The Wings of Freedom Phoenix 103 is an American
amateur-built 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 was produced by
Wings of Freedom
Wings Of Freedom, Inc. was an American aircraft manufacturer based in Hubbard, Ohio. The company was previously located in Middlefield, Ohio. The company specialized in the design and manufacture of ultralight aircraft in the form of plans and ...
of
Hubbard, Ohio. When it was available it was supplied as a kit for amateur construction.
[Vandermeullen, Richard: ''2012 Kit Aircraft Buyer's Guide'', Kitplanes, Volume 28, Number 12, December 2011, page 76. Belvoir Publications. ]
In late 2019 the company website had been taken down and it is likely that production had ended.
Design and development
The Phoenix 103 is based on the discontinued
Aero-Works Aerolite 103. With a standard empty weight of , it 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 requ ...
rules, including the category's maximum empty weight of . It features a
strut-braced
In aeronautics, bracing comprises additional structural members which stiffen the functional airframe to give it rigidity and strength under load. Bracing may be applied both internally and externally, and may take the form of strut, which act in ...
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 confi ...
, a single-seat open cockpit with windshield, fixed
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
In an aircraft with a pusher configuration (as opposed to a tractor configuration), the propeller(s) are mounted behind their respective engine(s). Since a pusher propeller is mounted behind the engine, the drive shaft is in compression in nor ...
.
The aircraft is made from
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 has ...
tubing, with its flying surfaces covered in
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 foods ...
sailcloth. Its span wing has an area of . Its recommended engine power range is ; standard engines used include the
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 ...
Hirth F-23. Construction time is estimated at 100 hours.
Operational history
By December 2011, the manufacturer reported that ten of the aircraft had been completed and flown.
Specifications (Phoenix 103)
References
External links
*
{{Wings of Freedom aircraft
Homebuilt aircraft
Single-engined pusher aircraft
2000s United States ultralight aircraft
Wings of Freedom aircraft