The Phase 3 Eclipse is an American ultralight aircraft that was designed by Bruce Emmons and produced by Phase 3 Aircraft. The aircraft was supplied as a kit for amateur construction.Cliche, Andre: ''Ultralight Aircraft Shopper's Guide'' 8th Edition, page E-14. Cybair Limited Publishing, 2001.

Design and development

The aircraft was designed to comply 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 req ...

rules, including the category's maximum empty weight of . The aircraft has a standard empty weight of . It features a cantilever

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 co ...

, inverted

V-tail The V-tail or ''Vee-tail'' (sometimes called a butterfly tail or Rudlicki's V-tailGudmundsson S. (2013). "General Aviation Aircraft Design: Applied Methods and Procedures" (Reprint). Butterworth-Heinemann. p. 489. , 9780123973290) of an aircraft ...

, a single-seat, open cockpit,

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 ...

and a single engine in pusher configuration. The aircraft is made from bolted-together

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 ...

tubing, with the flying surfaces covered in double surface

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 foo ...

sailcloth. Its elliptical planform span wing it mounted using several cabane struts and produces a 15:1

glide ratio In aerodynamics, the lift-to-drag ratio (or L/D ratio) is the lift generated by an aerodynamic body such as an aerofoil or aircraft, divided by the aerodynamic drag caused by moving through air. It describes the aerodynamic efficiency under giv ...

. The pilot sits on an open-air seat, without a windshield. The control system is unusual in that roll control is by cable-actuated

wing warping Wing warping was an early system for lateral (roll) control of a fixed-wing aircraft. The technique, used and patented by the Wright brothers, consisted of a system of pulleys and cables to twist the trailing edges of the wings in opposite direc ...

. All three

landing gear Landing gear is the undercarriage of an aircraft or spacecraft that is used for takeoff or landing. For aircraft it is generally needed for both. It was also formerly called ''alighting gear'' by some manufacturers, such as the Glenn L. Martin ...

wheels have suspension and the nosewheel is steerable. The

KFM 107 The KFM 107 is a two-cylinder, two-stroke, single ignition, horizontally opposed aircraft engine designed for ultralight aircraft and motor gliders.Cliche, Andre: ''Ultralight Aircraft Shopper's Guide'' 8th Edition, page G-5 Cybair Limited Publis ...

powerplant is mounted behind the pilot's seat, with the propeller in between the upper and lower tailboom tubes. The design was proof-tested to +9/-9 g. The aircraft exhibits good stability in all axes in flight and can be quickly dismantled for storage or ground transport. The wing is removed with three bolts. The design was introduced just before the ultralight market in the US became saturated in 1984, as such it such never became a commercial success. Only a small number were completed.

Specifications (Eclipse)

References

{{reflist 1980s United States ultralight aircraft Homebuilt aircraft Single-engined pusher aircraft High-wing aircraft V-tail aircraft