The Bradley BA 100 Aerobat is an American
aerobatic homebuilt 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 ...
that was designed and produced by
Bradley Aerospace of
Chico, California
Chico ( ; Spanish for "little") is the most populous city in Butte County, California. Located in the Sacramento Valley region of Northern California, the city had a population of 101,475 in the 2020 census, reflecting an increase from 86,18 ...
. When it was available the aircraft was supplied as a kit for amateur construction.
[Purdy, Don: ''AeroCrafter - Homebuilt Aircraft Sourcebook, Fifth Edition'', page 129. BAI Communications, 15 July 1998. ]
Design and development
The BA 100 Aerobat 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 enclosed cockpit 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
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 ...
, or optional
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 all-metal aircraft is made from sheet
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 ...
. Its span wing lacks
flaps and has a wing area of . The cabin width is . The acceptable power range is and the standard powerplant is the
Volkswagen air-cooled engine
The Volkswagen air-cooled engine is an air-cooled, gasoline-fuelled, boxer engine with four horizontally opposed cast-iron cylinders, cast aluminum alloy cylinder heads and pistons, magnesium-alloy crankcase, and forged steel crankshaft and ...
. For aerobatics the BA 100 is stressed to +/-9
g
The BA 100 Aerobat has a typical empty weight of and a gross weight of , giving a useful load of . With full fuel of the payload for pilot and baggage is .
Factory kit options included conventional landing gear and a
STOL kit. The manufacturer estimated the construction time from the supplied kit as 150 hours.
Operational history
By 1998 the company reported that 33 kits had been sold and 28 aircraft were flying.
In December 2013 three examples were
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 ...
.
Specifications (BA 100 Aerobat)
See also
*
List of aerobatic aircraft
An aerobatic aircraft is an aerodyne (a heavier-than-air aircraft) used in aerobatics, both for flight exhibitions and aerobatic competitions.
Most fall into one of two categories, aircraft used for training and by flight demonstration teams, wh ...
References
External links
Photo of a Bradley Aerobat
{{Bradley Aerospace aircraft
Aerobat
1990s United States sport aircraft
1990s United States ultralight aircraft
Single-engined tractor aircraft
Low-wing aircraft
Homebuilt aircraft
Aerobatic aircraft