The Capella XS is 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 co ...

, cabin aircraft that were produced in kit form by Capella Aircraft of

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

and intended for amateur construction.Downey, Julia: ''1999 Kit Aircraft Directory'', Kitplanes, Volume 15, Number 12, December 1998, page 40. Primedia Publications. ISSN 0891-1851Purdy, Don: ''AeroCrafter - Homebuilt Aircraft Sourcebook'', page 136-7. BAI Communications. Capella Aircraft went out of business in late 2007, and the series is no longer in production.

Design and development

The single seat ''SS'' model was introduced in 1988. All members of the design family were available as optionally

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 ...

tricycle 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 ...

-equipped aircraft. The family of aircraft all share common design features, including an enclosed cabin-style

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 ...

, horizontal stabilizer and tail fin all constructed of welded 4130 steel tubing. The wing is framed from riveted

aluminium 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. I ...

tubing with all surfaces 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 ...

. The wing includes flaps and has an optional folding system for transport and storage. The landing gear arrangement includes sprung-steel main gear and a similarly sprung steerable tail wheel or optional sprung-steel nose wheel. The single-seat SS model was developed into a line of side-by-side two seaters with different engine and fuselage designs.

Variants

;SS :Single seat cabin light aircraft with a gross weight of and powered by a

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 ...

or a

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 Rot ...

engine. The fuselage incorporates a rear window. First flown in 1988. ;XS :Two seats in side-by-side configuration cabin light aircraft with a gross weight of and powered by a

Rotax 582 The Rotax 582 is a two-stroke, two-cylinder, rotary intake valve, oil-in-fuel or oil injection pump, liquid-cooled, gear reduction-drive aircraft engine manufactured by BRP-Rotax GmbH & Co. KG. It is for use in non-certified aircraft operating ...

engine. The fuselage incorporates a rear window. First flown in 1990. ;XLS :Two seats in side-by-side configuration cabin light aircraft with a gross weight of and powered by an Rotax 912 four-stroke engine. The fuselage incorporates a rear window. First flown in 1990. ;XLS Super 100 :Two seats in side-by-side configuration cabin light aircraft with a gross weight of and powered by a

Rotax 912S The Rotax 912 is a horizontally-opposed four-cylinder, naturally aspirated, four-stroke aircraft engine with a reduction gearbox. It features liquid-cooled cylinder heads and air-cooled cylinders. Originally equipped with carburetors, ...

four-stroke engine. Available in ''TR'' tricycle gear and ''TD'' taildragger models. The fuselage incorporates a rear window. ;Fastback :Two seats in side-by-side configuration cabin light aircraft with a gross weight of and powered by a Rotax 912 four-stroke engine. First flown in 1995. Fuselage differs from the XS in that the rear window is eliminated and replaced with a high rear turtle deck, rendering the aircraft similar in appearance to a

Piper J-3 Cub The Piper J-3 Cub is an American light aircraft that was built between 1938 and 1947 by Piper Aircraft. The aircraft has a simple, lightweight design which gives it good low-speed handling properties and short-field performance. The Cub is Pi ...

Aeronca Champ The Aeronca Model 7 Champion, commonly known as the "Champ", or "Airknocker",Bellanca Aircraft Corp, " d: "The Champ only $4,995"" ''Flying Annual & Pilots' Guide,'' 1971 ed., pp.36–37 iff-Davis NY is a single-engine light airplane with a ...

Taylorcraft B The Taylorcraft B is an American light, single-engine, high-wing general aviation monoplane, with two seats in side-by-side configuration, that was built by the Taylorcraft Aviation Corporation of Alliance, Ohio.The Pittsburgh PressMove Sta ...

Specifications (XS)

References

{{Capella Aircraft XS 1980s United States ultralight aircraft Homebuilt aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft High-wing aircraft

Design and development

Variants

Specifications (XS)

See also

References