The ISON Airbike and Tandem Airbike are a family of

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 ...

high-wing,

tractor configuration In aviation, the term tractor configuration refers to an aircraft constructed in the standard configuration with its engine mounted with the propeller in front of it so that the aircraft is "pulled" through the air. Oppositely, the pusher c ...

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 ...

, that were available in kit form. The single-seat Airbike was introduced in 1994 and the two-seat Tandem Airbike was unveiled in 1996.Cliche, Andre: ''Ultralight Aircraft Shopper's Guide'' 8th Edition, pages B-3 & B-68. Cybair Limited Publishing, 2001. Originally produced by TEAM Aircraft of

Bradyville, Tennessee Bradyville is an unincorporated community in Cannon County Cannon County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,506. Its county seat is Woodbury. Cannon County is part of the Nashvil ...

, manufacturing passed to ISON Aircraft, also of Bradyville, before the end of kit production. Starting circa 2009 kits became once again available once again from Jordan Lake Aero.

Development

The single seat Airbike was designed to meet the requirements of the United States FAR 103 ''Ultralight Vehicles'', including the maximum empty weight. The tandem-seat model was intended to be licensed as an ultralight trainer or an

amateur-built 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 ...

. The single-seater can achieve an empty weight as low as with the use of a light-weight engine, such as the

Rotax 277 The Rotax 277 is a , single-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 ...

or the

Zenoah G-25 The Zenoah G-25 is a single cylinder, two stroke, carburetted aircraft engine, with optional fuel injection, designed for use on ultralight aircraftCliche, Andre: ''Ultralight Aircraft Shopper's Guide'' 8th Edition, page G-8 Cybair Limited Publi ...

. The name ''Airbike'' was chosen for the aircraft because it has a narrow

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 ...

and the pilot's feet rest on rudder pedals that are on the outside of the aircraft, in a similar manner to a motorcycle. The Tandem Airbike retains all of the single-seater's features and has a stretched fuselage to accommodate the second seat. It uses a wing of

span Span may refer to: Science, technology and engineering * Span (unit), the width of a human hand * Span (engineering), a section between two intermediate supports * Wingspan, the distance between the wingtips of a bird or aircraft * Sorbitan ester ...

with an area of 152 sq ft (14.14 sq m).

Design

Both variants feature a

parasol 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 ...

constructed from wood and covered with aircraft fabric. The wing has full-span

ailerons An aileron (French for "little wing" or "fin") is a hinged flight control surface usually forming part of the trailing edge of each wing of a fixed-wing aircraft. Ailerons are used in pairs to control the aircraft in Flight dynamics, roll (or ...

or, in the case of the two-seater, optional electrically-actuated

flaperon A flaperon (a portmanteau of flap and aileron) on an aircraft's wing is a type of control surface that combines the functions of both flaps and ailerons. Some smaller kitplanes have flaperons for reasons of simplicity of manufacture, while s ...

s. All controls are cable-operated. The

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, ...

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 conventional. The fuselage is made from welded

4130 steel 41xx steel is a family of SAE steel grades, as specified by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). Alloying elements include chromium and molybdenum, and as a result these materials are often informally referred to as chromoly steel (common ...

tube and the aircraft has

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 ...

with tail wheel steering connected to the rudder pedals. The main landing gear utilises sprung-tubes for suspension and absorbing landing loads. The Airbike was sold as an assembly kit. The kit included a pre-welded fuselage and tail, pre-built main wing spars and ribs, all brackets and fittings, landing gear, engine, propeller, instruments and a five-gallon fuel tank. The company estimated the time to complete the aircraft at 150 hours for the single-seater. The price in 2001 for the single-seat Airbike was

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 ...

7195 The Tandem Airbike had a factory estimated construction time of 200–300 hours or 100–150 hours if the ''quick-built kit option'' was purchased. In 2001 the kits price was US$8000 without engine or propeller.

Operational history

In December 1998 the company reported that 127 single-seaters were flying, the majority as US unregistered ultralights and 23 tandem-seaters. In July 2009 there were 45 Airbikes registered as experimental amateur-builts or

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 ...

in the USA.

Variants

;Airbike :Single seat aircraft designed for the US ultralight category. Engine options were 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 ...

. ;Tandem Airbike :Two-seat aircraft designed as an ultralight trainer or amateur-built. Standard engine was the

Rotax 503 The Rotax 503 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. As of 2011 the Ro ...

Specifications (Airbike with Rotax 447)

References

External links

{{Commons category 1990s United States ultralight aircraft