebook, Fifth Edition'', pages 147, 193, 194 and 235. BAI Communications, 15 July 1998. Kitplanes Staff: ''1999 Plans Aircraft Directory'', Kitplanes, Volume 16, Number 1, January 1999, page 56. Primedia Publications. IPM 0462012Downey, Julia: ''2000 Trike and 'Chute Directory'', Kitplanes, Volume 17, Number 2, February 2000, page 46. Kitplanes Acquisition Company. ISSN 0891-1851Downey, Julia: ''2003 Plans Aircraft Directory'', Kitplanes, Volume 20, Number 1, January 2003, page 18. Primedia Publications. ISSN 0891-1851Cliche, Andre: ''Ultralight Aircraft Shopper's Guide'' 8th Edition, pages B-43, C-29 and E-48 Cybair Limited Publishing, 2001. Raisner, William: ''LEAF catalog'', pages 409-412 and 416. Leading Edge Airfoils, 1995. The company was founded by Bill Raisner in

Peyton, Colorado Peyton is an unincorporated town, a post office, and a census-designated place (CDP) located in and governed by El Paso County, Colorado, United States. The CDP is a part of the Colorado Springs, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area. The Peyton post ...

, in the 1980s and claims to be the oldest

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 ...

parts supplier. The company specializes in the provision of aircraft parts and

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 ...

s and in the past supplied

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 ...

for amateur construction and ready-to-fly aircraft under 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 req ...

rules. The company is owned by Bill Read and Mary Myers and is part of the

Wag-Aero The Wag-Aero Group is an American aircraft manufacturer that was founded by Dick and Bobbie Wagner in the 1960s and is based in Lyons, Wisconsin. The company specializes in the design and manufacture of kit aircraft and aircraft parts for am ...

group of companies. At one time a subsidiary, Raisner Aircraft Depot (RAD), sold the aircraft kits. LEAF at one time offered kits and parts for other designer's aircraft, such as Dennis Wiley's

Early Bird Jenny The Early Bird Jenny is an American homebuilt aircraft that was designed by Dennis Wiley and produced by the Early Bird Aircraft Company of Erie, Colorado, also by Leading Edge Airfoils of Peyton, Colorado. When it was available the aircraf ...

, Graham Lee's Circa Reproductions Nieuport, the J & J Ultralights Tukan and

Antares MA-32 The Antares MA-32 is the first model in a large family of Ukrainian ultralight trikes that is designed and produced by Antares Aircraft and at one time marketed by Leading Edge Air Foils as the LEAF Antares. The aircraft are supplied as kits for ...

ultralight trike An ultralight trike is a type of powered hang glider where flight control is by weight-shift. These aircraft have a fabric flex-wing from which is suspended a tricycle fuselage pod driven by a pusher propeller. The pod accommodates either a so ...

s, as well as two of Raisner's own designs, the

Raisner Graffiti The Raisner Graffiti is an American ultralight trike that was designed by Bill Raisner and produced by Raisner Aircraft Depot, a division of Leading Edge Air Foils of Peyton, Colorado and introduced about 1997. When it was available the airc ...

two seat trike and the

LEAF Trike The LEAF Trike is an American ultralight trike that was designed and produced by Leading Edge Air Foils in the 1980s. The aircraft was supplied as a kit for amateur construction.Cliche, Andre: ''Ultralight Aircraft Shopper's Guide'' 8th Editi ...

single seat trike. The company has long been a

Rotax Rotax is the brand name for a range of internal combustion engines developed and manufactured by the Austrian company BRP-Rotax GmbH & Co KG (until 2016 BRP-Powertrain GmbH & Co. KG), in turn owned by the Canadian Bombardier Recreational Product ...

aircraft engine dealer and overhaul facility.

Aircraft

References

External links

* {{LEAF aircraft Aircraft manufacturers of the United States Ultralight aircraft Homebuilt aircraft Ultralight trikes