The Warner Sportster is an American
light-sport aircraft, designed and produced by
Warner Aerocraft of
Seminole, Florida
Seminole is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. The population was 19,364 at the 2020 census.
History
The first white settlement at Seminole was made in the 1840s. This community was named after the Seminole tribe whose descendant ...
. The aircraft is only supplied as a complete ready-to-fly-aircraft.
[Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12'', page 84. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ][Tacke, Willi; Marino Boric; et al: ''World Directory of Light Aviation 2015-16'', page 87. Flying Pages Europe SARL, 2015. ]
Design and development
The Sportster was designed by Jesse Anglin of
Henderson, North Carolina
Henderson is a city and the county seat of Vance County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 15,060 at the 2020 census.
History
The city was named in honor of former North Carolina Supreme Court Chief Justice Leonard Henderson, w ...
. It was derived from his earlier design, the
Warner Spacewalker II, to comply with the US light-sport aircraft rules. It features a cantilever
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 ...
, a single-seat or a two-seats-in-
tandem
Tandem, or in tandem, is an arrangement in which a team of machines, animals or people are lined up one behind another, all facing in the same direction.
The original use of the term in English was in ''tandem harness'', which is used for two ...
open cockpit which can be optionally enclosed under a
bubble canopy
A bubble canopy is an aircraft canopy constructed without bracing, for the purpose of providing a wider unobstructed field of view to the pilot, often providing 360° all-round visibility.
The designs of bubble canopies can drastically vary; s ...
, fixed
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 ...
and a single engine in
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 co ...
.
The aircraft
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 ...
is made from welded steel tubing, with its wooden wings covered in
doped aircraft fabric
Aircraft fabric covering is a term used for both the material used and the process of covering aircraft open structures. It is also used for reinforcing closed plywood structures. The de Havilland Mosquito is an example of this technique, as are ...
. Its span wing has an area of . The standard engine available is the
Continental O-200
The Continental C90 and O-200 are a family of air-cooled, horizontally opposed, four-cylinder, direct-drive aircraft engines of 201 in³ (3.29 L) displacement, producing between 90 and 100 horsepower (67 and 75 kW).''Federal Aviation Admini ...
four-stroke powerplant. The
Lycoming O-290 Lycoming may refer to the following, most of which are at least partly in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, United States:
Geography
* Lycoming, New York, a hamlet
* Lycoming County, Pennsylvania
* Lycoming Township, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania
* L ...
has also been used.
As of March 2017, the design does not appear on the
Federal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic ...
's list of approved special light-sport aircraft.
Operational history
By March 2017 five examples had been
registered in the United States with the
Federal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic ...
, all in the ''experimental'' category.
Specifications (Sportster two-seater)
References
External links
*
{{Warner Aerocraft aircraft
Sportster
Light-sport aircraft
Single-engined tractor aircraft
Low-wing aircraft