The Birdman Atlas is a single-seat, high wing, 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 ...

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 based upon the

Eipper Quicksilver Quicksilver is a line of single and two-place high wing, single-engine, ultralight aircraft that evolved from weight-shift hang gliders including Bob Lovejoy's High Tailer. The earliest powered version, the Quicksilver C, was created as a se ...

design.Taylor, John WR: ''Janes All the Worlds Aircraft 1982-83'' page 625-626, Janes Publishing Company, 1982.

Development

The Atlas was introduced to the marketplace in 1980. Production was curtailed in about 1983 as the company concentrated on producing the newer Birdman WT-11 Chinook instead. The Atlas was a development of the Quicksilver and as such incorporated many of the Quicksilver's features, such as a

6061-T6 aluminum 6061 ( Unified Numbering System (UNS) designation A96061) is a precipitation-hardened aluminium alloy, containing magnesium and silicon as its major alloying elements. Originally called "Alloy 61S", it was developed in 1935. It has good mechani ...

-framed, single-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 foods ...

-covered, wire-braced high wing, with the ground wires suspended from a

kingpost A king post (or king-post or kingpost) is a central vertical post used in architectural or bridge designs, working in tension to support a beam below from a truss apex above (whereas a crown post, though visually similar, supports items above fro ...

. The fuselage structure was also built from 6061-T6 aluminum tube. The early Atlas XC variants used weight shift for control supplemented with a

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 ...

, whereas the later 3-A versions (for ''3-Axis'') utilized a conventional control system with

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, and spoilers for roll control.

Variants

;Atlas 215 XC :Foot-launchable single place ultralight powered by a 215 cc single cylinder Cuyuna 215 engine. Control system is weight shift, plus rudder. Landing gear includes a shimmy-damped, shock-absorbing tailwheel unit. Available in kit form. ;Atlas 250 XC :Foot-launchable single place ultralight powered by a 250 cc twin cylinder

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 ...

engine. Control system is weight shift, plus rudder. Landing gear includes a shimmy-damped, shock-absorbing tailwheel unit. Available in kit form. ;Atlas 215 3-A :Non-foot-launchable single place ultralight powered by a 215 cc single cylinder Cuyuna 215 engine. Conventional three-axis control system utilizing spoilers for roll-control. Seat is adjustable fore and aft for balance. Due to company concerns about rigging requirements it was only supplied as a completed aircraft. ;Atlas 250 3-A :Non-foot-launchable single place ultralight powered by a 250 cc twin cylinder

engine. Conventional three-axis control system utilizing spoilers for roll-control. Due to company concerns about rigging requirements it was only supplied as a completed aircraft.

Specifications (Atlas 215 3-A)

References

{{Birdman Enterprises 1980s Canadian ultralight aircraft

Development

Variants

Specifications (Atlas 215 3-A)

See also

References